Deutsch | English

Welcome to Frank Wildhorn's official website! Here you can find information and updates on all of Frank's projects. The latest news is listed below:

What is Frank working on?

La Jolla Playhouse has announced that they will present the world premiere of Bonnie & Clyde this fall. The show will have music by Frank Wildhorn, lyrics by Don Black (Sunset Boulevard, Aspects of Love, Dracula) and a book by Ivan Menchell (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Cemetary Club, The Prince and the Pauper), and will be directed by Jeff Calhoun (Brooklyn, Grey Gardens, Deaf West's Big River). Further details on the project are mentioned in the articles on BroadwayWorld.com and Playbill Online. The show will run 10 November - 20 December 2009 at the Playhouse's Mandell Weiss Theatre in La Jolla, California. Subscriptions are available by calling (858) 550-1010 or visiting lajollaplayhouse.org. Single tickets go on sale 12 July, and there is a form available to sign up for priority ticketing information. Casting and further information will be posted as it is announced.

Cyrano just had its world premiere at the Nissay Theatre in Tokyo, Japan, from 5 through 28 May 2009. The production stars Takeshi Kaga (the original Japanese Jekyll & Hyde) in the title role, Hikaru Asami (Elisabeth) as Roxanne and Kenji Urai (Rudolf, Elisabeth) and Masataka Nakagauchi sharing the part of Christian. It has direction by Kazuya Yamada, music direction by Akihiro Shiota and choreography by Kiyomi Maeda. The lyric translations were provided by Kazuko Matsuoka, with the script translation by Machiko Ryuu. More information is available on the Fuji TV production site (in Japanese). This production also played at Umeda Arts Theater in Osaka, Japan, 3-7 June 2009, and is reportedly touring the country. More information is available on the Upcoming Projects page.

Wonderland: Alice's New Musical Adventure will have its world premiere in Tampa, Florida on 5 December 2009, followed by a run at the Alley Theatre in Houston, Texas. It is hoped that the production will be followed by touring plans or a Broadway engagement. A concept album is also planned, aiming for a US release in summer 2009 and an international release the following fall or winter. The show will have book and lyrics by Jack Murphy and direction (in both cities) by Gregory Boyd.

The developmental staging at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center's Ferguson Hall will begin with previews on 24 November, and run through 3 January 2010. Individual tickets will be available on 16 August. The show will then move to Houston's Alley Theatre from 9 January through 14 February 2010, with an opening night of 13 January. A sale date for individual tickets has not yet been announced for Houston. Season subscriptions are available at both venues. More information is available on the Upcoming Projects page and the show's website: wonderlandthemusical.org.

Frank Wildhorn and Jack Murphy's The Count of Monte Cristo had its world premiere on 14 March 2009 at Theater St. Gallen in Switzerland. The show, which is performed in German, will reopen on 3 October 2009. Dates have been announced through 5 April 2010. Tickets are available through the Theater St. Gallen website. Two related videos have been posted at art-tv.ch (in German). The song list for this production has just been added to this site.

The cast is led by Thomas Borchert in the title role, Sophie Berner as Mercédès, Carsten Lepper as Fernand Mondego, Christoph Goetten as Gérard von Villefort, Karim Khawatmi as Baron Danglars, Dean Welterlen as Abbé Faria, Kurt Schrepfer as Jacopo, Daniel Berini as Albert von Morcerf, Barbara Obermeier as Valentine, Ava Brennan as Luisa Vampa and André Bauer as Morrel. For more information, see the Count of Monte Cristo page.

A concept recording was released in Europe on 12 December 2008. The English-language CD features Thomas Borchert as Edmond Dantes (The Count of Monte Cristo), Pia Douwes as Valentine, Brandi Burkhardt as Mercédès, Patrick Stanke as Fernand Mondego, Mark Seibert as de Villefort, Mathias Edenborn as Baron Danglars, Jesper Tydén as Albert and Alexander Goebel as the Abbé Faria. The album is available from Sound of Music. The album is now available on iTunes (US, Germany or Austria). A digital download of the liner notes is also available, when purchasing the entire album from iTunes.

Carmen began its world premiere run at the Karlín Musical Theater in Prague, Czech Republic on 2 and 3 October 2008. BroadwayWorld.com has reported that the show has become the most successful production in Czech theater history, with unprecedented ticket sales. The cast recording (details below) is expected to go platinum by the end of the year. A website has been established for this production at www.carmen-musical.com. New photos from opening night have been added to the Project Photo Gallery, and a full song list from the show has just been posted on the website. You can also learn more about the project on the Carmen page.

A cast recording of the show was released on 7 November 2008, by EMI Czech Republic. Additional information is available on Lucie Bila's website (both sites in Czech). It is available for purchase from Bontonland (site in English and Czech) and Sound of Music (site in German and English). The track list for the CD is as follows: Intro - Sevillana (a Spanish folk song), Cesty osudu (Winds Of Fate), Já vernost ti prísahám; (My Only Prayer), Symbol zen (Every Woman In The World), Kazdý jsme sám (We All Dance Alone), Taková zenská (A Woman Like That), Tak krácí zesnká (Walk Like A Woman), Patrís mne (You Belong To Me), Cizinec - muj stín (The Man I Have Become), Kéz sílu mám (If I Could), Svatá Terezo (Saint Theresa), Jde vo kejhák (Be Afraid), Viva.

Frank is available for master classes... for more information, see the Upcoming Projects FAQ.


Other Related News:

Thomas Borchert has just released a live recording from his recent "Strictly Musical" concerts. The album, now available from Sound Of Music, includes "Dies ist die Stunde" (This is the Moment) from Jekyll & Hyde, "Je länger ich lebe" (The Longer I Live) from Dracula, and the premiere recording of "Ordinary Man" (performed in English) from Rudolf. See the Sound Of Music Concerts site and Thomas Borchert's website (both in German) for details on his upcoming concert appearances.


Rudolf

A cast recording from the Viennese production of Rudolf was released on 7 April 2009, and is available for purchase from VBW, Sound of Music, Amazon.de, iTunes and Dress Circle. This recording spent seven weeks on the Austrian Top Albums chart, debuting at number 17.

The track list includes: Prolog/Wie jeder andre Mann (Prologue/An Ordinary Man), Du willst nicht hören (You Never Listen), Ein hübscher Krieg (Pretty Little War), Marys Lied (Mary's Theme), So viel mehr (Something More), Wohin führt mein Weg? (How Will I Know?), Vertrau in uns (Only Love), Die Fäden in der Hand (The Master Of The Strings), Du bleibst bei mir! (It Will Be Me!), Wie jeder andre Mann (An Ordinary Man), Mut zur Tat (Measure Of A Man), Der Weg in die Zukunft (The Steps Of Tomorrow), Die Liebe lenkt (Only Heroes Dare), Wenn das Schicksal dich ereilt (The Writing's On The Wall), Kann ich einfach gehn? (Can I Say Goodbye?), Ich schütze den Staat (Maintain The State) and Du bist meine Welt (I Was Born To Love You / Only Love Reprise).

A karaoke/sing-along CD for the show, with orchestral tracks recorded by the Orchestra of Vereinigte Bühnen Wien, came out in early May. It contains the same songs as the cast recording, with the exception of the Prologue. It is now available from VBW, Sound of Music and Amazon.de.

The show is now playing in Vienna, Austria. Vereinigte Bühnen Wien is presenting the German-language premiere of the show at the Raimund Theater, where it officially opened on 26 February. Performances run through 4 July, and the show is expected to return on 6 September 2009, with tickets available through 31 December.

The video (at right) includes clips from the show and comments from cast members Drew Sarich and Uwe Kröger, and from opening night audience members Christian Kolonovits (composer and conductor) and Olivia Silhavy (stage and screen actress). It is in German, and runs approximately two minutes.

More information is available on the VBW website (in German and English), and the Rudolf blog (in German, includes numerous videos). Tickets and merchandise are currently available. A song list for the Viennese production has just been added to this site, alongside the song list from the Hungarian production.

More information and links can be found on the Rudolf page.


Dracula, The Musical

Music Theatre International has secured the performing rights for Dracula. According to their website, the show is not yet open for licensing.

The premiere cast recording of Dracula, from the production in Graz, Austria, is now available. The German-language recording features cast members from the Musical Festival Graz production, as well as the Orchestra of Operett Színház in Budapest, Hungary, conducted by Koen Schoots. The album is available from Sound Of Music as well as iTunes Austria and iTunes US. The song list has been posted on the Dracula music page.

More information on the show is available in the Dracula, The Musical section.


Jekyll & Hyde

Musical Színház is expected to present their Hungarian production of Jekyll at Wörtherseebühne in Klagenfurt, Austria, 6-8 August 2009. Ethan Freeman (from the original German production of the show) will lead the Hungarian cast in Klagenfurt.

SAW Theatricals, Inc. presented Jekyll as a one-night benefit concert for the New York Society for Ethical Culture, at their concert hall in New York City on 15 June 2009. Robert Petkoff starred in the title roles, with Brooke Sunny Moriber as Emma, and the concert introduced Jennifer Hallie Rosen, who made her New York City debut as Lucy. Photos from the event have been posted at BroadwayWorld.com.

Local and regional productions of Jekyll & Hyde are taking place throughout Germany. The show is currently being presented by Musicalgruppe der Goetheschule Wetzlar, 17 June - 10 July 2009. A third season of performances will take place at Staatsoperette Dresden, 6 October 2009 - 11 April 2010. A production is also planned by Theater Nordhausen, 9 April - 23 June 2010.

The Polish premiere production of Jekyll has returned for a second season at Teatr Rozrywki in Chorzów, Silesia, Poland, beginning 25 September 2008. Performances are announced through 20 June 2009, with further dates possible. The cast is led by Janusz Krucinski, Marcin Rychcik and Pawel Tucholski as Jekyll/Hyde, Wioletta Bialk and Marta Florek as Lucy and Alona Szostak and Ewa Grysko as Emma.

OD Musical Company recently presented a fifth season of performances of Jekyll in Seoul, South Korea. Performances took place at the LG Arts Center from 11 November 2008 through 22 February 2009. The show also played in Gwangju Metropolitan City, Busan, Daejeon and Daegu, through 12 April.

Masquerade Theatre Company just presented Jekyll at Teatru Manoel in Valletta, Malta, 8-17 May 2009. This production was directed by Anthony Bezzina, with musical direction by Kevin Abela. The cast was led by Andy Reiss as Jekyll/Hyde, Dorothy Bezzina as Lucy and Emily Jones as Emma.

Numerous local and regional productions of Jekyll are happening throughout the U.S., the U.K. and around the world. Check for one near you in the Calendar section, at the Official Jekyll & Hyde Website or in your local theater listings. You can also find more details on the Jekyll & Hyde productions page.

The Scarlet Pimpernel

Liedertafel Fruntsperg is presenting Pimpernel at Kolpinghaus Schwaz in Schwaz, Austria, 6 through 21 June 2009.

Pimpernel is having its long-awaited Hungarian premiere production. Performances began with a preview on 2 October 2008 and then an official opening on 3 October, running through January 2009 at Szolnoki Szigligeti Színház in Szolnok. The most recent performances took place on 19 and 20 March in Budapest, and further dates are possible.

Takarazuka Revue - the famous, all-female theater company based in Takarazuka, Japan - presented the Japanese premiere production of Pimpernel in Takarazuka from 20 June through 4 August 2008, and in Tokyo from 22 August through 5 October. The production won the "Grand Prize" award at the 34th Kikuta Kazuo Drama Awards, and an "Excellence Award" at the 16th Yomiuri Theater Awards. Reon Yuzuki (Chauvelin) won a "New Actor" award at the 30th Matsuo Entertainment Awards. A cast recording and DVD are both available from this production. Further details and purchasing links can be found on the Pimpernel music page.

Numerous local and regional productions of Pimpernel are happening throughout the U.S. and around the world. Check for one near you in the Calendar section, at the Official Scarlet Pimpernel Website or in your local theater listings. You can also find more details on the Scarlet Pimpernel productions page.

The Civil War / For The Glory

The Civil War was presented as part of the grand re-opening season of Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. Performances began on 27 March, with an official opening on 1 April, and ran through 24 May 2009. The show was directed by Jeff Calhoun, with musical direction by Jay Crowder. The cast included Sarah Darling, Elliot Dash, Eleasha Gamble, Darryl Reuben Hall, Sean Jenness, Matthew John Kacergis, Kellee Knighten, Michael Lanning, Kingsley Leggs, Michael "Tuba" McKinsey, Aaron Reeder, Bart Shatto, Timothy Shew, Chris Sizemore, Stephen Gregory Smith and Bligh Voth. Michael Goodwin was heard as the pre-recorded voice of Abraham Lincoln. Further information is available at the Ford's Theatre website.

Highland Community College's Theatre and Music departments will be presenting The Civil War on 17, 18 and 19 July 2009 in Freeport, Illinois. Further details will be posted as they are announced. For more information visit the Highland Community College website.

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum will reprise their outdoor production of The Civil War, presented at the Union Square Park in Springfield, Illinois, on 24-26 July and 30 July - 1 August 2009. Tickets will be available starting 20 April. Lawn and blanket seating will be free for children 8 and under. For more information visit the ALPLM website.

Productions of the show are planned for October by the Theatre of the Republic in Conway, South Carolina, and by Danville Light Opera in Danville, Illinois.

Find more details on the Civil War productions page.