Throughout its seven-year trip to Broadway, Jekyll & Hyde has become the musical critics love to hate. They bash the Frank Wildhorn-Leslie Bricusse show for its rudimentary lyrics, pop-music sensationalism and episodic structure. Valid as the gripes may be, these complainers end up focusing on a few gawky trees and missing the dark, inviting forest. There really is no need for a new version of Robert Louis Stevenson's story of good battling evil -- except to give an actor a juicy role and an audience a thrilling ride. Bricusse's libretto stops making sense in act two (why does Jekyll's friend, upon learning the horrifying truth, leave the psycho alone to go out and kill again?) but pushes the plot forward with gusto and little fuss. Thus, Jekyll & Hyde has musical drama and drama in its music.
Hyde's pop-with-a-shmear tunes aren't my beaker of tea, but songs and story are told with absolute passion and conviction. From first minute to last, every character on the stage is fiercely alive, making it impossible to sit back with ho-hum eyes. If Bricusse's craft hasn't improved much after his mediocre work on Victor/Victoria, at least here the material has the force of its convictions.
Previews:
March 18, 1997
Opened:
April 28, 1997
Ended:
January 7, 2001
Country:
USA
State:
New York
City:
New York
Company/Producers:
PACE & FOX w/ Jerry Frankel, Magicworks & Landmark Entertainment.
Theater Type:
Broadway
Theater:
Plymouth Theater
Theater Address:
236 West 45th Street
Phone:
(212) 239-6200
Running Time:
2 hrs, 30 min
Genre:
Musical
Director:
Robin Phillips
Review:
Parental:
adult themes, mild violence
Cast:
Robert Evan (Jekyll & Hyde), Luba Mason (Lucy), George Merritt (John), Barrie Ingham (Carew), Donald Grody, David Koch, Michael Ingram, Geoffrey Blaisdell, Emily Scott Skinner, etc.
Technical:
Choreography: Joey Pizzi; Set: Robin Phillips w/ James Noone; Costumes: Ann Curtis; Lighting: Beverly Emmons; Props/Dressing: Christina Poddubiuk; Sound: Karl Richardson/Scott Stauffer; Orchestr: Kim Scharnberg; Music Sup: Jeremy Roberts; Music Dir: Jason Howland; Vocal Arr: Howland & Ron Melrose; Music Coord: John Miller; Special Effects: Gregory Meeh; Wigs: Paul Huntley; Fight Coord: J. Allen Suddeth; Casting: Julie Hughes & Barry Moss; PR: Richard Kornberg.
Awards:
1997 Drama Desk: Actor (Cuccioli); Set (Phillips, Noone/Poddubiuk). 1997 OCC: Actor (Cuccioli). 1997 Theater World: Debut (Eder)
Other Critics:
AISLE SAY David Spencer - / DAILY NEWS Howard Kissel + / NEW YORK John Simon - / NEW YORKER Nancy Franklin ? / NY POST Clive Barnes -
Miscellaneous:
Concept CD released (2 CDs) on Atlantic, 1994. Cast recording released on Atlantic, 1997.
Critic:
David Lefkowitz
Date Reviewed:
May 1997
