Jekyll & Hyde Benefit Concert to Feature Cut Material, Panel Discussion on June 15

The June 15th benefit concert staging of Jekyll & Hyde at New York Society for Ethical Culture will feature two songs not heard in the show's initial Broadway bow. Bring on the Men, which was replaced by Good and Evil for the show's 1500+ performance run at the Plymouth Theater, was re-inserted into the show following the original Broadway production. Girls of the Night, which was cut out of town, is being included by special permission from the authors.

Concertgoers will also have the opportunity to attend a free pre-show panel discussion on the themes of Jekyll & Hyde. Experts in the fields of ethics, theatre education, and medicine will discuss issues such as the duality of human nature and the cost of pursuing scientific discovery in the name of the greater good while disregarding the consequences. These issues are as pertinent today as when The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was written in 1886, and help us understand why the piece itself has been adapted so often over the last century.  

Directed by Ilana Becker (reasons to be pretty), Robert Petkoff (Happiness, Fiddler on the Roof) leads the cast as Jekyll and Hyde, with Brooke Sunny Moriber (Parade, The Wild Party, The Threepenny Opera) as Emma Carew, and Jennifer Hallie Rosen in her NYC debut as Lucy Harris. Additional casting includes Richard Binder as Gabriel John Utterson, Timothy Jerome as Sir Danvers Carew, Marci Reid as Nellie, Tony Wolf as Sir Simon Stride, and Brandon Ruckdashel as Spider. The Ensemble will feature Jane Caplow, Stephanie Carnright, Huling Foster, James Kidd, Jason Maniscalco, Jessica Olsen, Cesar Rospigliosi, Sal Sabella, Doug Shapiro, Stacy Lee Tilton, and Kathryn Wieckhorst. Joining the cast on stage will be a 14-piece orchestra.

Jekyll & Hyde will be presented by SAW Theatricals Inc./Sarah Melissa Rotker in association with Deborah Blumenthal and Philip Pallitto. Tickets range from $15.00 - $20.00, and VIP packages for the post-show dessert and wine reception range from $50.00 - $75.00. Performance tickets and VIP packages are available at www.ethicaljekyll.com, or by phone at 212-352-3101. All proceeds benefit the New York Society for Ethical Culture.

NEW YORK SOCIETY FOR ETHICAL CULTURE is the cornerstone of a humanist and ethical movement that was founded in 1876 to advance social justice for all. Ethical Culture emphasizes principles of behavior based on expressing one's conscience through moral and humane actions. The organization has been part of the fabric of life in New York City for over a century and its impact can be felt nationwide. NYSEC founded or helped establish organizations including the Legal Aid Society; the NAACP; the ACLU; the Visiting Nurse Service; the Ethical Culture Fieldston Schools; the first U.S. Settlement House; and the Encampment for Citizenship. The Society is housed in a landmark building on Central Park West that will celebrate its 100th Anniversary in 2010. The building is home to hundreds of community programs a year including panel discussions, concerts, theatrical events, and writing, music and art programs. NYSEC's Social Service Board runs a women's shelter on-site; operates a supervised visitation program for children and families; and sponsors homeless artists and writers workshop exhibitions. For more information, visit www.nysec.org.

JEKYLL & HYDE is Frank Wildhorn and Leslie Bricusse's Tony-nominated Broadway musical. The original Broadway production starred Linda Eder, Robert Cucciolli and Christiane Noll and is the longest running show in the history of the Plymouth Theater. Jekyll & Hyde has had three major tours, hundreds of regional productions in the United States and Canada, and over 35 international productions in countries like Germany, Austria, Spain, Hungary, Japan, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, the United Kingdom, and Australia. It is the first new American musical to have two internationally released concept recordings of the score: Highlights from Jekyll & Hyde and Jekyll & Hyde: The Complete Work. The Broadway cast recording of Jekyll & Hyde received a 1997 Grammy nomination. Songs from the show have been performed worldwide and have been featured at the Olympics, the Super Bowl, the World Series, the WNBA Championship, Miss America Pageants, the 1996 Democratic National Convention, and the Inauguration of President Clinton (sung by Jennifer Holliday). There have now been ten international recordings of Jekyll & Hyde in six different languages.