CARMEN (book by Norman Allen, lyrics by Jack Murphy, and directed by Gabriel Barre), currently running at the Karlin Theatre in Prague and starring the Czech Republic's biggest pop star Lucie Bila, has broken all box office records there and is now the biggest hit in the history of Czech theatre according to local media.
The show's producers tell us that "Unprecedented, Carmen is the most successful ticket sale in Czech theatre history. For the very first time in he history of Czech theatre, we are also experiencing amazing pre-sale figures. The cast album, which was just released, is expected to go Platinum by the end of the year."
Frank Wildhorn's Carmen is a contemporary tale inspired by the Prosper Merimee novel, which contains the essence of the famous characters, but explores the story in a brand new way. The show had its world premier on October 2, 2008 and runs at the newly renovated Karlin Theatre in Prague, run by producer Egon Kulhanek. Adam Novak has done the translation in Czech. Czech superstar Lucie Bila stars as Carmen. The musical supervisor is Adrian Werum, orchestrations are by Kim Scharnberg, and arrangements are by Koen Schoots.
The NY workshop took place in March 2008, and featured Jenny Powers as Carmen, Brandi Burkhardt as Katarina, Rita Gardner as Aunt Inez, Ryan Silverman as Jose, Thom Sesma as Garcia, and Nick Wyman as the Mayor.
For more information, please visit: www.carmen-musical.com.
In 1999 Frank Wildhorn, notably became the first American composer in twenty-two years to have three shows running simultaneously on Broadway: Jekyll & Hyde, Scarlet Pimpernel, and The Civil War, which altogether garnered eight Tony nominations.
Mr. Wildhorn also wrote additional songs for Broadway's Victor/Victoria and was a producer and co-creator of Harlem Song at the legendary Apollo Theater. Most recently in the United States, Wildhorn's For the Glory: The Civil War Musical opened at the Majestic Theater in Gettysgurg, PA. Recently, Wildhorn has enjoyed International success with Never Say Goodbye (written with Shuichiro Koike) performed by Takarazuka Revue in Takarazuka, Japan; Rudolf - The Last Kiss (written with Jack Murphy & Nan Knighton) opening in Budapest, Hungary and in Vienna, Austria and multiple productions of Jekyll & Hyde: In Concert.
