Frank Wildhorn - How Jekyll & Hyde and Wonderland Became "The Crab Grass of Broadway"

Ever since he burst onto the Broadway scene in the 1990s with Jekyll & Hyde, Frank Wildhorn has remained an intriguing figure in American Musical Theatre. (In fact, the title of this episode comes from a New York Times review of the 2013 J&H revival.) But Wildhorn’s journey is far from a conventional success story, nor was it a typical path to the Broadway stage. But among his seven Broadway musicals, three of them have appeared at the Marquis Theater: Victor/Victoria, Wonderland, and a 2013 revival production of Jekyll & Hyde. Now, Victor/Victoria will actually get its own episode to close out the first season of this podcast, so this one is actually going to be a combo episode, covering the other two shows together. That’s because they both share a lot in common: Wonderland and Jekyll & Hyde were both written by Wildhorn, both were based on famous literary stories, both were universally panned, and both of them ran for less than a month. Here are the stories of how and why that happened. Follow on Instagram and listen to Closing Night on your favorite podcast app. --- Closing Night is a production of WINMI Media with Patrick Oliver Jones as host and executive producer. Dan Delgado is the editor and co-producer, not only for this podcast but also for his own movie podcast called The Industry. Maria Clara Ribeiro is co-producer, and a big thank you goes to E. Clay Cornelious for sharing his experiences with the short-lived Jekyll & Hyde revival and its cast and creatives. Click here to find the transcript for this episode and a full list of links and resources used. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices