The Rep Ends 08-09 Season W/ DR JEKYLL & MR HYDE 3/18-4/12

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis (The Rep) concludes its 2008-2009 Mainstage series with Jeffrey Hatcher's new adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's gothic thriller Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Performances of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde will be given on the Browning Mainstage of the Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts, 130 Edgar Road, Webster Groves, March 18-April 12, 2009.

Curtain times are Tuesday at 7:00 pm; Wednesday-Friday at 8:00 pm, selected Wednesday matinees at 1:30 pm; Saturday evenings at 5:00 pm; selected Saturday nights at 9:00 pm; Sunday matinees at 2:00 pm; and selected Sunday evenings at 7:00 pm.

Ticket prices start at just $14.50. To purchase, visit The Rep Box Office, located inside the Loretto-Hilton Center, charge by phone by calling (314) 968-4925, or visit The Rep's online box office at www.repstl.org.

The Rep's production of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is sponsored by Michelob Ultra.

Against the backgroup of Victorian London, the respected Dr. Jekyll begins acting in an alarmingly erratic fashion toward his friends. At the same time, a brutal figure haunts the city's streets, committing murder and assault under the cloak of darkness and the dismal London fog.

Gabriel Utterson, a lawyer and friend to Jekyll, becomes concerned about his friend's choice of acquaintances and confronts the monstrous Mr. Hyde in a maze of interlocking scenes that attempt to solve the puzzles at the heart of a tortured soul.

In playwright Jeffrey Hatcher's intense, intimate and fiendishly clever new adaptation of this classic tale, one actor portrays Dr. Jekyll and four others portray Hyde, each revealing one of his many facets: brutality, sexuality, heartlessness and cruelty. Hatcher's adaptation follows the line between good and evil as the mystery of the connection between the virtuous doctor and the vicious stranger unravels. The final struggle for control of one man's soul brings Jekyll face to face with his deepest, most secret inner self.

The original story, a novella titled Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, was written by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1886. It sold over 250,000 copies in a time when the sale of mere thousands was considered a sensation. Over 120 different adaptations of the story have been published, staged or screened, but Hatcher's adds a unique twist to the traditionally expected tale.

Playwright Jeffrey Hatcher is familiar to audiences at The Rep, where several of his previous works have been produced, including Scotland Road and A Picasso in the Studio Theatre and Everything's Ducky, Tuesdays with Morrie and Ella on the Mainstage. His other credits include the book for the Broadway musical Never Gonna Dance and screenplays for the films Stage Beauty and Casanova.

"I hope audiences will be satisfied with the sensational thrills that go with the territory," Hatcher says of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. "But I hope they'll also have their expectations tweaked in such as a way that on occasion they think, ‘Oh, I never would have dreamed of that‘ or ‘I haven't seen that in Jekyll and Hyde before,' and that when they leave, a very old and great piece of literature has been given a vivid retelling."

The cast of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde at The Rep is Anthony Marble as Dr. Henry Jekyll; Anderson Matthews as Gabriel Utterson and Edward Hyde; Scott Schafer as Sir Danvers Carew, Richard Enfield; O.F. Sanderson, Inspector and Edward Hyde; Katie Fabel as Elizabeth Jelkes; Kyle Fabel as Dr. H.K. Lanyon, Police Doctor, Surgical Student and Edward Hyde; and Bernadette Quigley as Poole, Surgical Student, Police Doctor and Edward Hyde.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is directed by Edward Stern, who last directed Of Mice and Men and Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure on the Mainstage. The creative staff also includes Robert Mark Morgan, scenic designer; Elizabeth Covey, costume designer; Thomas Hase, lighting designer; Rusty Wandall, sound designer; Glenn Dunn, stage manager; and Tony Dearing, assistant stage manager.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a co-production with the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, where the production will continue following its run at The Rep.

For more information about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, including a guide introducing the characters, plot and background on the play; photos and video related to the production; and more, visit The Rep's comprehensive website at www.repstl.org.

 

To post a comment, you must register and login.