Aaron Lazar Announces Star-Studded Debut Album After ALS Diagnosis: An 'Impossible Dream Come True!'

• Months after announcing his ALS diagnosis, Aaron Lazar reveals he's releasing his first album as "a testament to resilience, passion, and love in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds"
• Stars across the Broadway community have come together to support Lazar, including Josh Groban, Neil Patrick Harris, Leslie Odom Jr., Lin-Manuel Miranda and Kristin Chenoweth
• The LP, called Impossible Dream, drops Aug. 16

Aaron Lazar has long said that healing from ALS is his "impossible dream," adopting the popular song of the same name from The Man of La Mancha as his personal mantra after being diagnosed in January 2022 with the progressive neurodegenerative disorder.

Now, the phrase takes a new meaning for Lazar. On Aug. 16, the stage actor — known for his two decades of work on Broadway and beyond — will release Impossible Dream, his first album.

For the milestone, Lazar has gathered a collection of decorated megastars from across the music, film, television and theater industry including Josh Groban, Neil Patrick Harris, Leslie Odom Jr., Kelli O'Hara, Kate Baldwin, Norm Lewis, Loren Allred and Kristin Chenoweth.

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"I first sang ‘The Impossible Dream’ 24 years ago as a grad student in Cincinnati playing Don Quixote in The Man of La Mancha, as my impossible dream of becoming a professional actor was coming true," Lazar said in a statement. "All these years later, the song and its message have become an anthem for me."

"This album is incredibly special not just because it is my debut album, but also because it is an extraordinary opportunity to celebrate what I’m learning: we all have the power within us to make the impossible possible, and we help each other heal."

The 10-track LP will also include apprentices by the National Children's Chorus and the Broadway Inspirational Voices, as well as a special duet with the late Rebecca Luker — who died at the age of 59 in 2020, just 10 months after receiving her ALS diagnosis.

Ending the album will be a star-studded group performance of "The Impossible Dream," featuring Lazar's aforementioned duet partners and collection of greats from the Broadway community including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Adrienne Warren, Liz Callaway, Joanna Gleason, Brian d'Arcy James, Shoshana Bean, Tony Yazbeck, Christy Altomare, Christiane Noll, Adam Jacobs, Max Von Essen, Betsy Wolfe, Jessica Phillips, Marc Kudisch, Ali Louis Bourzgui, Michael Minarik and many, many more.

"My heart is so full to work with such truly magnificent artists and friends," Lazar said in a statement. "I thank them and the Broadway community for their incredible love and support. As we raise awareness to end ALS, I hope fans of Broadway and music will enjoy this Impossible Dream come true!” 

A portion of the proceeds from Lazar's album will benefit the ALS Network, which provides comprehensive, integrated, multidisciplinary community-based care at no cost to the ALS community. Back in January, the organization presented Lazar with the Essey Spotlight Award for his commitment to raising ALS awareness around the globe. 

ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a condition with no known cure that affects an average 5,000 new patients a year in the U.S.

Know also as Lou Gehrig's disease, ALS attacks nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, leading to a loss of muscle control that often leaves patients unable to move, speak, swallow and, eventually, even breathe.

But in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges, Lazar has adopted an attitude of unwavering optimism.

He told PEOPLE in April he's chosen "not to live life afraid." Instead, he's focused on healing himself emotionally, spiritually — and yes, physically – through a “very conscious, very disciplined" exploration of holistic health through diet, exercise, meditation, and a spiritual practice based in gratitude.

"Don't get me wrong; I'm passionately fighting for my life, I'm just not fighting the disease," said Lazar, in an interview from Los Angeles where he lives with fiancée Nawal Bengholam. "I've learned to surrender to ALS in a way that lets me appreciate the moments between life's peaks and valleys. Because I don't want to miss them."

The father of two — who shares sons Julian, 14, and Adrian, 12, with ex-wife LeAnn — said that in order to do that, he had to purge his life from thoughts and feelings that don't service his healing.

"This disease is like a tractor beam to death. It just feels like a negative, collective consciousness around it is bleak and hopeless. So I had to rise above that," Lazar revealed. "And it started with understanding how I have to think about it, and then how I feel about it and then what I believe about it. Basically, courage became hope, and hope became faith, and faith became belief, and belief became practice, and practice became experience and experience became knowing, That's how I got there."

As for Impossible Dream, the idea of an album came after Lazar went public with his diagnosis in January 2024, with a call from friend and music producer Jonathan Estabrooks.

"I knew what I wanted to say but, more importantly, what I could do," Estabrooks said in a statement. "I have always been driven by the power of community and music to affect change and so I proposed recording an album that would showcase his phenomenal talent and the incredible impact he is having on others."

Estabrooks and Lazar co-produced the album alongside Grammy winner Kitt Wakeley, who also arranged the LP. It's developed by Emitha Studios (Emitha LLC) and Studio 7 Media.

Impossible Dream is available for pre-order now.