It's been a hard-rock life for Sebastian Bach, lead singer of the band Skid Row, but now he's going to be a few blocks from civilized Restaurant Row, singing the title roles in Broadway's Jekyll & Hyde, beginning June 13.
Bach, with his own long blond locks perfect for the hair-specific role, is making his Broadway debut in the gruesome tuner by composer Frank Wildhorn and librettist Leslie Bricusse. The hard-rocking Skid Row had hit albums in the 1990s ("18 and Life," "I Remember You," "Youth Gone Wild"), and Bach has since teamed with other performers. His website is at www.sebastianbach.com.
Jack Wagner, the soap actor and rocker who joined the Broadway cast of Jekyll & Hyde Jan. 25, washed his hands of any blood June 11, his final performance in the musical. (For the record, he was fitted with a wig for the role.)
Bach's civil Dr. Jekyll and vicious Mr. Hyde will sing with, woo and/or slash Andrea Rivette as sweet Emma Carew and Coleen Sexton as saucy prostitute Lucy.
* A high-profile TV and print campaign surrounded Wagner's casting earlier this year. The actor is known for TV's "Melrose Place" and "General Hospital" and concerts and recordings (including the hit single, "All I Need").
The company at the Plymouth Theatre includes George Merritt as Mr. Utterson, Barrie Ingham as Sir Danvers, Joe Mahowald (who plays the title roles at Wednesday and Saturday matinees), Martin Van Treuren, Rebecca Spencer, Whitney Allen, Rebecca Baxter, Juan Betancur, David Chaney, John Treacy Egan, Robert Jensen, Peter Johl, Douglas Ladnier, Stuart Amrland, Frank Mastrone, Corinne Melancon, Brad Oscar, Joel Robertson, John Schiappa, Bonnie Schon, Kate Shindle, Christy Tarr, Russell B. Warfield and Carmen Yurich.
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At the Plymouth, Robert Evan (the hair was his own) succeeded Tony Award nominee Robert Cuccioli (also using his own mane) in the title roles of the musical thriller by lyricist librettist Bricusse and composer Wildhorn.
The musical opened on Broadway April 28, 1997, after years of regional development, tours and record releases. Business for the dark show, drawn from the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, has been bolstered by a legion of fans who have been called "Jekkies." The show exceeded 1,000 performances in September 1999.
A revised national tour went on the road, a German staging is a hit, and a London version is in the works.
Lauded classics director Robin Phillips (an alum of Canada's Stratford Festival) has director credit for Broadway's Jekyll & Hyde.
The show was conceived for the stage by Steve Cuden and Wildhorn and developed by Alley Theatre in Houston, where Gregory Boyd directed, and 5th Avenue Musical Theatre and Theatre Under the Stars.
For ticket information, call (212) 239-6200.
