Working in New York City, Los Angeles, and Dallas, turnkey producer Mark Brymer has carved out a singular profile as the man who can arrange almost anything in entertainment. In his successful, decades-long career, the music producer, theatrical producer, author, arranger, orchestrator, and composer has stayed relevant and kept busy in the ever-shifting entertainment industry through seeing change as an opportunity for growth.
“When new opportunities come up, I always think, ‘oh, I can do that,’ and I figure out how to make it happen. My brain is wired from my background in music arranging to create something out of nothing. Plus, I like to keep them guessing—you never know what I am going to do next,” Mark says laughing.
Most recently, when Six Flags Entertainment Corporation became interested in the explosion of immersive/in-person experiences, they called Mark. Now, he’s premiering bringing the captivating Halloween experience, Dr. H.H. Holmes’ FREAKSHOW at the Six Flags Over Texas theme park. Holmes’s sensationalized story has been underrepresented in pop culture, but it has the same kind of dark and mythical allure as Jack the Ripper, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Frankenstein. Mark’s groundbreaking Dr. H.H. Holmes’ FREAKSHOW promises to raise the bar for theme park theatrical productions through employing Broadway talent in the production.
Over the years, Mark has parlayed his gifts as a musical arranger and composer into a vastly varied career in the entertainment industry. He is a global trailblazer in both the children’s music education and entertainment industries with such clients as McGraw-Hill, Disney, Warner Bros., Hal Leonard, Music Theater International, and Rhino Records. Mark co-wrote and produced the title song, “Digga Digga Dog,” for Disney Film Studios’ 102 Dalmatians, starring Glen Close. He’s written and produced over 150 live production musical shows for Six Flags theme parks. In addition, he’s written, produced, and mixed scores for the dinner/arena attractions Pirate’s Voyage and Dolly Parton’s Stampede. Since 1995, Mark has headed up the full-service music and live theatrical show production company, WOW! Entertainment, Inc.
The through line in Mark’s diversely-accomplished career is his passion for family-oriented entertainment. It’s a path he stumbled upon after discovering as a college piano major that he loved arranging, and he embraced the full-spectrum of arranging and performing opportunities that came his way. Eventually, Mark landed a gig playing piano at theme parks, and this led to a myriad of opportunities in the theme park theatrical space. To steady his income while working in the mercurial world of theme park productions, Mark made inroads in the choral market. He became an exclusive staff choral arranger for Hal Leonard in 1983.
At just 22, Mark wrote and arranged his first theme park show, kicking off a decades-long relationship with Six Flags. When ownership of the park changed hands and hired only independent producers, Mark started WOW! Entertainment. Up until then, Mark had never produced an entire production, but he relished the challenge to be a one-stop shop. With knowhow from having worked in a bevy of roles in production, sharp entrepreneurial savvy, and his wide-ranging network of contacts, Mark quickly established WOW! Entertainment as a premiere full-service music and live theatrical show production company.
This Halloween Mark, WOW!, and Six Flags will be dazzling Texas audiences with Dr. H.H. Holmes’ FREAKSHOW, a production that relies just as much on the visual wow factor as it does on an engrossing and well-crafted narrative. “The challenge with theme park theatrical productions is that there is always a rollercoaster right outside the door. In terms of thrills, a theme park theatrical production has to compete with a rollercoaster,” Mark says.
One way Mark stays rollercoaster competitive is through hiring Broadway talent for his productions to significantly notch up the entertainment factor. In the wake of the COVID, many top-tier Broadway designers, choreographers, and technicians have fled New York City due to the dearth of opportunities and the high cost of living in the City. “I’m not afraid to go after Broadway technicians whose work I admire. I research playbills and YouTube videos, and reach out directly online to potential candidates, ” Mark shares. This new influx of work for Broadway talent has injected new revenue streams and fresh opportunities for a brilliant but vulnerable community of creatives.
Reflecting back on decades of writing, producing, arranging, orchestrating, and evolving, Mark remains as excited as ever about his career. “There will always be something magical about bringing an idea to full production, and then seeing the people involved, the talent and the audience, having a great time at the show,” Mark says. “Their joy brings me joy.”
