BWW Reviews: JEKYLL & HYDE from Circle Players

There's no doubt about it: Circle Players' Tim Larson is fearless. Perhaps no director in Nashville is more ambitious than Larson who, time after time, takes on the seemingly impossible and reimagines it as something well within the reach of his creative collective of actors, designers, technicians and musicians. Larson's staging of Titanic, a project he's taken on twice to great and justifiable acclaim, proves that even that musical is something which seasoned and capable community theater groups can tackle.

Larson's latest project is just as ambitious an undertaking, although the results are clearly less successful and far less satisfying. Jekyll and Hyde - the Frank Wildorn musical that gained fans even before it debuted on Broadway, thanks to the original concept album and a national tour that paved the way to the Great White Way - is a complex tale to be certain, with a troublesome script to match, and it features a dramatic score with some memorable songs, including the theatrical anthem/power ballad "This is the Moment." Interestingly, the first actor to play the role of Jekyll and Hyde - at Houston's Alley Theater - was Broadway veteran and Nashville native Chuck Wagner, in town recently to play Horace Vandergelder for the Studio Tenn production of Hello, Dolly!

Yet while Larson and his creative team give Jekyll and Hyde their best, the production unfortunately falls short of the mark. Circle Players is to be commended for taking on this difficult project, which is seldom produced, but it doesn't measure up to Larson's earlier accomplishments.

In order for Jekyll and Hyde to work, it requires a leading man who is multi-faceted: He must sing with confidence, act with conviction and ultimately be all things to all people all the time as he assays what is essentially two roles in one. As the good Dr. Henry Jekyll transforms into the despicably evil Edward Hyde, the actor who plays the role must deliver the goods, as it were. Although RandAl Cooper possesses a beautiful singing voice, he lacks the acting chops to create a truly believable Jekyll or Hyde (and the fact that he's forced to wear one of the ugliest wigs in the history of the theater doesn't help matters). Actually, Cooper's Hyde is more watchable than his Jekyll; he plays Hyde with a certain wild-eyed abandon that works. Perhaps if Cooper played Jekyll with the same sense of fearlessness that his director approaches each project, he would fare more successfully. That being said, his Act One performance of "This is the Moment" is winningly performed.

Cooper's two leading ladies fare much better, although both actresses may be too young for their roles. Stephanie Benton-Jones, who obviously is destined for bigger things, gives a strong reading as Lucy Harris, the lady of the evening (with a heart of gold, so you know what's in store for her by play's end), and her performance of both "Someone Like You" and "A New Life" rank among the show's musical highlights. Jessi Higgins, as Jekyll's fiancee Emma Carew, plays her role with a certain high-tonEd Grace and delivers the beautiful "Once Upon A Dream" with a lovely confidence.

The Benton-Jones-led "Bring on the Night" and "Girls of the Night" - accompanied by the women of the ensemble as the denizens of the Red Rat Pub are well-choreographed, staged by Larson with his inimitable eye for what works well onstage at The Keeton Theatre. Laura Amond deserves recognition for her portrayal of Nellie, Lucy's best pal, and Don Hillaker is nothing short of scary (yet somehow eerily fun) as The Spider, the owner of the Red Rat.

Elliott Robinson offers strong support as Jekyll's best friend and confidant, John Utterson, and David Arnold gives a very credible performance as Jekyll's mentor and future father-in-law Sir Danvers Crews. Ben Gregory, Macon Kimbrough, Laura Higgins, Joshua Waldrep and Ralph Gabriel are fine as the members of the board of London's St. Jude's Hospital, although their talents are underserved by the script, while Trey Palmer steals every one of his scenes with his performance of Simon Stride, Jekyll's rival for Lucy's affection.

Cat Eberwine Arnold's costume design is fine, but her overuse of upholstery and/or drapery fabrics and notions is somewhat distracting, although her eye for detail and sense of color is impeccable. Michael Tajalle's set design is clever and creative, but appears a little rough around the edges; perhaps more time spent on finishing the details would have helped. And, finally, Cathy Matthews' completely serviceable lighting design does what it is intended to do (and should do), but lacks the dramatic theatricality that is necessary to effectively translate the transformation scene - when Jekyll becomes Hyde before the eyes of the audience - from page to stage.

- Jekyll and Hyde, The Musical. Music by Frank Wildhorn. Based upon the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. Directed and choreographed by Tim Larson. At The Keeton Theatre, 100 Donelson Pike. Through October 31. For more information, visit the company website at www.circleplayers.net.

 

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