Happy Birthday Linda

Linda Eder was born at  February 3, 1961. American singer and actress. She made her Broadway debut in the musical Jekyll & Hyde, for which she received 1997 Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations, as well as the Theater World Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Eder has performed in concert halls across the country including 4 Carnegie Hall Concerts, Radio City Music Hall with the Boston Pops, released 15 solo albums and made her Broadway debut originating the role of Lucy Harris in the Musical Jekyll & Hyde.


Broadway

Linda's major theatrical career began in 1987, when she auditioned in Florida in front of musical theater composer Frank Wildhorn for the leading role of Lucy in Jekyll & Hyde. Very impressed with her vocal skills, she was immediately cast, although no production was planned at that time.

Jekyll & Hyde

In 1990, the Alley Theatre in Houston agreed to host the world premiere of Jekyll & Hyde, the first musical ever performed there. The show was extended several times, and Eder received raves for her performance. Following this triumph, Wildhorn debuted the musical Svengali, starring his two leading performers from Jekyll: Linda and Chuck Wagner. The musical also eventually played at the Asolo Theatre in Sarasota Florida in 1991. She then performed with several workshops for The Scarlet Pimpernel, as the leading lady Marguerite St. Just, as well as appearing on the concept recording.
In 1995, after several workshops with Jekyll & Hyde, she was once again Lucy; Robert Cuccioli and Christiane Noll starred opposite her. The show remounted at the Theatre Under the Stars in Houston, before moving to Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre. Following these two successful runs, Eder's headlining stint as Lucy traveled across the nation from Fall 1995 until Spring 1996, with a hopeful Broadway mounting in Spring 1996. However, the show was delayed.
Finally beginning previews the following March 1997, new creative team members joined . Along with the transfer came the dismissal of Lucy's first big number, "Bring on the Men". Although several rumors have circulated as to why it was cut, Eder has said that it was Director/Choreographer/Scenic Designer Robin Phillips who cut the song, which was not only one of her favorite songs, but a fan favorite as well. She has however given some praise to him, mostly due to the acting coaching he gave to her.
In 1997, she was nominated for the Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award, as well as the Theatre World Award for her debut performance. Critics such as Regis Philbin and Rosie O'Donnell considered Eder robbed of a Tony Award nomination, both of which had featured her (and Frank Wildhorn and his other musicals) on their respective shows several times. Eder was married to Wildhorn whilst performing on Broadway, and officially left on August 30, 1998. Luba Mason replaced her. Eder left Jekyll to start a family but agreed to be cast in the limited run of the world premiere of Wildhorn's musical tapestry, The Civil War for its Houston premiere.
Eder performed for several workshops and demo recordings for Wildhorn. Most importantly, she did several tracks for his Wonderland: Alice's New Musical Adventure (previously called "Alice"), which had its world premiere ten years after the first single ("Anything Can Happen") was released, Havana (for which she has released the title song and several others), Bonnie & Clyde: A New Musical (which was to recently star Brandi Burkhardt, but now Laura Osnes, having its world premiere in 2009), Dracula, the Musical as Mina, Cyrano de Bergerac ~ The Musical as Roxanne (opposite Douglas Sills in the title role), and finally Camille Claudel, which was written for specifically her, and she was able to perform at 2 runs.

Linda's next musical outing was in Camille Claudel in 2003. She performed the role at the Goodspeed Opera House. Although the show, presented in an entire chamber-style form, received mixed reviews, Linda gained much attention again. In 2004, it was performed at the New York Musical Theatre Festival. However, the show has yet to be produced on a major scale, although several European productions were planned and an eventual Japanese premiere in 2011.


The Other Side of Me

Released on September 30, 2008, her CD The Other Side of Me has a pop/country feel. This is a departure from the style she is known for which is standards and ballads. Her official website has a posting where Eder says "It took a year and a half to make my new CD, the other side of me, but in reality, it has been a lifetime in the making."
She goes on to say:
As a kid I was a talented but undisciplined piano student. So in one of our early changes of address, the upright piano was left behind. As a young teenager I bought myself a cheap acoustic guitar so I would have a way to accompany my inner poet. What I wrote in those early years and the voice that I used to sing was the truest expression of who I really am. There were no outside influences to color or shape the vowels or direct the emotions. There was no record of past performances to measure up to, just my own words, my own history, and my own voice.

I have finally been given the chance to strip away the costume and sing without the voice of others in my head. I've traveled a long road to find my way back home and I have found it. The Other Side of Me is my voice.


Stolen from wikipedia