Jekyll & Hyde (musical)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jekyll & Hyde
Original Broadway Recording
Music Frank Wildhorn
Lyrics Leslie Bricusse
Frank Wildhorn
Steve Cuden
Book Leslie Bricusse
Based upon Novella by Robert Louis Stevenson
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Productions 1990 Houston
1995 US tour
1997 Broadway
1999 US tour
2000 Non-Equity US tour
2004 Concert tour
2004 UK tour

Jekyll & Hyde is a Broadway musical based on the novel, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. The original stage conception was by Steve Cuden and Frank Wildhorn. The music was composed by Wildhorn and the lyrics were written by Leslie Bricusse.

The show opened on Broadway on April 28, 1997. There were 44 preview performances starting on March 21. The show ran for 1,543 regular performances, closing on January 7, 2001 and is the longest-running show in the history of the Plymouth Theatre. [1]

Despite the long run, the musical lost money in the end, more than $1.5 million. [2]

There is currently a movie version of the show in production for release sometime in the future.[citation needed] It is being produced by Frank Wildhorn and will have a script by Leslie Bricusse. "The Hatchery" has said that they will be producing the movie, when and should it happen.

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

Three versions of Jekyll & Hyde have been recorded in English. The central theme of the show remains intact, but many of the songs have been altered, cut and/or replaced between the different versions. The following synopsis is from a script that uses parts of each.

[edit] Act I

The show opens with Henry Jekyll's voice saying, "In each of us there are two natures. If this primitive duality of man: good and evil, could be housed in separate identities, life would be relieved of all that is unbearable. It is the curse of mankind that these polar twins should be constantly struggling." His lawyer and best friend John Utterson is introduced, speaking of past events concerning Doctor Jekyll, followed by Jekyll's future father-in-law, Sir Danvers Carew.

Next, Jekyll is seen in an insane asylum singing over his comatose father ("Lost in the Darkness"). It is Jekyll's belief that the evil in his father's soul has caused his illness. Jekyll sings about his passion to find out why man is both good and evil and his attempts to separate the good from the evil ("I Need to Know").

Leaving the hospital, the rich and poor of 19th century London describe how people act how they want others to see them, no matter who they really are inside ("Facade"). Afterwards, Jekyll presents a research proposal to the Board of Governors of St. Jude's Hospital: Danvers is chairman of the board, Rupert the 14th Bishop of Basingstoke, the Right Honorable Sir Archibald "Archie" Proops, Lord Theodore "Teddy" Savage, Lady Elizabeth "Bessie" Beaconsfield, General Lord Glossop, and the secretary Simon Stride. All, with the exception of Danvers, are pompous, rich hypocrites. They reject Jekyll's proposal to experiment on a living human with cries of "blasphemy, heresy, and lunacy," voting five to none with Sir Danvers' one abstention ("Board of Governors" aka "Pursue The Truth").

The next scene takes place at Danvers' home, where he is holding an engagement party for his daughter Emma's engagement to Doctor Jekyll ("Facade Reprise 1"). The toast of society turns up, including the Board of Governors and Stride, who was worried about Emma being engaged to a "madman." Stride speaks to Emma and tries to reason her out of her engagement, but she quickly turns him down ("Emma's Reason"). Jekyll (late as usual) arrives to the party just as everyone is leaving, and he and Emma share a moment ("Take Me as I Am"). Danvers returns as Jekyll leaves, and expresses to Emma that he likes Jekyll but finds it difficult to tolerate his behavior ("Letting Go").

Jekyll and Utterson go to the dingy Red Rat pub (The Dregs in some versions) for Jekyll's bachelor party ("Facade Reprise 2"). A beautiful prostitute, Lucy Harris, arrived late and has a moment of contemplation about her life ("No One Knows Who I Am"), and then goes out to sing and dance ("Bring on the Men" - replaced with "Good 'n' Evil" in the Broadway version). After the show, Lucy begins to circulate among the clientèle. Spider, the thug who owns the club, approaches Lucy and strikes her hard across the face for being late. And even though Spider was in a good mood tonight, he threatened to kill her if she's late again. Jekyll approaches her after witnessing Spider's actions and intends to help her as Utterson is led away by another prostitute. Jekyll and Lucy are drawn to each other in a way that promises each of them a great friendship. Utterson reemerges and Jekyll admits that he must be on his way. Before he goes, he gives Lucy his visiting card and asks her to see him should she ever need anything.

As Utterson and Jekyll return to the upper-class part of town, Utterson notices that Jekyll is in a better mood. Jekyll informs him that he has found a subject for his experiments. Utterson recommends Jekyll to go straight to bed and leaves. Jekyll asks his butler, Poole, about his father, and Poole replies that he was a very good man. After having felt glad about the kind remark, Jekyll dismisses him for the night.

Ignoring Utterson's advice, Jekyll proceeds to his lab, excited that the moment has come to do his experiment ("This is the Moment"). Mixing his chemicals, he creates formula HJ7 and injects himself with it. After one minute, he writhes in pain, transforming into a hideous beast of a man ("Transformation"). He goes out and roams the streets, drinking in the sights and sounds of London, including an encounter with Lucy. He names himself Edward Hyde ("Alive").

A week later no one has heard anything from Jekyll. Emma, her father, and Utterson ask Poole where he is. After Emma leaves, Poole tells Utterson that Jekyll has been locked in his lab all this time. Jekyll emerges - looking distraught - angirly demanding Poole to fetch some chemicals for him. Utterson confronts him asking him what he's been up to, but Jekyll doesn't fully answer. He gives Utterson three letters: one for Emma, another for her father, and one for Utterson himself should Jekyll become ill or disappear. Utterson tells Jekyll to not let his work take over ("His Work and Nothing More").

Visiting card in hand, Lucy arrives at Jekyll's house with a nasty bruise on her back. As Jekyll treats it, she tells him a man named Hyde did it. Jekyll is stunned by this revelation but hides it. Obviously in love with him, Lucy kisses Jekyll ("Sympathy, Tenderness"). Disturbed by his own actions, Jekyll leaves Lucy, who sings about her love for him ("Someone Like You").

Later, the Bishop of Basingstoke is seen walking down the street with Nellie, the German manageress of the Red Rat, after having a meeting with one of her prostitutes, who is a minor. He says he would visit again on Wednesday. When Nellie leaves, Hyde appears. After insulting the Bishop, Hyde proceeds to beat and stab the Bishop to death with his cane before gleefully setting the body aflame ("Alive - Reprise"), ending Act I.

[edit] Act II

In the beginning of Act II, Utterson and Sir Danvers once more spoke of the past events of Jekyll in two different sayings: Utterson begins to feel he was not able to help his poor client and friend, while Danvers senses that something was horribly wrong with his work.

The people of London discuss the Bishop's murder in the newspaper's headline. The Carews, Board of Governors, Stride, and Utterson attended to his funeral, not knowing that Hyde was there as well. When it was over, General Glossop and Lord Savage leave the church, mourning over their deceased colleague. Hyde appears again and stabs Glossop through the mouth with his swordstick while Teddy watches, petrified in horror. Stride quickly enters the scene of the crime, just in time to see Hyde escape. After Londoners begin discussing the second murder, Jekyll is seen accosting the apothecary, Bisset, for more chemicals. Most the chemicals are present and Jekyll has to wait for the others tomorrow night. Later Teddy, Sir Proops, and Lady Beaconsfield leave a charity dinner, joking about Archie not getting a decent claret. Once again Hyde shows up and after recognizing him, Teddy tries to get Bessie back inside the restaurant. Too late, Hyde stabs Archie and snaps Bessie's neck with her own pearl necklace while Teddy makes another miraculous escape. The city reacts to the third and fourth murders and the Carews arrive at Victoria Station to find a frantic Teddy, who is fleeing for safety at Aberdeen, Scotland. The Carews return home, and Hyde returns one last time, breaking Teddy's neck and kicking his corpse down onto the train tracks ("Murder, Murder").

Emma finds Jekyll's journal open in his lab and began reading so little of the story. Jekyll enters and rapidly closes the journal, preventing her to read of what he become. Emma could see he was distraught and moody. She professes her love for him and asks him to confide in her ("Once Upon a Dream"). As she leaves, and Jekyll writes in his journal about what has been happening to his mind for the past few days, including that the transformations are happening without Jekyll taking the potion. Utterson arrives in the lab, seeking answers of who was this Edward Hyde according to Jekyll's letter. Jekyll only said that Hyde was a "colleague" involved in the experiment. Utterson could see that his friend and client was desperately ill and agrees for the rest of the chemicals Jekyll had ordered. Jekyll, once again all alone, begins to face the fact that Hyde is a part of him ("Obsession"). Lucy and Emma then sing a duet about their love for the same man ("In His Eyes").

At the Red Rat, Nellie and Lucy sing of why they do what they do ("Girls of the Night"). Lucy is visited by Hyde, who tells her that is going away for a while. He then warns her that she had better not leave him ever. Scared, Lucy seems to have been put under some sort of animalistic control by the madman ("Dangerous Game"). As they leave together, Spider addresses the Red Rat attendants to always be aware of what dangers lie ahead ("Facade Reprise 3").

Utterson, with the rest of the ordered chemicals, comes looking for Jekyll in his lab only to discover Hyde, who addresses that the doctor was "not available" for tonight. Utterson won't leave the package to anyone but his friend and demands to know where he is. Hyde sadistically says even if he told Utterson, he wouldn't believe him. But after the end of demands with the point of Utterson's swordstick, Hyde injects the formula, chuckling madly as he transforms back into Jekyll in front of an appalled Utterson. Jekyll tells the kind lawyer that Hyde must be destroyed, whatever the cost. Then he begs Utterson to deliver money for Lucy to escape for safety. As Utterson leaves, Jekyll mixes in the chemicals and injects the new formula for the coming task and prays that he can restore his former life ("The Way Back").

Utterson visits Lucy at the Red Rat with the money and letter from Jekyll begging her to leave town and start a new life elsewhere. After Utterson leaves, Lucy sings about the possibilities ahead ("A New Life"). Just then Hyde returns and seeing the letter from Jekyll, tells Lucy that he and the doctor are very close. As he holds Lucy so softly that she never would have suspected it, he slowly and savagely kills her ("Sympathy, Tenderness" (Reprise)). The vile murderer runs off chuckling, just as soon as the Red Rat attendants find Lucy's stabbed form and carry her out on a stretcher.

Covered in blood from stabbing Archie and Lucy, Jekyll returns to his laboratory and faces off with Hyde in a final battle, where only one can survive ("Confrontation"). Later, while Lucy's corpse was being taken away, Utterson and Sir Danvers speaking of Jekyll's giving up of "finding the truth" and leaving his poor father into darkness ("Facade Reprise 4").

Jekyll apparently has won, as several weeks later, he and Emma stand before the priest at their wedding in St. Anne's Church. Just as Jekyll is about to say, "I do," Hyde emerges, killing Stride and taking Emma hostage. At the sound of Emma's voice, Jekyll is able to take control. He begs Utterson to kill him, but Utterson could not harm his own friend. Finally, Jekyll stabs himself by dragging Utterson's swordstick onto his chest, and the show closes with Emma holding closely Jekyll's dead body ("Finale").

[edit] Songs from Broadway production

Act I
  • Lost In The Darkness - Dr. Henry Jekyll
  • Facade - Ensemble
  • Jekyll's Plea - Henry Jekyll, Mr. Simon Stride and The Board of Governors
  • Pursue the Truth - Henry Jekyll and Mr. John Utterson
  • Facade (Reprise 1) - Ensemble
  • Bring On The Men - Lucy Harris
  • Emma's Reasons - Mr. Simon Stride and Emma Carew
  • Take Me As I Am - Henry Jekyll and Emma Carew
  • Letting Go - Sir Danvers Carew and Emma Carew
  • Facade (Reprise 2) - Ensemble
  • No One Knows Who I Am - Lucy Harris
  • Good 'N' Evil - Lucy Harris and Ensemble
  • This Is The Moment - Henry Jekyll
  • Transformation - Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde
  • Alive - Edward Hyde
  • His Work, And Nothing More - Henry Jekyll, John Utterson, Sir Danvers Carew and Emma Carew
  • Sympathy, Tenderness - Lucy Harris
  • Someone Like You - Lucy Harris
  • Alive (Reprise) - Edward Hyde and Ensemble
Act II
  • Murder, Murder - A Newsboy and Ensemble
  • Once Upon A Dream - Emma Carew
  • Obsession - Dr. Henry Jekyll
  • In His Eyes - Lucy Harris and Emma Carew
  • Dangerous Game - Edward Hyde and Lucy Harris
  • Facade (Reprise 3) - Spider and Ensemble
  • The Way Back - Henry Jekyll
  • A New Life - Lucy Harris
  • Sympathy, Tenderness (Reprise) - Edward Hyde
  • Lost in the Darkness (Reprise) - Henry Jekyll
  • Confrontation - Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde
  • Facade (Reprise 4) - Ensemble
  • The Wedding - Boy Soprano
  • Finale - Emma Carew

[edit] Notable leads

Jekyll/Hyde:

Sebastian Bach - One of the most influential celebrity castings on Broadway

Robert Cuccioli - Original Broadway Cast

Rob Evan- Original alternate, replacement, and closed the show as an alternate

Craig Schulman - Understudied

Joseph Mahowald - Alternate

Chuck Wagner - Original 1990 Alley Production, Second National Tour

Jack Wagner - First celebrity cast on Broadway in the roles.

Anthony Warlow (vocal recording only)

Colm Wilkinson (vocal recording only)

David Hasselhoff - The final Jekyll & Hyde.

Drew Sarich - Cologne, Germany only

Veit Schäfermeier - Cologne, Bielefeld, Vienna


Lucy:

Linda Eder - Originated the role with the Original Alley Production, the first national tour, and original Broadway cast.

Luba Mason

Coleen Sexton - The Final Lucy Harris

Kate Shindle


Emma/Lisa:

Carolee Carmello - (vocal recording only)

Christiane Noll - Original Broadway Cast

Kelli O'Hara - National Tour, understudied on Broadway

Andrea Rivette - The Final Emma Carew

Rebecca Spencer - Original Emma in the 1990 Alley Production

Christy Tarr - understudied

[edit] Recordings

[edit] English Recordings

Concept Album
Recorded in 1990 and featuring Colm Wilkinson as Jekyll/Hyde and Linda Eder singing both Lucy and Lisa (Jekyll's fiancée, later renamed to Emma), this Album contained the original versions of many songs that would later be reworked and included in altered forms in subsequent recordings. It is also the only recording that has the song "Love Has Come of Age" which, despite being the intended centerpiece for the musical, never made it past this original recording.[citation needed]
Complete Work
Released prior to the first national tour of Jekyll in 1994, this recording featured Anthony Warlow as Jekyll/Hyde, Linda Eder as Lucy, and Carolee Carmello as Lisa. This version features more songs than any other recording and featured Australian-born opera/musical theatre star Anthony Warlow in the lead role, and, although he recorded more music than any other man in the role, Warlow never played the role on stage. This recording represented the incarnation of the show before its major rewrite for Broadway. The special guests are Broadway legend John Raitt as Sir Danvers Carew and R&B singer and musician Brenda Russell as Nellie.
Broadway Cast Album
This 1997 recording features Robert Cuccioli as Jekyll and Hyde, Linda Eder as Lucy and Christiane Noll as Emma. The definitive Broadway recording, this CD features the final arrangements of the songs of the musical (sometimes for length and complexity), as well as the removal of several sub-plots. Reviewers have generally preferred the mix of female voices in this version of the musical, with the contrast between Emma and Lucy made more marked, as opposed to the soprano-on-soprano duets of the earlier recordings.
DVD
The Broadway production was filmed live at the Plymouth Theatre in 2000 with David Hasselhoff as Jekyll/Hyde, Coleen Sexton as Lucy, and Andrea Rivette as Emma. This is the only official video recording of the musical that exists, although several unofficial recordings have found their way onto the internet. The show closed 9 months after Hasselhoff's casting, after it had attained the achievement of longest running musical at the Plymouth Theatre.
Jekyll & Hyde: RESURRECTION
This 2006 featured Rob Evan as Jekyll/Hyde, Kate Shindle as Lucy and Brandi Burkhardt as Emma, as well as rock guitarist Alex Skolnick. This album is a studio recording of the arrangements that would go on to form the program of the touring Jekyll & Hyde: In Concert. It features several songs, all re-worked to include psychedelic/rock guitar accompaniment (mostly during Hyde's songs). It is worth noting that the songs featured on this CD are built upon those from the "Complete Work" CD and include very few of the alterations made in the "Broadway Cast Album".

[edit] Foreign Recordings

  • Bremen, Germany (1999) - featuring Ethan Freeman as Jekyll/Hyde, Lyn Liechty as Lucy, and Susanne Dengler as Lisa.
  • Madrid, Spain (2001) - featuring Raphael as Jekyll/Hyde, Marta Ribera as Lucy and Margarita Marban as Emma.
  • Budapest, Hungary (2001) - featuring László Molnár as Jekyll/Hyde, Kata Janza as Lucy and Bernadett Tunyogi as Emma.
  • Vienna, Austria (2002) - featuring Thomas Borchert as Jekyll/Hyde, Eva Maria Marold as Lucy and Maya Hakvoort as Lisa.
  • Japanese (2003) - featuring Kaga Takeshi as Jekyll/Hyde, Marsia as Lucy and Chinen Rina as Emma.
  • Staatz, Austria (2005) - featuring Werner Auer as Jekyll and Hyde, Brigitte Treipl as Lucy and Elizabeth Sikora as Lisa.
  • Seoul, South Korea (2005) - featuring Jo Seung-woo as Jekyll/Hyde, Lee Young-mi & Kim Sun-young as Lucy and Lee Hye-kyeoung as Emma.
  • Prague, Czech Republic (2006) - Daniel Hulka sings the part of Jekyll/Hyde, Tereza Duchková sings Lucy and Katerina Brozová sings Emma. There are also tracks with Marián Vojtko singing Jekyll/Hyde and Michaela Nosková singing Lucy.

Among the most famous songs are This is the Moment which was performed at the Olympics twice and sung by The Moody Blues at various sports events.

[edit] Awards

[edit] 1997 Tony Award Nominations

[edit] 1997 Theatre World Award

  • Linda Eder (WINNER)

[edit] 1997 Drama Desk Award nominations

  • Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical - Robert Cuccioli (WINNER)
  • Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actress in a Musical - Linda Eder
  • Drama Desk Award Outstanding Set Design of a Musical - Scenic Design by Robin Phillips, James Noone; Properties and Set Dressing by Christina Poddubiuk (WINNER)

[edit] Movie

A Jekyll and Hyde: The Musical movie is planned for late 2010 or early 2011. It is unclear who will play the lead roles.[citation needed]

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Frank Wildhorn musicals