JEKYLL AND HYDE PHILADELPHIA l FORREST THEATRE REVIEW

December 27th, 2012; today I went to go see the production of Jekyll and Hyde in Philadelphia. Prior to entering the theater, I’ve been extensively studying the music for about a month, so I set myself up for very high expectations. Some key things that I was looking for was a full-sounding company/chorus and a wide-ranged Jekyll/Hyde. Before I continue this review, this was a very good show, but I would recommend it for the open-minded.

Act I; as I was sitting at my seat (eagerly) waiting for the show to start, I had no idea what I was in for this evening. I was expecting the show to be very Broadway-esque, but it had some very unique and unexpected twists. At the start of Act I, I was immediately impressed with the staging. The management was very effective in their use of technology and lighting. During the scene when Jekyll sees his father in the asylum, I was very disturbed but in a good way. I was expecting the cast to wheel Dr. Jekyll’s father on some sort of gurney, and Jekyll would proceed to sing his opening number, but the scene was completely transformed. Jekyll’s father was strapped vertically on a bed, struggling to break free while Jekyll and the Board of Governors were discussing his condition. Instantly you get this feeling of mental frustration/anxiety from the character which was great because that’s what the whole musical revolves around. As Jekyll began singing “Lost in the Darkness”, I wasn’t immediately impressed by him. His diction was very strange and covered up by his overuse of vibrato. He used that similar singing style throughout the first act which was a bit difficult to get used to. Overall, he wasn’t very clear. I really wanted Jekyll’s voice to be clearer since he is a character from a higher arc in society. For me, I expected him to be more refining in his speech. One thing I did appreciate was that he had a very wide-range. Like I said before, I really look for this in Jekyll/Hyde because since the show has very intense tenor parts, I would like the leading male to be confident in his notes.

As we move into “Façade”, I am sad to say that I was disappointed, but also impressed with a few things that they did to this number. Like I said before, I was hoping to see a very full-sounding company/chorus. I wanted it to be intense because that song is very ferocious. I was surprised to see how little people were in the company ; it looked like there were only two people per voice part which didn’t exactly fulfill that fullness I was looking for. I was impressed with the technique of the singers. I thought they were able to control their voices well, and it was very open in space which gave made up for some of the lost sound. At this part of the show, I noticed that the orchestra arrangement is very different from the original. There was a rock undertone to it which was strange at first, but it quickly grew on me. Perhaps that’s why there wasn’t that nice rich chorus sound, because perhaps it was designed to match the roughness of a rock band. This theory might be a little abstract, but it was a thought I had while watching the show. Another thing that I thought was interesting about the staging was that instead of “Façade” taking place on the streets, it showed the Board of Governors getting ready dressed and ready before their meeting with Dr. Jekyll. I didn’t really like that idea too much because I wanted to see the lower-class street people. I wanted the show to demonstrate the differences between the high-life and a rat’s ass. The show has a lot of contrasting, so I was disappointed to see only seeing the upper class throughout the show. You could argue that the prostitutes juxtapose the rich society, but it’s not exactly a prime example.