Oak Park Newspaper

March 12 – 24, 2013

★★★

"A dramatic ride into the dark reaches of the mind with debauchery and
homicidal singing murders. Tremendous Performances by a gifted cast."
Recommended Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc

review by Ed Vincent

A beginning with a set resembling the start of a Twilight Zone episode it instantly grabs your attention, as we find Dr. Jekyll trying to help his father. There are noble beginnings and noble causes blended with hedonism and revenge, a messy mix of emotions.

An assembly of those to soon find themselves on a fateful list of targets of a mad, drug inspired devil, Edward Hyde. The sets are creative and powerful, the voices strong and beautiful, and the costumes are delightful.

The worlds oldest profession at a club honoring arachnids and servicing men with a casual moral flavor. The beast within Hyde soon takes a turn for the worse, and a turn of its own device.

Jekyll at the top and Hyde directly above, show the contrasts in a hellish metamorphosis where even Franz Kafka would be confused. It is a dark tale, a story of woe and even with beautiful and talented people on stage the drama is still dark, and without the humor of a Sweeney Todd.

The presentation is strong and noble and well worth a ticket, though one star is missing because of the melody missing in the songs.

It is here for a short time and it is great live theater so get your tickets soon.

A Democrat by day and a Republican at night!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CHICAGO — JEKYLL & HYDE will play the Cadillac Palace Theatre
(151 West Randolph St.) for two weeks only, March 12 – 24, 2013.

American Idol star and Tony® Award nominee Constantine Maroulis joins with Grammy® Award nominee and R&B superstar Deborah Cox to inject new life into the classic tale of good and evil, JEKYLL & HYDE. After four thrilling, chilling years on Broadway and multiple world-wide tours, this dark and dangerous love story from Tony® and Grammy® Award nominee Frank Wildhorn and Oscar® and Grammy® winner Leslie Bricusse, returns in a stunning new pre-Broadway production directed by Tony® nominee Jeff Calhoun and includes all the classic songs (This is the Moment, A New Life, Someone Like You) that first grabbed audiences by the throat and transformed JEKYLL & HYDE into a theatrical phenomenon.

Also starring in the production are Teal Wicks (Wicked) as Emma Carew, Laird Mackintosh (Mary Poppins) as John Utterson, Richard White (Most Happy Fella) as Sir Danvers Carew and David Benoit (Avenue Q, Les Miserables) as Bishop/Spider.

Rounding out the cast are Stephen Mitchell Brown, Jerry Christakos, Dana Costello, Wendy Fox, Brian Gallagher, Sean Jenness, Mel Johnson Jr., James Judy, Ashley Loren, Courtney Markowitz, Aaron Ramey, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Rob Richardson, Blair Ross, Doug Storm, Haley Swindal and Jason Wooten.

JEKYLL & HYDE features scenic & costume design by Tobin Ost (Newsies), lighting design by Jeff Croiter (Newsies, Peter and the Starcatcher - Tony Award), sound design by Ken Travis (Newsies) and projection design by Daniel Brodie (Godspell). Orchestrations are by Kim Scharnberg. Musical supervision and arrangements are by Jason Howland.

JEKYLL & HYDE is produced by Nederlander Presentations, Inc., Independent Presenters Network, Chunsoo Shin, Luigi Caiola and Stewart F. Lane/Bonnie Comley.

The musical is based on the acclaimed novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, about a London doctor who accidentally unleashes his evil alternate personality in his quest to cure his father’s mental illness.

JEKYLL & HYDE was first introduced as a concept album in 1990 featuring Colm Wilkinson and Linda Eder, and shortly thereafter had its world premiere at the Alley Theatre in Houston starring Chuck Wagner as Jekyll/ Hyde and Linda Eder as Lucy. Following a 30-city National Tour, the Broadway production opened at The Plymouth Theatre on April 28, 1997 and earned four Tony Award nominations. Directed by Robin Phillips and choreographed by Joey Pizzi, the production starred Robert Cuccioli, who earned a Tony Nomination as well as Joseph Jefferson, Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards for his portrayal of Jekyll/ Hyde, Linda Eder, who won the Theatre World Award for her Broadway debut, as Lucy and Christianne Noll as Emma Carew. After 1,543 performances, and featuring such replacements as Sebastian Bach and David Hasselhoff in the title role, the production played its final performance on January 7, 2001. The show’s popularity catapulted well beyond the Great White Way and, within the subsequent decade of its world premiere, JEKYLL & HYDE became an international sensation with multiple tours in the UK and North America, and over a dozen recordings from Germany, Spain, Austria, Hungary, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Japan and South Korea, among others.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

The performance schedule for JEKYLL & HYDE is as follows:
Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m.
Wednesdays at 2 & 7:30 p.m. (no matinee performance on March 13)
Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.
Fridays at 7:30 p.m.
Saturdays at 2 & 8 p.m.
Sundays at 2 p.m. (additional performance on March 17 at 7:30 p.m.)
Please note: Ticket prices and performance schedule are subject to change.

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets for JEKYLL & HYDE at the Cadillac Palace Theatre range from $33-$95. A select number of premium seats are also available for many performances. Tickets are available now for groups of 10 or more by calling Broadway In Chicago Group Sales at (312) 977-1710. Tickets are available at all Broadway In Chicago Box Offices (24 W. Randolph St., 151 W. Randolph St., 18 W. Monroe St. and 175 E. Chestnut), the Broadway In Chicago Ticket Kiosk at Water Tower Place (845 N. Michigan Ave.), the Broadway In Chicago Ticket Line at (800) 775-2000, all Ticketmaster retail locations and online at www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

For more information, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com or www.JekyllandHydeMusical.com