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Russak is believed to hold the record for most J&H viewings: reportedly over 350 complete performances – more than many cast members, more even than Frank Wildhorn himself.
“They aren’t oddballs or weirdos,” insists Steve Cuden, who worked with Wildhorn on the nascent show through the 1980s and has stayed in touch over the years. “They’re just ordinary people who have a fascination with this music. The show would be nothing without the Jekkies.”
Jekkies aren’t the product of clever marketing. These grass-roots groupies actually pre-date Jekyll & Hyde’s 1997 debut on Broadway. They independently discovered Wildhorn’s concept albums, fell madly in love with the music, turned all their friends on to it and plugged into the Internet to feed their obsession.
“The really neat thing about the Internet mailing list was that the show was changing throughout the tour,” says Sharon Perlmutter, an original Jekkie and editor of the independent Wildhorn fan newsletter, The Wildhorn Side. “By keeping up with people who saw it in different cities, we could keep up with the evolution of the show. We would constantly discuss the changes in the show – what we liked, what we didn’t, what we would change. Some cast and creative team members were on the list, too, so we felt as though our comments – if not actually being accepted – were at least being heard.”
When the musical finally reached Broadway, Jekkies swooped from across the country to snap up tickets for the first preview weekend. It baffled New York critics to see a newly opened show packed with people who could mouth the lyrics and whistle the tunes.
Three years later, Jekkie spirit is alive and well in Internet chat groups, at conventions and “Net-togethers” – giant parties celebrating J&H landmarks, such as the recent 1000th show. Jekkies also serve as the musical’s self-appointed defenders. “With the critics ripping the show to shreds, it almost became our mission to stand up for it,” says Perlmutter, a Los Angeles attorney.
But the defining creed of Jekkie-dom remains attending many, many, many performances. “People have seen the show 100 times, 200 times, God bless ’em,” says Wildhorn.
Perlmutter stopped counting after her 12th. But there was much speculation when Jekyll-alternate Robert Evan was promoted from two matinees a week to six nights. Would the record-holding Russak – who, as president of the Rob Evan fan club, had attended every Broadway performance in which the actor appeared – let her streak slide? (She did.)
THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL'S followers are just as ferocious, says Wildhorn. They call themselves the League – after the musical’s secret society of dashing patriots who cast themselves “Into the Fire” to spirit away Madame Guillotine’s intended victims. Also heavily hooked into the Internet, the group numbers more than 600 active members, says list administrator Peter Williams. Leaguers go online to compare notes on different versions of the show or report on ad-libs heard at a given performance. They keep vigilant tabs on cast and creative team members, past and present. They chatter about Pimpernel celebrity appearances. And they discuss the source books (Wildhorn’s show is based on a series of novels written in the 1920s and ’30s by Baroness Orczy) and movie adaptations.
The Civil War, despite its brief Broadway run, has also begun to attract loyal followers.
Wild-eyed Wildhorn devotees, it seems, just can’t get enough. Despite their very different moods, the three shows enjoy strong cross-over appeal. Williams, a Pennsylvania-based programmer who moonlights as webmaster of Wildhorn’s publicity site (FrankWildhorn. com), has seen The Scarlet Pimpernel five times and plans to see it again “soon.” Between engagements, he has logged four viewings of Jekyll & Hyde and one of The Civil War.
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