Review: JEKYLL & HYDE at KC Ballet

(Kansas City Ballet Dancers Cameron Thomas, Gavin Abercrombie and Angelin Carrant in Val Caniparoli’s Jekyll & Hyde. Photo by Brett Pruitt & East Market Studios)

It is no understatement that the KC Ballet has kicked off its 2023-24 season with a bang—or rather, a scream. Friday night they presented the North America debut of a new production of Jekyll & Hyde which premiered with the Finnish National Opera and Ballet back in 2020. This new interpretation takes a different approach to the story, making it a fever dream in the mind of the author Robert Louis Stevenson as he lies dying. For fans of the gothic and the macabre, it is an instant hit, with potential to become an evergreen Halloween staple.

Stevenson (Angelin Carrant – as always, names listed are from the debut company), writhing with agony in his deathbed, is given a shot of opium to deaden the pain. In his drug-induced haze, he sees Dr. Henry Jekyll (Gavin Abercrombie), the very quintessence of a proper English gentleman and humanitarian, as he tries to cure his charges at the mental asylum where he works. After a demonstration goes awry, he determines the only way forward is to test on himself. At first, it seems as if nothing ha s happened, and he heads off with his friends to an evening at Sir Carew’s (Christopher Ruud). While there, Carew’s daughter Nellie (Emily Mistretta), to whom Jekyll is engaged, presents him with a beautiful new walking stick. Eventually, the men troop down to a seedy dive filled with strong drink, loud music, and prostitutes male and female (incidentally, this reviewer believes this to be the first time she has seen LGBTQ representation on the KC Ballet stage). Jekyll is struck by the “new girl” Rowena (Amanda DeVenuta, looking rather like the girl in Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergère), but as he dances with her, Hyde begins to assert himself. Jekyll flees, Rowena following him stealthily to the red door of his house where inside, Hyde (Cameron Thomas) finally emerges.

The second act consists mainly of Hyde letting loose, giving free reign to his basest desires. For a while, Jekyll regains control, but by then it is too late. As the rampage continues, first one and then another of his friends falls to the treacherous Hyde. He hires Rowena for the night and, once he has her in his home, proceeds to strangle her. Eventually, Jekyll and Hyde begin to fight, vying for control of their shared body. But it is too late for Jekyll: he is subsumed, and Hyde takes over for good.

As readers of the original text will note, this is substantially different from the book, even leaving aside the inclusion of Stevenson himself. But the changes are not unwelcome: the revised story is most suited for interpretation by dance. Overall the production has a deliciously Gothic turn about it: the mood of Sevenson’s original, the fog-bound London streets where respectable figures slink off to indulge their vices is truly brought to life. The scenes in the pub contrast and oddly parallel those in the staid upper-class drawing room of Sir Carew. Possibly the most intriguing, however, are those moments in the mental asylum where Jekyll works. They are appropriately nightmarish, and the choreography of the patients is a highlight (I might say that Val Caniparoli’s choreography is strong throughout, aptly portraying madness and sensuality together). There were strong performances all around, and the music and sound design were particularly effective (they reminded this reviewer of Danny Boyle’s Frankenstien at the National a few years back).

The only complaint I can really put forward is concerning the pacing. Hyde emerging at last from Jekyll is of course as obvious an Act 1 finisher as you could hope for, but it does mean the second act is rather crowded. Hyde has an awful lot of running around and slaughtering to do before the final confrontation; Act 2 has almost twice as many scenes as 1. One feels a little reshuffling or trimming might balance things out a bit, but overall it does not get in the way of enjoyment of the piece. 

This new interpretation of an old classic is thoroughly absorbing and worth seeing. One can easily see it taking its place with Michael Pink’s Dracula as a staple for those who enjoy a dose of the macabre. There is something darkly alluring about gothic horror: no matter how staid and respectable one may be, there is always something that lures one, like Stevenson’s hapless characters, down those dark and fog-bound streets.

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