Career
In 1999, Wildhorn became the first American composer in 22 years to have three shows running simultaneously on Broadway: Jekyll & Hyde at the Plymouth Theatre, The Scarlet Pimpernel at the Minskoff Theatre, and The Civil War at the St. James Theatre. In 2000, in an appearance on The Rosie O'Donnell Show, Linda Eder announced that his fourth musical, Havana, had a production planned for Broadway in January 2001 to star Eder. Unfortunately plans fell through.
The musical Carmen, with music by Wildhorn and lyrics by Jack Murphy, premiered in Prague in October 2008. The musical Count of Monte Cristo, with a score by Wildhorn and book and lyrics by Jack Murphy, received a workshop reading in November 2008, and opened at the Theatre of St. Gallen, Switzerland in March 2009. Another musical, with music by Wildhorn and lyrics by Don Black, Bonnie and Clyde, received an industry reading in February 2009 and premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse in California in November 2009. Also in November 2009, another new musical, Wonderland: Alice's New Musical Adventure premiered at the David A. Straz, Jr. Center for the Performing Art in Tampa, Florida, with another production following at the Alley Theatre, Houston, Texas, in January 2010.
His new musical, Havana, with lyrics written by Jack Murphy, was scheduled to premiere at the Pasadena Playhouse, Pasadena, California, in June 2010. However, in February 2010, Pasadena Playhouse was "shuttered ... due to financial difficulties" and the Havana production cancelled.
In the popular music arena, Wildhorn has worked with such artists as Stacy Lattisaw, Natalie Cole, Kenny Rogers, Trisha Yearwood, Tracy Lawrence, Trace Adkins, Patti LaBelle, Dennis DeYoung and Linda Eder, to whom he was married. His "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" was an international number one hit for Whitney Houston in the late 1980s.
Wildhorn is Creative Director of Atlantic Theatre, an Atlantic Records division that develops new American musicals. In 2005, he co-founded GlobalVision Records with long-time collaborator Jeremy Roberts. GlobalVision releases include a new concept recording of Dracula, the Musical and a new studio recording of Jekyll & Hyde: Resurrection
Wildhorn is also the first Broadway musician to work with the Takarazuka Revue on the Cosmos Troupe's production of the musical Never Say Goodbye.
Read more about this topic: Frank Wildhorn
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