Broadway Records to Record New Concept Album of JEKYLL & HYDE; BWW to Host Liner Notes Essay Contest!

BroadwayWorld.com and Broadway Records are co-sponsoring a liner notes essay contest for the new Jekyll & Hyde studio concept recording. Fans will have the opportunity to submit a 250 to 500 word essay for consideration. Five finalists will be chosen by the staff of BroadwayWorld.com in consultation with Broadway Records. Frank Wildhorn, Constantine Maroulis and Broadway Records will select the Grand Prize Winner who will have his or her liner notes essay will be included in the upcoming recording. 

More details can be found here!

The album will be released September 25, 2012. The new concept recording will be produced by Frank Wildhorn, Jason Howland, and Billy Jay Stein and executive produced by Van Dean, Kenny Howard and Ken Mahoney. The Jekyll & Hyde 2012 Concept Recording is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com here. 

Featured on the new studio concept recording will be Constantine Maroulis, Deborah Cox, Tom Hewitt, Shannon Magrane, Carly Robyn Green, and Corey Brunish. From Tony® and Grammy Award® nominee Frank Wildhorn and Oscar® and Grammy Winner Leslie Bricusse, Jekyll & Hyde has become a worldwide theatrical phenomenon since it first opened on Broadway in 1997. It has been recorded in 20 different languages and artists as diverse as Johnny Mathis, Dennis DeYoung (from Styx), Jennifer Holliday, Liza Minnelli and Sammy Davis, Jr have recorded songs from the show. The music of Jekyll & Hyde has been featured in four consecutive Olympics, President Clinton’s inaugural, and every major sporting event around the world from the Super Bowl to World Cup Soccer to the World Series.

Constantine Maroulis, who sky-rocketed to fame on American Idol, played the lead role in a three-year run in Broadway’s Rock of Ages and received a Best Actor Tony nomination and a Drama League nomination for his performance. Constantine made his Broadway debut in the Tony-Nominated production of The Wedding Singer. Constantine was a finalist on the fourth season of American Idol. He played the role of Roger Davis in the national tour of RENT. Constantine co-starred in the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway production of Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris. He was a series regular on the CBS daytime drama The Bold and The Beautiful, which featured original songs from his debut album “Constantine,” released on his own label, Sixth Place Records. Other television credits include Law & Order, The Tonight Show, America’s Got Talent, Dancing with the Stars, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Conan, Ellen, Regis & Kelly, MTV and many more. In 2011, he was presented with both The Gabby Award and The Elios Award, which recognizes the excellence Greek Americans have achieved in various fields. Constantine graduated from the Boston Conservatory and apprenticed at The Williamstown Theatre Festival. Twitter.com/ConstantineM

Deborah Cox A multi-platinum selling and a multi-talented entertainer, Cox has conquered the R&B and pop charts, including six top-20 Billboard R&B singles, an impressive eleven (11) #1 hits on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart and the lead role in Elton John and Tim Rice's Broadway musical, Aida. While singing with Celine Dion, Cox was discovered by the infamous Clive Davis and instantly signed to Arista records. Her platinum selling debut album Deborah Cox was released in 1995 and earned her an American Music Award nomination. In 1998 she followed up with the release of her second CD One Wish. From this, came the double platinum “Nobody’s Supposed To Be Here” which held the record for being the longest running #1 R&B Single for 14 consecutive weeks and earned her an NAACP Image Award nomination, a Soul Train Award and A Lady Of Soul Award. Her second single “We Can’t Be Friends” also went to #1 on Billboard's singles chart. Deborah has performed all over the world including The World Music Awards in 2010. She has sung with Andrea Bocelli, toured with David Foster and Friends, The Isley Brothers, Cyndi Lauper, Josh Groban and Sarah Mac Lachlan with Lilith Fair. She was also invited to perform for First Lady Michelle Obama and most recently asked to perform for President Obama. In 2000, Deborah collaborated with Whitney Houston to record the duet “Same Script Different Cast” for Houston’s Greatest Hits CD. Deborah’s third album, “The Morning After” was released in 2002 with “Up & Down (In & Out)” co-written with Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. In 2003, her fourth album “Remixed” was released featuring her Billboard chart- topping dance remixes. In 2012, Deborah garnered her 11th number one Billboard Dance single with “If It Wasn’t For Love”. In addition to roles in both film and television, Deborah released her fifth album, “Destination Moon”, the Grammy nominated tribute to the legendary Dinah Washington in 2007 (Universal). That same year she also received The Civil Rights Award from the New York Senate for her efforts in the fight for Human Rights and equality. In 2008, she formed Deco Recording Group and released her sixth studio album The Promise, where she earned another #1 spot on the Billboard Dance Chart with the international hit “Beautiful U R”. Behind the scenes, Deborah received two Genie Award nominations for songs she’d written in the film “Love Come Down” which she also starred in alongside Larenz Tate. She has recorded singles for several film soundtracks including Akeelah and the Bee, “Hotel Rwanda, Kingdom Come, Money Talks, A Good Man is Hard To Find and Tyler Perry’s “Meet the Browns.”

Tom Hewitt Broadway: Jesus Christ Superstar (2012 Broadway revival), Chicago, Dracula: The Musical, The Rocky Horror Show (Tony, Drama Desk nominations.), The Boys from Syracuse, The Lion King, School for Scandal, The Sisters Rosenzweig. National tours: Peter Pan, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Touring Broadway Award), Urinetown. Off-Broadway: Treasure Island, Jeffrey, Beau Jest (Outer Critics nomination). Recent Regional: Kiss Me, Kate (Reprise! LA), Titanic (Muny), Zhivago (La Jolla), Travesties (Long Wharf, CT Critics Award).

Shannon Magrane Singer/songwriter and recording artist Shannon Magrane was born in St. Louis, MO and raised in Tampa, FL. At age 15, she auditioned for Season 11 of Fox’s American Idol, making it through on her first attempt and finishing in 11th place. Shannon has performed at various venues such as NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 Nationwide Race 2012 and as an opening act for artists Sheryl Crow, Ziggy Marley, and 3 Doors Down. She has also appeared in several Ford commercials. At age 11, Shannon sang her first National Anthem and went on to sing for many professional athletic teams including the 2012 World Series Cardinals and Cubs home opener, the 2012 Rays/Yankees, and the playoff game in 2009 for the Tampa Bay Rays. She has also made several appearances singing her own songs and covers on Tampa’s Fox 13 news, and has appeared on the Anderson Cooper Show, Good Morning America, and USA Today. She is attending Blake Performing Arts High School where she has performed as the Sour Kangaroo in Seussical, a soloist in Godspell, and Maureen in Rent.

Corey Brunish has released 9 CD's. He has performed Billy Flynn (Chicago) on both coasts and has appeared with the Portland Opera and The Oregon Symphony. Locally, he has sung at the Copacabana. He wrote the revue "Write Myself A Letter" (select-shows.com) about Frank Sinatra and his greatest fan. One of his favorite regional roles was in Jekyll & Hyde.
He thinks Frank Wildhorn is a god.

Carly Robyn Green As a recording artist, concert performer, and songwriter, Carly Robyn Green has a career that spans the worlds of television, film, radio, concert halls, and theatres throughout the country. She has performed at venues including Madison Square Garden, the Staples Center, Citizens Bank Park, the Wachovia Center, the Canal Room, the Knitting Factory, and the Tropicana Hotel & Casino. Carly took the Grammy stage for the first time, backing up Gnarls Barkley at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards, and she has performed for MTV’s Rock the Vote and toured as the first spokesinger for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Campaign for pediatric cancer research. Carly’s original songwriting and recording collaborations with Oscar, Grammy, and Tony Award winning and nominated co-writers/producers have been featured in over 30 shows across 17 networks, ranging from NBC’s 30 Rock and Fashion Star to HBO’s Hung to E!’s Keeping Up with the Kardashians to Teen Nick’s Degrassi to Lifetime’s Dance Moms to MTV’s The Real World to Showtime’s The Real L Word. Her songs have been selected as theme songs for popular television shows on WeTV and Logo, as movie promo and special feature songs for feature films like 20th Century Fox’s What’s Your Number and Sony Pictures’ House Bunny, and as movie title tracks for American Girl and several upcoming romantic comedies. In addition to opening for Chris Brown, Buddy Guy, Shontelle, and Tom Papa, Carly has collaborated with a host of artists like Kenny Gamble, Bunny Sigler, Lil Zane, and members of Cinderella and The Hooters. A Philadelphia native and University of Pennsylvania alum now residing in Los Angeles, Carly is currently working on a forthcoming modern Adult-Contemporary album.

Frank Wildhorn (Composer) Multi-Grammy and Tony Award nominated composer/producer Frank Wildhorn's works span the worlds of popular, theatrical, and classical music. In 1999, Frank became the first American composer in 22 years to have three shows running simultaneously on Broadway: Jekyll & Hyde, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Civil War. Also for Broadway: Dracula and Victor/Victoria. Frank produced Harlem Song the famed Apollo Theatre. International: Cyrano, The Count of Monte Cristo, Carmen, Rudolf, Mitsuko, Never Say Goodbye, Camille Claudel, and Tears of Heaven. He currently has his own label deal (Soul Bear Records) with Sony Masterworks. International recording partnership, MWB (Music Without Borders), with MG-Sound/Vienna. Frank served as music director for the Goodwill Games in New York City (1998). He wrote the song “Gold”, the opening number for the 2002 Winter Olympics. Received the prestigious Charles Dickens Award from USC, where there is a scholarship under his name. Among the artists who have recorded and performed Frank’s works: Whitney Houston (#1 international hit “Where Do Broken Hearts Go?”), Natalie Cole, Kenny Rogers, Sammy Davis, Jr., Liza Minnelli, Julie Andrews, Hootie & the Blowfish, The Moody Blues, Johnny Mathis, Linda Eder, Freddie Jackson, Trisha Yearwood, Stacy Lattisaw, Molly Hatchet, Blues Traveler, Trace Adkins, Patti LaBelle, Jeffrey Osborne, BeBe Winans, Amy Grant, Anthony Warlow, to name a few. Associate artist at the Alley Theatre in Houston. Upcoming: Havana. Father to Justin Samuel and Jake Ryan.

Leslie Bricusse (Book and Lyrics) is an author-composer-lyricist who has contributed to many musical films and plays during his career earning him two Oscars and a Grammy Award. At Cambridge University, he co-authored, directed and performed in his first two musical shows, Out of the Blue and Lady at the Wheel, both of which made their way to London’s West End. While performing in An Evening with Beatrice Lillie at The Globe Theatre, he wrote his first musical, Boy On The Corner, and the screenplay and score of his first motion picture, Charley Moon, which won his first Ivor Novello Award. His subsequent stage musicals include Stop The World - I Want To Get Off; The Roar Of The Greasepaint - The Smell Of The Crowd; Pickwick; Harvey; The Good Old Bad Old Days; Goodbye, Mr. Chips; Henry’s Wives; Scrooge; Sherlock Holmes; Noah’s Ark; Sammy; Cyrano De Bergerac; Kennedy; Victor/Victoria and It’s a Dog’s Life! He has written songs and/or screenplays for such films as Doctor Dolittle; Scrooge; Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory; Goodbye, Mr. Chips; Superman; Victor/Victoria; Santa Claus – The Movie; Home Alone I & II; Hook; Tom & Jerry – The Movie; various Pink Panthers and The Great Music Chase. He has been nominated for ten Oscars, nine Grammys and four Tonys, and has won two Oscars, a Grammy and eight Ivor Novello Awards, the premiere British Music Award. Bricusse’s songs have been recorded by many major artists, including Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Judy Garland, Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, Sammy Davis, Jr. (who recorded 60 Bricusse songs), Tony Bennett, Tom Jones, Julie Andrews, Liza Minnelli, Andy Williams, Bobby Darin, Bette Midler, Nina Simone, Dionne Warwick, Johnny Mathis, Robert Goulet, Ray Charles, Ethel Merman, Placido Domingo, Jennifer Holliday, Robbie Williams, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Linda Eder, Diana Krall, Maroon 5, Michael Bublé, The Black-Eyed Peas, Muse, Jennifer Hudson and Queen Latifah. In 1989 he received the Kennedy Award for consistent excellence in British songwriting, bestowed by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors, and was inducted into the American Songwriters’ Hall of Fame - only the fourth Englishman to be so honoured – after Noel Coward, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. H.M. the Queen conferred on him The Order of the British Empire in 2001.

BROADWAY RECORDS is a new label dedicated to Broadway and Off Broadway-related recordings and is a division of the theatrical production and investment company, The Broadway Consortium. The Broadway Consortium (winner of Best Revival of a Musical Tony® Award in 2012) was co-founded by Van Dean and Kenny Howard. Broadway Records releases include the Original Broadway Cast Recordings of Bonnie & Clyde and Lysistrata Jones, Nick Jonas: Songs from How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying and Laura Osnes’ live album recorded at the Café Carlyle. The Broadway Consortium’s Broadway producing credits include Chinglish, Bonnie & Clyde, Gore Vidal’s The Best Man, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess and Evita (2012). West End: Master Class (2012). Together, Kenny and Van executive produced the Grammy® nominated 2011 Broadway Cast Recording of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying with Daniel Radcliffe and John Larroquette. The general counsel for Broadway Records and The Broadway Consortium is Barry Miller.

For more information on Broadway Records, visit www.BroadwayRecords.com