Wildhorn to Guest at 'New Voices;' New Projects in Works

The "Monday Nights, New Voices" series, which was created by composer Scott Alan, continues May 14th at the Duplex Cabaret Theatre.

The Monday Night Concert will feature 'New Voices' making their Broadway debuts, and will include Jeff Kready, who plays Babet in Les Miserables, Jennifer Waiser, who can be seen in The Pirate Queen, Natalie Silverlieb, who understudies Jane and Kala in Tarzan, Brian Crum, who is the universal swing in Wicked, and Connor Gallagher, who understudies Lefou and plays the Doormat in Beauty and the Beast. Show time is 7 PM.

The Celebrated Guest Composer will be Jekyll & Hyde's Frank Wildhorn and will accompany the singers on selections from his songbook. Barbara Anselmi returns as musical director for the one-night-only event.

Composer Alan launched the Monday Nights, New Voices series to "showcase some of today's brightest new talent in New York."

In 1999, Wildhorn became the first American composer in twenty-two years to have three shows running simultaneously on Broadway: Jekyll & Hyde (written with Leslie Bricusse), which received two Tony nominations; The Scarlet Pimpernel (written with Nan Knighton), which received four Tony nominations; and The Civil War (written with Jack Murphy & Gregory Boyd), which received two Tony nominations. These shows continue to be seen in productions around the country and throughout the world. Wildhorn also wrote additional songs for Broadway's Victor/Victoria (written with Leslie Bricusse) and was recently represented on Broadway by Dracula: The Musical (written with Don Black & Christopher Hampton). He was also a Producer and Co-Creator for Harlem Song, the first open-ended theatrical run at the famed Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY.

Other projects include: Camille Claudel (written with Nan Knighton) which played at Goodspeed Opera's Norma Terris Theatre in 2003 and yielded the song "Gold," heard at the Opening Ceremonies of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, UT; Waiting For The Moon (written with Jack Murphy), based on the lives of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, which had its world premiere in July 2005 and will be presented at the North Carolina Theatre in Raleigh, NC, USA in July 2007; Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (written with Gregory Boyd & Jack Murphy); Mitsuko (written with Shuichiro Koike); Excalibur (written with Jim Steinman and Gregory Boyd); a modern adaptation of Carmen (written with Jack Murphy and Norman Allen); a rock-n-roll adaptation of Alice In Wonderland; and Bonnie and Clyde (written with Don Black).

There is a $12 music charge and a two-drink minimum.  For reservations call (212) 255-5438 or visit www.theduplex.com.

Photo of Frank Wildhorn by Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.