''Svengali'' is a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

with a book and lyrics by Gregory Boyd and music by

Frank Wildhorn Frank Wildhorn (born November 29, 1958) is an American composer of both musicals and popular songs. His musical ''Jekyll & Hyde (musical), Jekyll & Hyde'' ran for four years on Broadway. He also wrote the hit song "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" for ...

. It is based on the 1894 novel ''

Trilby A trilby is a narrow-brimmed type of hat. The trilby was once viewed as the rich man's favored hat; it is sometimes called the "brown trilby" in UK, BritainBernhard Roetzel, Roetzel, Bernhard (1999). ''Gentleman's Guide to Grooming and Style''. B ...

'' by

George du Maurier George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier (6 March 1834 – 8 October 1896) was a Franco-British cartoonist and writer known for work in ''Punch (magazine), Punch'' and a Gothic fiction, Gothic novel ''Trilby (novel), Trilby'', featuring the char ...

. The

title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...

in this Gothic tale is a vocal coach who uses

hypnotism Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychological ...

to transform the

tone-deaf ''Tone-Deaf'' is a 2019 American comedy horror film written and directed by Richard Bates Jr. and starring Robert Patrick and Amanda Crew with Ronnie Gene Blevins, Hayley Marie Norman, Johnny Pemberton, Kim Delaney and Ray Wise. Patrick also ...

Trilby into an acclaimed singer and steals her away from Little Billie, a

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

for whom she has posed. At first the girl can remember nothing about her past, but as her memory slowly returns, she attempts to break free from her possessive

mentor Mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the perso ...

. The musical has been staged twice, both times with

Chuck Wagner Chuck Wagner (born June 20, 1958) is an American actor, director, musical theater historian and teacher. He has had an extensive career in theater, but is perhaps best known for co-starring in the short-lived science fiction TV series '' Automan' ...

as Svengali and

Linda Eder Linda Eder (; born February 3, 1961) is an American singer and actress. She originated the role of Lucy Harris in the Broadway musical '' Jekyll & Hyde'', for which she was nominated for the Drama Desk Award. Biography Eder was born in Tucso ...

(Wildhorn's then future, now ex-wife) as Trilby. It premiered at the Alley Theatre in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, in April 1991 and won the Alton Jones Foundation Award for New American Musicals. It was then produced at the

Asolo Repertory Theatre The Asolo Repertory Theatre or Asolo Rep (AKA: Asolo Theatre Company, Inc.) is a professional theater in Sarasota, Florida. It is the largest Equity theatre in Florida, and the largest Repertory theatre in the Southeastern United States. Asolo ...

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers, Florida, Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, Florida, Punta Gord ...

, in October 1991 through November 2, 1991. The director was Gregory Boyd. The scenic design by Jerome Sirlin used a bank of slide projectors, creating "enigmatic images against the backdrop of the stage: the pensive face of a young woman, gargoyles, a cafe scene, brilliant color fields of red, blue, green and gold." The costumes were by Jane Suttell and lighting by

Howell Binkley Howell Bagby Binkley (July 25, 1956 – August 14, 2020) was an American lighting designer in modern dance and musical theatre. He received the Tony Award for Best Lighting Design in a Musical for ''Jersey Boys'' in 2006, and again in 2016 for ' ...

. The cast featured Philip Hoffman, Molly Scott as Zou Zou. Of it Wildhorn has said, "It was great working on it and I hope it will have its day." Although a complete

cast album A cast recording is a recording of a stage musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording or OCR, as the name implies, features the voices of the sho ...

has not been released, several of the show's songs have been recorded. Danny de Munk and Vera Mann dueted on "So Slowly" for his CD ''Danny'', and Eder included "If He Never Said Hello" and "Vole Mon Ange" on her 2003 release ''Storybook''. Eder recorded two more songs from the show, "Slowly" and "I Will Never Be the One", for her album ''Retro: Volume Two'' (2020).

References

External links

''Svengali'' at FrankWildhorn.com
{{Trilby (novel) 1991 musicals Musicals based on novels Musicals by Frank Wildhorn Works based on Trilby (novel)