Creative Innovators with Gigi Johnson

Dec 13 2023 39 mins

I'm joined by the multitalented Mark Brymer, a creative entrepreneur with hands-on expertise in turning musical concepts into spectacular shows. Mark brings a wealth of experience — from arranging a vast collection (400,000) of choral pieces with Hal Leonard to producing dazzling shows in theme parks. We’ll get a deeper look at his journey from high school passion to creating WOW! Entertainment and its creative team. Alongside his success, Mark's story is one of adaptation, learning, and consistent building.

Guest: Mark Brymer, President, Wow! Entertainment

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 by seeing change as an opportunity for growth.

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. Mark’s groundbreaking Dr. H.H. Holmes' FREAKSHOW promises to raise the bar for theme park theatrical productions by 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.

A Creative Maestro: Mark Brymer Talks Show Production and Choral Arranging

Dec 13 2023 39 mins