FRANK WILDHORN

Born: New York, New York, 29 November 1959

Genre: Musical Theater

Best-selling album since 1990: Jekyll and Hyde: Original Broadway Cast Recording (1997)

Hit songs since 1990: "This Is the Moment," "Where Do Broken Hearts Go," "You Are My Home"

One of the few composers to have had three Broadway shows running simultaneously, Frank Wildhorn derives much of his notoriety from the hit-and-miss world of New York's Broadway theater. However, his pop music has been recorded by a lengthy list of top musical artists and his classical compositions are performed all over the world. Wildhorn's gift for churning out melodic, catchy songs has clashed at times with the artistic notions of Broadway theater's critics and elitists.

Although he had no formal musical training, Wild-horn started composing music on the family organ. His passion for and skill in composing developed while writing and playing for rhythm and blues, jazz, and rock bands during his teenage years after his family had moved from Queens, New York, to Hollywood, Florida, when he was fourteen. Following high school, Wildhorn attended Miami University but transferred after a year to the University of Southern California (USC) where he studied history and philosophy. He also moonlighted in the Los Angeles area as a musician in clubs and studios. Inspired after watching West Side Story and Jesus Christ Superstar on television in 1979, Wildhorn composed a musical loosely based on Jesus Christ Superstar titled Christopher. Later that year, he persuaded USC's drama department to stage Christopher as a main stage production. Although the play was considered unpolished and has never been produced again, it impressed Chrysalis Records enough to offer Wildhorn a song-publishing deal. This began an impressive songwriting career of over 250 published songs that have sold over 50 million records. A diverse list of artists have recorded Wildhorn's songs including Whitney Houston, Kenny Rogers, Sammy Davis Jr., Natalie Cole, Travis Tritt, Hootie and the Blowfish, Blues Traveler, and Dr. John. However, a strong fascination for musical theater remained.

In 1990 Wildhorn's musical, Jekyll and Hyde, received its first production at the Alley Theater in Houston. Wildhorn also released the show's songs in an album, Jekyll and Hyde (1990). Several of the songs received pop airplay, particularly "This Is the Moment", which was performed by Jennifer Holiday at President Bill Clinton's 1996 inauguration in addition to many other national events. After several years of rewrites, Jekyll and Hyde opened on Broadway at the Plymouth Theater in 1997. Critics were harsh, writing that the show was campy and the score was too bland, but theatergoers, drawn to the likable music and the play's raw, gothic feel, kept up a steady attendance. Jekyll and Hyde ran for 1,543 performances before closing on January 5, 2001. The original Broadway cast album from the show was released in 1997. One of the female stars of the show, the singer Linda Eder, met Wildhorn in 1987 when she auditioned for an earlier version of Jekyll and Hyde. They married in 1998 and have a son together in addition to another son from Wildhorn's first marriage. Wildhorn has written and produced several recordings for Eder.

In 1998 another Wildhorn musical, The Scarlet Pimpernel, opened on Broadway at the Minskoff Theater. Most critics panned this production as well, noting that the music was weak. These notions exasperated Wildhorn and he made public his ire regarding the state of Broadway theater, which in his opinion was a myopic world that only included a select few. However, just as with his first Broadway effort, the public still came despite the critics. Pimpernel has the odd distinction of closing and re-opening on Broadway only a year later with a new cast, this time at the Neil Simon Theater. Combined, the two Pimpernel productions ran 772 performances before closing. The original cast album was released in 1998 and features stunning work by Broadway veteran Terrence Mann on engaging numbers such as "Falcon in the Dive" and "Where's the Girl?"

When Wildhorn's The Civil War opened on Broadway at the St. James Theater in 1999 it earned him the distinction of having three shows running on Broadway at the same time. The show was a series of songs that gave voice to actual diaries and documents from the time of the Civil War. The Civil War 's Broadway run lasted only two months as Wildhorn's music was lambasted for being better suited to radio and not appropriate for Broadway. Wildhorn released a recording of the show's songs on an album called The Civil War: Nashville Sessions, which features an array of country and pop singing stars. There is also a Broadway cast version of the musical available. A successful United States tour of The Civil War played for two years after the show closed on Broadway.

A self-described workaholic, Wildhorn is usually creating different projects simultaneously, often in collaboration or with the intent of producing a vehicle for his wife. In 2003 he was working on the musical productions Camille Claudel, Dracula, and Havana.

Wildhorn's inability to gain acceptance within the inner circles of Broadway theater seems to have little effect on the composer's enthusiasm for writing and creating shows for the theater. Throughout his career, Wildhorn has been able to generate music that draws listeners and fellow artists to his work.

SELECTIVE DISCOGRAPHY:

Jekyll and Hyde: Concept Recording (BMI/RCA Victor, 1990); The Scarlet Pimpernel: Concept Recording (EMI Angel, 1992); Jekyll and Hyde: The Complete Work (Atlantic, 1994); Jekyll and Hyde: Original Broadway Cast (Atlantic, 1997); The Scarlet Pimpernel: Original Broadway Cast (Atlantic, 1998); The Civil War: Nashville Sessions (Atlantic, 1998); The Scarlet Pimpernel: Encore! (Atlantic, 1999); The Civil War: The Complete Work (Atlantic, 1999).

donald lowe