I am a new member to this site although I have looked at the Web site several times over the past year. I even found a local production of Jekyll & Hyde playing with an amateur theater group. The performance was OK but not great. I saw Jekyll & Hyde on Broadway and then I saw it with a traveling Broadway Production Company in my home town (Wilkes-Barre, PA). The best performance was the traveling Broadway company in my home town. It was so good that I have never gotten the musical out of my head. I have several CD albums of the musical I have bought and I even bought a copy for my iPod tlelphone so I could listen to it in my phone.
What I can't understand is why this musical is not more popular in the United States? I think Jekyll & Hyde is as great a musical as Phantom of the Opera, yet Phantom is still playing on broadway. Why? It makes a great difference if you have professional productions with professional singers and actors than local groups...they just are incredibly better. I hope there will be some re-enthusiasm for this musical to come back to broadway before I die so I can see it again.
DMS

Well I don't really know why and since I'm European this is a view from across the pond.
When we look at the Musicals that now are popular with Bway audiences we notice that Frank's musicals aren't exactly that kind.
Most of Frank's show live from the music. Let's be honest. The only show which has a really good book is The Scarlet Pimpernel. So it's the music.
Now, if you look at Frank's Jekyl & Hyde, you'll notice that the score is very classical. It doesn't relly on modern beats like Wicked or alike. So the show doesn't appeal to nowadays B'way audiences as much as the others.
That's why I think it will be a very long time before Frank's best scored shows (in which The Count of Monte Cristo is on the very top) will take a long time before reaching B'way.

The B'way production of J&H also suffered from the same curse Dracula suffered (although Dracula's script is very very weak) and The Addams Family is suffering. It was "too dark" and so some wise-guy came and shopped lots of stuff.
You compared with THe Phantom of the Opera. Well, you can't really compare anything to PotO. 'cause the show opened in another time (the 80's) and is the most legendary Musical ever written. And people keep going back to it. Then the music and the script are great so critics keep their mouths shut.

I would like to see J&H returning to B'way with the normal script which is the one still playing in Germany. But I think it won't so soon. On the other hand, I think it's more likely to see Wonderland on B'way first, since that one IS more nowadays-B'way-material.
The classical, full orchestral, darker and more dramatic shows have now their place here in Europe and are way more appreciated than the lighter shows. And that's why Frank is much more popular in Europe nowadays than he is in the USA.

Frank Wildhorn and Andrew Lloyd Webber are both seen as too traditional and "ballad" centered in their compositions to a modern U.S. audience. Also, Frank's shows tend to be better in theory than on stage. I have yet to see a production of one his shows that simply blew me away even though his music is often quite great. Bad casting occurs far too often as well (enter The Hoff).

There are two trends of musicals in the United States right now. One is the bouncy, upbeat musical based on a movie (Legally Blonde, Mamma Mia, Wedding Singer, etc.). The others are musicals intentionally designed to be different and controversial (Spring Awakening, In The Heights, Next To Normal, etc). Frank's work doesn't fall into either of those categories. His music, while often quite original, is stereotyped as being too traditional. While I hope he can achieve some type of comeback in the United States, it is very possible he will be remembered as one of the leading 90's broadway composers alongside Stephen Flaherty, Maury Yeston, Jonathan Larson, and others.

Another reason his musicals are quickly discarded in the U.S. is because many of them came to Broadway far too soon and felt 'unfinished.' A prime example is Dracula. The broadway production was mediocre on every level. A few years later, the show has been tweaked significantly and some fantastic new pieces have been added. It's like watching a completely new show. If I were to guess, I would say that Frank's Wonderland and Havana are currently his best bets for broadway productions.

Well, I just can't agree with your evaluations. I still think the production I saw in Wilkes-Barre, PA was the best musical I have ever seen and the music from the original production is just phenomenal. I have it on CD, my home computer and now my iPad. With bluetooth headphones the audio reproduction is great and you can listen and surf the Net or do whatever you want on the iPad at the same time. I also have the DVD but the voices and production are not as good as the stage productions. Thank God for all of the recordings....that can be transferred onto other media. I guess at age 69 I'll never get a chance to see it produced on stage again, unless I can travel to another city. My best to Frank Wildhorn for creating such beautiful music! DMS :rolleyes: