THIS IS THE MOMENT!!! Last night members of the original cast of the Original Broadway production of Frank Wildhorn’s haunting romance thriller Jekyll & Hyde The Musical reunited to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of it’s Broadway debut.
JEKYLL & HYDE (based on the classic Robert Louis Stevenson novella THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE) was written by Wildhorn along with Leslie Bricusse and Steve Cuden. The show was originally developed in the 80’s with a set of readings and workshops. production starred Colm Wilkinson in the title role along with Linda Eder (who was discovered by Wildhorn after winning Star Search) as “Lucy”.
The official world premiere of the show happened in 1990 in Houston, Texas at the Alley Theatre starring Eder as “Lucy”, Chuck Wagner in the title role, and Rebecca Spencer as “Emma Carew” (originally named “Lisa Carew” at the time).
After 5 years of rewrites, the show returned to Houston in 1995 playing the Theatre Under The Stars and then played The 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle. Because both engagements did so well, a Pre-Broadway US National Tour kicked off that same year and ran for an entire year. The cast for that engagement included Eder once again as “Lucy”, Robert Cuccioli in the title role, and Christiane Noll as “Emma Carew” (at the time still named “Lisa Carew”).
The engagement did so well, JEKYLL & HYDE finally officially reached Broadway in 1997 playing the Plymouth Theatre (now the Gerald Schonefeld Theatre) where it ran for a total of 1,543 performances making history as the Plymouth Theatre’s Longest Running Show. The show was nominated for 4 Tony Awards winning only 1 for Best Costume Design (for Ann Curtis). In addition, Eder was the recipient of the 1997 Theatre World Awards. During the Broadway run, replacements included Jack Wagner, Sebastian Bach, and David Hasselhoff in the title role, Luba Mason and Colleen Sexton as “Lucy”, and more. Prior before the closing on Broadway, the show was filmed for a Broadway Worldwide DVD release featuring the closing cast consisting of Hasselhoff, Sexton, and Andrea Rivette as “Emma Carew”.
Following it’s original Broadway run, JEKYLL & HYDE went on to play International productions around the world including the US, UK, Europe, Australia, Asia, and much more.
In 2012, a revamped production traveled across America before heading back to Broadway’s Marquis Theatre for a strictly limited engagement. This production starred Tony nominee and American Idol favorite Constantine Maroulis in the title role, Grammy nominee Deborah Cox as “Lucy”, and Broadway favorite Teal Wicks as “Emma Carew”. The show was originally supposed to play till the end of the summer but was cut short to only 44 performances due to low ticket sales and negative reviews (even though the performers were raved),
HAPPY 20TH ANNIVERSARY JEKYLL & HYDE!! JEKKIES FOR LIFE!!!
Photo Coverage: JEKYLL & HYDE Cast Members Reunite to Celebrate 20 Years!
The epic struggle between good and evil came to life on stage in the musical phenomenon, Jekyll & Hyde. Based on the classic story by Robert Louis Stevenson and featuring a score of pop rock hits from multi-Grammy- and Tony-nominated Frank Wildhorn and double-Oscar- and Grammy-winning Leslie Bricuss…
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