Sheik & Jarrow Take 'Whisper House' to San Francisco Symphony, 4/7 - 4/10

Grammy and Tony award-winning songwriter and composer of Spring Awakening Fame Duncan Sheik returns with his new album WHISPER HOUSE, from Sony Music. WHISPER HOUSE marks Sheik's first solo album since 2006's critically-acclaimed White Limousine and comes on the heels of the success of Spring Awakening. WHISPER HOUSE, which will have its world premiere at the Old Globe Theatre in January 2010, is a collaboration with up-and-coming young playwright Kyle Jarrow, already an Obie winner for A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant.

In a special performance, Sheik will bring the music of Whisper House to the San Francisco Symphony from April 7 - April 10, 2010 following the production at The Old Globe.  Pre and post concert discussions will accompany the each of the performances, with a special Q & A with the writers following the April 8 show.

It's 1942 - at the height of World War II- and Christopher, an imaginative young boy, is sent to live with an aunt he's never met: Lilly, a reclusive woman who serves as the keeper of a remote lighthouse. Not yet comfortable in his surroundings, Christopher begins to hear strange music no one else can hear seeping through the walls. It doesn't take long for him to suspect the lighthouse may be haunted, and these ghosts tell him that Yasujiro, a Japanese worker that Lilly has employed, should not be trusted. Is Christopher's imagination getting the best of him? Or are these ghosts warning Christopher about the very real dangers that lie ahead? Whisper House is a touching and beautiful story about how we should embrace, rather than fear, the unknown.

For more information and to purchase tickets to the San Francisco Symphony event, visit www.sfsymphony.org.

For more information on Whisper House visit: www.duncansheik.com/whisperhouse.

Sheik began his professional career playing for other acts, including Liz and Lisa (with Lisa Loeb and Elizabeth Mitchell), and played on His Boy Elroy's 1993 album. Through connections from fellow Brown alum Tracee Ellis Ross, Sheik's music and good looks gained the attention of executives at Atlantic Records. Sheik's 1996 eponymous debut album for Atlantic was certified Gold and spawned the #16 hit single "Barely Breathing" in the United States, which remained on the Billboard Hot 100 for a record-setting 55 straight weeks. It also enjoyed lengthy stays on Billboard's Adult Contemporary and Adult Top 40 charts where it reached #2. In early 1998, Duncan was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Barely Breathing" but lost to Elton John's "Candle In The Wind." Years later, he expanded his work to include compositions for motion pictures and the Broadway stage. Working continually with Steven Sater, Sheik wrote the music for the Tony award winning musical Spring Awakening over a period of eight years. The musical, which premiered off-Broadway in New York in May 2006, opened on Broadway in December 2006. Sheik won two Tonys for his work on the musical -for Best Orchestration and Best Original Score (Music)-and the show won the Tony for Best Musical. The original cast recording album, released in December 2006, received the Grammy Award in 2008 for Best Musical Show Album. 

Kyle Jarrow is a writer and musician based in New York City. He writes for the stage as well as film and television, and he plays in the bands The Fabulous Entourage and Super Mirage. He won the prestigious OBIE Award at age 24 for his Off-Broadway hit A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant, which has subsequently been produced all over the country. Kyle's play Armless won the Overall Excellence Award at the New York International Fringe Festival. Other plays include Love Kills, Trigger, President Harding is a Rock Star, Rip Me Open (co-writer), Hostage Song (music & lyrics), Gorilla Man (script available from Samuel French), and the upcoming Big Money (with Nathan Leigh) and Whisper House (with Tony-winner Duncan Sheik, record now available from RCA/Victor).

Follow Kyle Jarrow's Whisper House blog exclusively on BroadwayWorld.com here.

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