Review: Weathervane's JEKYLL & HYDE Bloody, Brilliant

"I learned to recognize the thorough and primitive duality of man; I saw that, of the two natures that contended in the field of my consciousness, even if I could rightly be said to be either, it was only because I was radically both."

THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE

Robert Louis Stevenson

Stevenson probably would have appreciated the brilliant treatment of the duality of man in Weathervane Playhouse's production of JEKYLL & HYDE: THE MUSICAL. At times it seems like each actor on the stage was playing not one character but two or at least their characters were manifesting some eccentric behaviors beneath their surface facade.

The season-opening musical opened on June 2 and runs through June 11 at the Weathervane Playhouse (100 Price Road in Newark).

JEKYLL & HYDE was inspired by the true story of notorious Scottish criminal William Deacon Brodie. By day, Brodie was one of the most talented cabinet makers in all of 18th Century Edinburgh. By night, Brodie was one of the city's most notorious criminals, using the keys he made during the day to break into the homes of the Scotland's high society.

Stevenson became most obsessed with the story after his parents purchased one of Brodie's cabinets and turned it into one of the literature's classic stories.

After watching the Weathervane's production of JEKYLL & HYDE, it's easy to see why audiences are so addicted to the storyline. Masterfully directed and hauntingly choreographed by Adam Karsten, the two-act, at-times gory, production grabs the audience's attention early on and refuses to let it go.

Connor Allston offers an inspired turn as Dr. Henry Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. After watching his father succumb to mental illness, Jekyll attempts to come up with a way to separate the good side of man from its evil side. Upon being spurned by the local hospital's board of directors, Jekyll decides to use himself as a human guinea pig and transforms into the pure evil Mr. Hyde. Jekyll then finds himself battling for control with his darker side.

Known for their elaborate staging in past productions, Weathervane strips its set down to a few folding chairs and tables and an intricate drawing of Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man over a wooden cover in the center of the stage. In other productions of JEKYLL & HYDE, Jekyll injects himself to transform into Hyde. In Weathervane's production, Allston removes the wooden planks of the Vitruvian, steps into a "baptismal font" of water, and emerges as a new character.

In addition to getting grisly revenge on the hospital's board of directors, Hyde wreaks havoc with Jekyll's social life. He creates a bizarre love parallelogram among Jekyll's patient fiancée Emma Carew (Natalie Szczerba), prostitute Lucy Harris (Myha'La Herrold) and Jekyll/Hyde. With a beautiful voice and solid acting skills, Herrold is a powerhouse who is bound for big things. "In His Eyes" is one of the most moving points of the show with Szczerba and Herrold singing a duet about their love for Jekyll from separate parts of the stage.

As is usually the case with Weathervane productions, the show has an excellent supporting cast. Weathervane veteran Layne Roate, who has had several delightful turns as quirky characters in the past, nails his understated role as Jekyll's concerned friend Gabriel Utterson while Jared Smith shows off his versatility with his dual role as constantly on-edge Lord Savage and brash pimp Spider.

Kevin Berry, Seth Chin-Parker, Chantelle Guide, Barbe Helwig, Todd Lemmon, Ricardo Locci, Christopher Marth, Ben Northup, Shauna Davis, Kaelin Curran, Kathryn Lee and Alexa Joy Rybinski also add spark to the show's evocative choreography and vocal performances.

Another theme of the show seems to be control. During some of the dancing numbers, the performers are like marionettes with one dancer pulling the strings to control the movements of the other. In one of the clever dance sequences, Karsten had one of the "johns" have dominion over the prostitute to a point and then the hooker then gains control of the client.

Like Jekyll's transformation into Hyde, the run of this great show is pretty short. Make sure you catch before the Weathervane Playhouse transforms into something else.

JEKYLL & HYDE will be performed at 8 p.m. June 7-11 at the Weathervane Playhouse (100 Price Road in Newark). Call 740-366-4616 for ticket information.

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