Frank Wildhorn

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Frank Wildhorn
Born (1958-11-29) November 29, 1958 (age 65)
Harlem, New York
Occupation(s)Composer, songwriter, playwright
Years active1977–present

Frank Wildhorn (born November 29, 1958) is an American composer of both musicals and popular songs. His musical Jekyll & Hyde ran for four years on Broadway. He also wrote the hit song "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" for Whitney Houston.

Early years

Wildhorn was born in Harlem and spent his childhood in

Jewish.[1]

Career

Popular music

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 1988. 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.

Stage

In 1999, Wildhorn had 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; however, all three shows closed without making a profit, for a total loss approaching $20 million.[2] In 2004, he collaborated with Don Black and Christopher Hampton on a musical based on Dracula.

Wildhorn has become a prominent composer globally, with many productions in Europe and Asia having long runs. Jekyll & Hyde is one of the longest running musicals of all time in South Korea.[

Tampa, Florida, with another production following at the Alley Theatre, Houston, Texas, in January 2010.[7]

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.

Other musicals include

Goodspeed Opera House and a short developmental run at the NYMT Festival in 2004, and Waiting for the Moon starring Lauren Kennedy and Jarrod Emmick in New Jersey in 2005, with the musical being renamed Zelda for a run at Flatrock Playhouse in 2012. In 2015, Wildhorn created a musical based on the popular Japanese manga series Death Note (this would lead to more manga adaptations, such as Fist of the North Star in 2021 and Your Lie In April in 2022). In 2018, he debuted The Man Who Laughs in South Korea, based on Victor Hugo's novel.[8][9][10]
The Man Who Laughs won three awards at the 2019 Korean Musical Awards, including Best Musical.

Other compositions

Wildhorn composed a full-length commissioned symphonic piece, Danube Symphony, which was recorded by the 96-piece

Wiener Musikverein.[11]

Personal life

Wildhorn married Linda Eder on May 3, 1998. They have a son, and he has another son from an earlier marriage.[12][13] He and Eder divorced in 2004.

Wildhorn was engaged to Brandi Burkhardt, best known for playing the role of Crickett on Hart of Dixie. He also wrote the roles of Alice in Wonderland and Bonnie in Bonnie & Clyde for her.[14] They separated in late 2010.

In 2014, he announced his engagement to

Yoka Wao, a former Takarazuka male-role top star who played the lead role in Never Say Goodbye and the Japanese production of Dracula. They were married on July 26, 2015, in Maui, Hawaii.[15]

Works

Cast recordings

Wildhorn produced and composed a majority of Linda Eder's solo albums and is widely recognized for his ability to release a score before the show opens and have it sell really well. Below are the major concept and cast recordings he has made over his career that have been released in the United States.

  1. ^ Grammy Nominated
  2. ^ Certified Platinum

The following concept albums were announced, but were never released.

Other songs

Award nominations

Year Award Ceremony Category Nominated Work Result
1998
Grammy Award
 Best Musical Theatre Album Jekyll & Hyde: Original Broadway Cast Recording Nominated
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Music The Scarlet Pimpernel Nominated
1999
Tony Award
 Best Original Score The Civil War Nominated
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Music Nominated
2012 Tony Award Best Original Score Bonnie & Clyde Nominated
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Music Nominated
Outer Critics Circle Award
 Outstanding Score Nominated

Additionally, Wildhorn's musicals The Civil War and The Scarlet Pimpernel were nominated for Best Musical at the Tony Awards, and The Civil War and Bonnie & Clyde earned Drama Desk nominations for Outstanding Broadway Musical. Jekyll & Hyde, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Civil War, and Bonnie & Clyde also received nominations for Outstanding Musical by the

Outer Critics Circle
.

References

  1. ^ Schleier, Curt (December 1, 2014). "The Broadway Composer Critics Love To Hate". Forward. Retrieved May 30, 2022. Wildhorn: 'My parents met at a Jewish dance at a Y on the [Grand] Concourse, I think.'
  2. ^ McKinley, Jeffrey (November 10, 2000). "ON STAGE AND OFF; 'Jekyll and Hyde' Among Closings". The New York Times.
  3. ^ "Carmen" information Archived January 6, 2009, at the Wayback Machine frankwildhorn.com
  4. ^ Gans, Andrew and Jones, Kenneth. "Tale of Two Cities' Barbour and Burkhardt Cast in Monte Cristo Workshop" playbill.com, November 6, 2008
  5. ^ Gans, Andrew. "Borchert to Star in World Premiere of Wildhorn's Count of Monte Cristo" playbill.com, February 18, 2009
  6. ^ Jones, Kenneth. "Stark Sands and Laura Osnes are Bonnie and Clyde in NYC Reading of Wildhorn Musical" playbill.com, February 4, 2009
  7. ^ Hetrick, Adam and Jones, Kenneth. "Wildhorn and Murphy's Wonderland Makes Houston Bow Jan. 15" playbill.com, January 10, 2010
  8. ^ Henry, Alan (February 28, 2018). "VIDEO: Frank Wildhorn Teases THE MAN WHO LAUGHS in Seoul". BroadwayWorld.
  9. ^ Loo, Egan (July 15, 2021). "Fist of the North Star Manga Gets Stage Musical in December". Anime News Network. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  10. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (May 9, 2022). "Fist of the North Star Musical Returns With New Cast". Anime News Network. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  11. ^ Video: Watch the Vienna Symphony Orchestra Rehearse Frank Wildhorn's 'Danube Symphony'
  12. ^ "Weddings: Linda Eder, Frank Wildhorn". The New York Times. May 3, 1998.
  13. ^ Jones, Kenneth. "Frank Wildhorn and Linda Eder, Couple Who Made Music on Stage and in Studio, Split Up" playbill.com, July 28, 2004
  14. ^ Kaye, Kimberly. "Fresh Face: Brandi Burkhardt", broadway.com, September 18, 2008
  15. ^ Osnes, Laura [@lauraosnes] (July 26, 2015). "Married in Maui!!! #aloha #frankwildhorn #YokaWao" – via Instagram.
  16. ^ Zelda Archived March 6, 2012, at the Wayback Machine flatrockplayhouse.org
  17. ^ "UK tour announced for Wonderland musical | WhatsOnStage". www.whatsonstage.com. March 18, 2016. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  18. ^ a b "Frank Wildhorn Biography" Archived April 10, 2012, at the Wayback Machine frankwildhorn.com, accessed March 27, 2012.
  19. ^ Henry Fuller, Sally (February 1, 2015). "First Listen- Jeremy Jordan and Jarrod Spector Sing New Frank Wildhorn Tune From DEATH NOTE". BroadwayWorld.
  20. ^ "News from Takarazuka Official Website". Archived from the original on October 8, 2017. Retrieved October 5, 2017.

External links

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