Jekyll and Hyde, The Musical

Reviewed by Holly Bartges

Fueled by passion for his father’s suffering from a mental illness, the brilliant young Dr. Henry Jekyll is consumed with determination.

New York actor, Todd Alan Johnson consumed with a passion of his own gives that young doctor life, soul, and heart at the Arvada Center’s production of Jekyll And Hyde, The Musical. No fluffy, campy musical this one. It goes straight to the heart of Robert Lewis Stevenson’s 1886 novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. That daunted passion cannot die for lack of support, even how deep it must be buried. It must seek its own life one way or another.

Tied in knots over frenzy to expand his experiments to separate good and evil, Dr. Jekyll faces the dyed in the wool conservative Hospital Board defining no to his request. One option remains. Experiment on himself. Experiments are just that experiments, and there are no guarantees.

The results of the classic story repeats itself time and time again planting the Jekyll and Hyde story into the realm of universal human truth.

Jekyll doesn’t find what he’s looking for. He finds instead no matter how good mankind tries to be, the capacity for resentment, anger, fear, horror, destruction lies deep within the human psyche. It can be capped. It can be managed. It can even be understood, but gone without recognition it will explode with vengeance.

As a joke, as camp, it is all too easy to separate this story from reality. Johnson doesn’t see it that way, and awesomely tells it like it is.

I have been stunned, awed, overwhelmed, thrilled, perplexed, bored, intrigued with a skillion different productions, but none have affected me like this production. Kathy Koehn, Executive Producer, warned me I wouldn’t be able to sleep. So right she was. Every molecule of my being zoomed to warp speed. When asleep, if I’d been astral traveling, I would have been stopped for a speeding ticket.

The quality of the music under the direction of Susan Draws was more than enough to please the senses. The rich quality of the voices added another dimension.

Add the striking ingenious set designed by David Schindler, the lighting designed by Gail J. Gober. The tight, purposeful direction by Jamibeth Margolis, The costumes designed by Nicole M. Hoof, and the powerful story permeates every inch of the theatre.

The chemistry in the cast connects everyone with everyone else.

Kate Fisher’s portrayal of Emma Carew, Jekyll’s fiancée, rings tragically magical. Unselfish in her devotion, she understands him and loves him still. Prostitute, Lucy Harris, battered, bruised and hurting desperately seeks Dr. Jekyll’s help because heĠs the only adult who offered. Kate Fisher delivers empathy for society’s outcast in polite society.

The highly talented and polished cast gives a knockout performance that takes the breath away. The music and lyrics add depth to the unraveling episodes. Johnson’s transformation on stage from Jekyll to Hyde is frighteningly concocted. Johnson admits the song “Transformation” is a personal favorite. His voice range to accomplish the transformation in split second timing leaves one feeling they’ve been kicked in the stomach. There are no artificial trappings to aid Johnson in the voice alteration. It is all Johnson.

Jekyll and Hyde is not just another musical, is not just another play to go to for a fun night out. It is an experience. It challenges the mind to think beyond the box. What would have happened if Jekyll had been allowed to conduct his experiments with support? How many experiments have gone awry because the Powers That BE could not think beyond their own constructed box? This production of Jekyll and Hyde entices one to think seriously what it means to be a human being, the capacities that lie deep within. Frightening as it may be, it opens interesting possibilities to events that happen every day of our lives that surprise us, perplex us, and puzzle us. That is, if weĠre willing to think outside our society’s box.

Robert Lewis Stevenson started it. The Arvada Center nurtures it. This is not a production to miss. Call early for reservations. Jekyll and Hyde, the Musical will be a sell-out.