Jekyll and Hyde, Townsville - Review
I've been putting this off for a week but I know if I leave it any longer I'm going to forget everything... I haven't summarised the second act yet though it's all so clear in my memory. Anyway this is a full, unabridged review of my recent experience of "Jekyll and Hyde" the musical in Townsville. It was an amateur production, but "amateur" in finance alone - the only reason it must be classified as such is because the actors weren't getting paid.
Please also forgive my wonderous and wide-eyed attention to detail - this is the first time I have ever seen the show and I don't know what things are commonplace in this version of the production. Just bear with me.
Also bear in mind that there are lots of details and things I picked up on because I saw the show twice - 4th February, to be exact - at 2pm and again at 8pm. I'd love to scan in the program pictures and such but for copyright reasons I'm afraid I can't. So you'll have to make do with my limited command of the language... and now without further ado, I will begin.
I had travelled 2,500km and into a different state to see this show, and I was not disappointed in the slightest. I would have gone to Western Australia to see it again. As soon as I walked into the theatre I was awestruck by the spectacular set design. It was very simple - the floor was painted in a black and red checkerboard pattern, and the only set involved a balcony to stage left spreading about 2/3 of the way across the upper stage, then intersected by a wide staircase that led to the balcony floor and took up the remaining third on stage right. There was a large gap between the bases of the stairs and balcony which allowed for character entrances through there and in about another 6 locations. Before the lights dimmed red smoke swirled around the stage, soft LotR-sounding ominous music played and there was a single rotating fiberous white light shining diagonally across the stage.
ACT ONE
The first few scenes moved very slowly. It began with Dr. Jekyll's short "In each of us there are two natures..." lines, which were followed by Mr. Utterson's introduction. The light faded and Henry's father was brought out, followed by Sir Danvers. After some dialogue Henry sang "Lost in the Darkness" and followed this with a shorter version of "I Need to Know". These solos work a lot better on the CD, because it is a little hard to command the attention of the audience for about 6 minutes while one actor stands in a spotlight and sings. But the pace was picked up greatly by "Facade" which followed.
The actor playing Henry Jekyll (note: this production used a different actor for Jekyll and for Hyde) was very tall - though my first impression was that Sir Danvers was just unnaturally short (even though he turned out to be taller than me). He was very good looking and had short-ish red hair that hung in loose curls. Understandably I instantly fell in love with him. He was a fantastic actor and an even better singer - he did seem to have some very slight speech impediment or lisp that could be detected now and again but overall it wasn't very noticible. He had a full, rich baritone and some of the sustained higher notes had me in rapture. And fortunately most of the other cast were very tall as well and so he didn't look too out of place.
During the chorus songs strange flats were lowered from the flies. They were distorted images of houses that were a very good background to the ensemble "Facade". This was sung beautifully, and gave me a chance to see the costumes. Most were lovely - especially the upper-class women's dresses. You see, in this scene the stage was split between the upper classes in their suits, top hats and bustle-d dresses, and the lower classes looking like a scene out of Les Miz. During the scene they sang seperately and then together, and occasionally a beggar would confront an aristocrat until their stage places switched and the beggars overpowered the upper classes. Then the chorus exited and the Board of Governors took their place for the next scene, surprisingly, "The Board of Governors".
I loved the fact that this performance followed the song on the concept CD almost word-for-word, with mininal lyric changes and some dialogue. Simon Stride stood stage right at a lectern, writing in a printed book which looked suspiciously like a Bible, and the Board lined up diagonally down the stairs, facing Jekyll where he stood at a small table arranging his papers and chemicals. The whole scene was staged and sung beautifully. I'm sorry, I fell in love with Lord Savage... (it was this bit that got me, just after Sir Danvers has abstained and Stride closed the meeting... Lord Savage: "Who wants to take me to lunch? Bessie, mmh?" Lady Beckonsfield: "No thank you, I've heard enough demented babbling for one day without having to listen to you, Herbert."). And also Simon Stride himself (never mind the fact that he is the son of one of the professors that my Dad works with at JCU...!), he was so deliciously oily and suave, and his costume - consisting of a bottle green brocade coat, maroon waistcoat, mustard yellow trousers and a paisley cravat - amused and delighted me to no end.
Facade reprise one was sung by the guests as they entered for "The Engagement Party". I found that the Facade reprises worked extremely well onstage, they added greatly to the dramatic impact of the whole show, particularly reprise 3, which was very hauntingly sung by the guests as they entered for the Jekyll/Carew wedding. But more on that later. The choreography in this scene was a bit choppy and didn't look very well rehearsed, unfortunately. The second time when my attentions weren't focused on the main action I was captivated by Simon Stride - he drunkenly fell down the stairs, and tripped rather than walked into the room. The business with the wine glasses was hilarious - he found Archibald Proops, then hailed the maid from whom he took two wine glasses. He drained the first himself, then gave the empty glass to the Proops, and drank the second one!
"Dr. Jekyll's tardy for his own engagement party..." Henry still hadn't turned up yet, as Simon sang "Emma Carew" to... well, Emma Carew. He was gloriously slimy, staggering a little as he turned Emma's face outwards and sang from behind into her ear. Finally Henry arrived, and he and Emma sang "Take Me As I Am". It was beautifully sung - the pair were wonderfully matched in vocal timbre and it sounded gorgeous. Emma was beautiful to look at, she had a charming face and wore a delightful cream dress with embriodered pink roses that we found out afterwards her mother had made for her. In the afternoon performance her voice was a little breathy and husky but by the evening she sounded divine. The reaction Sir Danvers and Utterson had to the kiss after the song very entertaining. Jekyll endeared himself to me more with this snatch of dialogue as they exited - Jekyll: "Was there a Lord Beckonsfield?" Emma: "Oh, yes, but he died over thirty years ago." Jekyll: "Sensible fellow!"
Then into the Red Rat, Henry declaring "I'm feeling dangerous" as he is led off by Nellie. I was so envious of that girl. It was very interesting to see all the male members of the Board (bar Sir Danvers) in that scene. Then Lucy entered, wearing a rather un-prostitutish long dress that was lovely all the same, and sang "Bring on the Men" to absolute perfection. That woman had such an amazing voice. It had a much purer tone quality than Linda Eder and on the higher notes it didn't sound as strained as Eder's does. The staging for this scene was great as well, especially the dance segue using only 4 benches. The second time I saw this I watched Lord Savage the whole time and envied every woman who sat in his lap. This leads me to another comment about how well this show was done - whenever the chorus was onstage, even when the focus wasn't on them, they were still acting. They were all part of the scene. You could look at anyone and have your attention riveted by them.
There was real chemistry between Lucy and Jekyll, it made for a great scene and also further into "Sympathy, Tenderness". The Spider had the strangest face - he was a young man of about maybe 21 or so, and he had this animated quality to his face that set off his quite bizarre, pixie-like features. He was very scary and believable. As Jekyll sang "This is the Moment" (oh, swoon), stage cut to "the lab" - which featured one of the very few props in the show. It was a stunning sight - the table was wheeled onstage half-way through in the darkness, made all the stranger by the pipes, test tubes and general glassware illuminated by about a dozen candles scattered over the table and dry ice pouring everywhere. (I later learnt that these props had all been salvaged from the chemistry department of the university where my Dad works, JCU.)
Then the crucial scene - "First Transformation". How the transition between the two actors as Jekyll/Hyde worked, and whether it did work at all, was the variable on which the rest of the show weighed. But it worked, damn me, it worked. Jekyll sang the first part charmingly, actually checked his fob watch for the time (a part which I had been concerned about before) and drank the HJ7 - bright red stuff, I meant to ask him afterwards what it really was but I forgot! probably Ribena or something - and continued on until the formula took effect. At this point he began to reel about the stage in terrible pain before collapsing near the front, slightly stage right, just as Hyde entered from beneath the balcony. My God, what a sight. The man had a huge, hulking frame and the thick, red smoke behind him silhouetted this and made him appear as if he were walking out of the very Gates of Hell. Jekyll managed to raise himself on his shoulder and he and Hyde stared at each other for a moment as Jekyll whispered "who is this... creature that I see?", before he fainted. Hyde assumed the position over the fallen Jekyll, giving the effect of another soul escaping from his body, before he stormed to the front of the stage and roared "Free!"
Into "Alive", in which the lighting and direction was great. The people of London wandered through the scene and as Hyde caught Lucy she sang the opening lines of "Dangerous Game" from the concept version, "I feel your fingers/brushing my shoulder/your tempting touch..." which I found very effective, before Hyde began to beat her.
Jekyll's study, five days later - Poole was the most ideal looking butler I've ever seen and he was charmingly acted. This moved into "Work and Nothing More" which I loved, as I have loved in every incarnation except the Broadway version. I was especially charmed in this scene by Sir Danvers, the actor of whom I was adoring more and more because of his natural Irish accent and gorgeous singing voice. I enjoyed some of the changes to this song - I never liked the changing of Lisa to Emma, especially because of that gorgeous music line Jekyll has during this song where he sings desperately "Lisa... Lisa!" four times to the other harmonies. I liked, though, the replacement here - he sang the first two lines to "Emma, Emma!" in the same tune, and then went into the Board of Governors theme, "and I will prove if I'm ever permitted to, things are not wrong just because they are true!". Emma's beautiful harmonies at the end set off the whole piece delightfully, she really had a gorgeous voice. "Sympathy, Tenderness" was really sweet, again the tension between Jekyll and Lucy set the scene on fire.
Then into the "Alive!" reprise, when Hyde kills the Bishop. The stage combat effects in this show were extremely violent and frighteningly realistic - here Hyde stabs the Bishop and then beats him with his cane, to the strains of "and I feel I'll live on forever!..." I was, however, amused by the fact that in the first performance the Bishop's top hat was left onstage after the lights went up, and in the second both his hat and his crucifix remained.
ACT TWO
This act opened with a song I have never particularly liked, "Murder, Murder!" But in this show it quickly became one of my favourites. It was wonderfully performed and milked for humour, the whole scene was hilarious. It began with singing about the murder of the Bishop ("seen walking with his daughter a moment prior to slaughter!" always cracks me up), and soon General Glossop is walking across stage with Lord Savage after the funeral of the Bishop (where Lord Savage stood at the back, unable to control his laughter at the completely false comments being made about the Bishop's wonderful and charitable life) discussing him ("loved buggering children, eh what!") when Hyde appears and laughs at this joke as well. When he begins to threaten the General Lord Savage tries to make himself scarce but when Hyde breaks Glossop's neck Lord Savage runs under the balcony and off, screaming "Murder!" The beggars then swarm over the General's body and take his valuables before dragging him off.
Soon after Lord Savage is again socialising, this time with Archibald Proops and Lady Beckonsfield. Once again Hyde appears, breaks the neck of Proops and strangles Lady Beckonsfield. And again Lord Savage escapes, screaming "Murder!" (though the first time I could have sworn he was actually saying "Mother!"). And then the most brilliant part - when he is standing at a train station with a suitcase, and Sir Danvers and Emma appear. He informs them that it is not safe for him in London, so he is leaving. "But where are you going?" asks Sir Danvers desperately. "That," Savage says, "I am telling to no one." He walks away for a moment, reconsiders and turns back. "Aberdeen, actually," he admits to the surprised Sir Danvers. "I want you to know that I really tried to save the others. Tried like Hell." "That," replies Danvers, "is between you and God alone, Archibald. Goodbye." He and Emma bid their farewells and they leave.
And then Hyde emerges from the shadows, with a large cane. "Bad news from God, Herbert."
The scene changes back to Jekyll's lab, that Emma has somehow got into. She is worried about Jekyll's now reclusive nature and wants to know what is going in. He bursts in on her, shouting like a madman, demanding to know what she has read. She replied with "Once Upon a Dream", sung absolutely beautifully by her. After she leaves, Jekyll sings "Streak of Madness", another track replicated from the CD. I always loved that song. And then into "In His Eyes" - this had to be the best performed song in the show. Emma stood stage right, at the foot of the stairs, and Lucy stood at the balcony. They were both such wonderfully talented singers and it just sounded amazing. I love the harmonies at the end - especially the interval that they end on, it sounds so much better than the one note. That song honestly could have been right out of a cast recording somewhere.
Into "Dangerous Game". Lucy's bedroom was interesting - it was a simple double bed but the bedhead was a flat lowered from the flies, rather crown-shaped and just taller than a man. The importance of this was explained soon after. Hyde sang this song very well, though his voice didn't complement Lucy's as much as Jekyll's did. And they didn't really do much with the staging, though the lighting was brilliant. They used the Broadway lyrics, which I don't like as much, but I was glad that they included the snippet from the beginning of the concept version in the first "Alive!". This song moved into "Facade" reprise 2: the whispering one (there were only 3 reprises here in total - aren't there 4 in the Broadway recording?). The staging for this was great - the bedhead flat was raised, where the Spider was revealed standing behind it. As he sang the reprise, he stalked up to the stairs and exited from there, while four men with long sticks entered and provided the backing as they lifted the bed with the sticks and exited.
Then a short dialogue scene between Utterson and Hyde, who changes shortly afterwards into Jekyll. I really loved the Utterson, he just seemed so concerned for Jekyll. And this scene is a lovely set of references to the book. This went into what is known here as "Angst 2" (where's "Angst 1"?) which was essentially "No One Must Ever Know", one of my favourite Jekyll pieces from the concept. Jekyll sang this best of all, and it was in this song that I could really pick out the fact that he had obviously been trained as an opera singer. "A New Life" came next as the scene moved back into Lucy's bedroom - this was set in a storm, and there were faint flashes of lighting and rumbles as Utterson entered, gave Lucy the money and read the letter to her. Lucy sang this song so beautifully, it had me in tears because I knew what was going to happen next... she ended it, and went to bed. The lights dimmed, and through strobe lighting effects we saw Hyde enter. The director obviously wanted us in as much suspense as possible... for half a minute Hyde stood at the side of the bed gazing at Lucy before waking her up, and finding the letter... he sang the "Sympathy, Tenderness" reprise so sweetly that I really thought he meant it before he pulled out the knife, still stroking her. Then I just sat completely shocked, as Jekyll entered behind them, looking absolutely tortured, and to my infinite astonishment, as Hyde drew the knife across Lucy's throat, Jekyll placed his hand on Hyde's and guided the blade! The he drifted out, looking horrified.
This led perfectly into "Confrontation", which was done... interestingly. Jekyll and Hyde sang at each other across the lab table. The singing was perfect. Then by the end dialogue ("take all your evil deeds" etc) Hyde was physically attacking Jekyll. The sides were determined as each fought back with their line - at "Never!" Jekyll threw himself at Hyde, but the question of whether he won or lost was never really answered as the stage was flooded with darkness at that point - I really liked that effect.
Then Facade reprise 3, my favourite. This really haunted me, because it was sung to the background of what could almost be a wedding chorus, and the guests themselves sang it as they entered and sat on the benches in their finery. When Emma entered, looking stunning, I felt a collective sigh of relief from the audience - it looked like everything was going to turn out fine. But I felt my heart sinking, I didn't know if I could bear watching this, live, onstage... then Jekyll entered. I wanted to cry.
The priest (an interestingly reincarnated General Glossop) began to read the ceremony (Henry John Albert Jekyll... oh, I love him all the more!) when suddenly Jekyll seemingly fainted, caught by John. Emma gasped as Jekyll then fell out of John's arms and crawled along to stage right, singing, until he collapsed - and Hyde entered, once again standing over the fallen Jekyll. He declared "there is no Henry... only Hyde!" I knew the audience was horrified as well as everyone at the wedding. Emma tried to run to Hyde but was restrained by her father - John looked on in horror as Simon Stride approached Hyde, where he was caught and his neck snapped in a matter of seconds. No one really paid attention to his death except a couple of young women at the back of the congragation who ran to him and wept over his body. Then Hyde got hold of Emma, and this time it was Sir Danvers who was restrained. Emma pleaded to the Jekyll inside Hyde, as Utterson pulled out his sword-cane thing (actually a prop from "Maskerade", the Discworld PotO parody that my Dad acted in last year). Hyde seemed to be enduring some internal struggle as suddenly the prone Jekyll leapt up and threw himself upon Utterson's sword. Hyde had by this time moved to stage right and the both collapsed simultaneously, falling even in the same position. Emma rested Jekyll's head on her lap as the wedding party crowded moved back to give them room. I loved how she said "Rest now, my tormented love..." to touch upon the concept, but then sang the much more fitting finale "You are free now, you're with me now, where you'll always be..."
And bows, and curtain calls, and encores, and clapping until my hands were numb. From where I was sitting in the evening I could see Jekyll from the left of the door that he was coming out on (opposite to the one Hyde entered) counting them both in in the final bows - I loved the use of the red spotlight on Hyde, and the blue spotlight on Jekyll.
And it was over! Dad and I hung around at the after-show party for a while, as he usually does (even though he wasn't in any way involved with the show), and I met nearly everyone. Including the marvellous Dr. Jekyll (Alex Thomas, actually) and we chatted about things. He knew (and was amused by) the Hasselhoff version, and he had also studied the Warlow version in preparation for the show! I was so pleased with him. And he wished me a happy birthday for the next day... Jekyll wished me happy birthday! Eee!
And that's really about it. I could write so much more but this has already taken me two and a half hours from my notes and rather grand additions to them. My first experience of this show onstage was absolutely unforgettable, I enjoyed every moment of it and am so glad I could travel so far to see it, and twice. It's so very unlikely anyone involved in it is reading this, but if they are - thank you so much for such a fantastic show, and for throwing a new tree on the fire of my obsession.
Hmm. That took me several hours. I should really go and finish my art essay now.
Please also forgive my wonderous and wide-eyed attention to detail - this is the first time I have ever seen the show and I don't know what things are commonplace in this version of the production. Just bear with me.
Also bear in mind that there are lots of details and things I picked up on because I saw the show twice - 4th February, to be exact - at 2pm and again at 8pm. I'd love to scan in the program pictures and such but for copyright reasons I'm afraid I can't. So you'll have to make do with my limited command of the language... and now without further ado, I will begin.
I had travelled 2,500km and into a different state to see this show, and I was not disappointed in the slightest. I would have gone to Western Australia to see it again. As soon as I walked into the theatre I was awestruck by the spectacular set design. It was very simple - the floor was painted in a black and red checkerboard pattern, and the only set involved a balcony to stage left spreading about 2/3 of the way across the upper stage, then intersected by a wide staircase that led to the balcony floor and took up the remaining third on stage right. There was a large gap between the bases of the stairs and balcony which allowed for character entrances through there and in about another 6 locations. Before the lights dimmed red smoke swirled around the stage, soft LotR-sounding ominous music played and there was a single rotating fiberous white light shining diagonally across the stage.
ACT ONE
The first few scenes moved very slowly. It began with Dr. Jekyll's short "In each of us there are two natures..." lines, which were followed by Mr. Utterson's introduction. The light faded and Henry's father was brought out, followed by Sir Danvers. After some dialogue Henry sang "Lost in the Darkness" and followed this with a shorter version of "I Need to Know". These solos work a lot better on the CD, because it is a little hard to command the attention of the audience for about 6 minutes while one actor stands in a spotlight and sings. But the pace was picked up greatly by "Facade" which followed.
The actor playing Henry Jekyll (note: this production used a different actor for Jekyll and for Hyde) was very tall - though my first impression was that Sir Danvers was just unnaturally short (even though he turned out to be taller than me). He was very good looking and had short-ish red hair that hung in loose curls. Understandably I instantly fell in love with him. He was a fantastic actor and an even better singer - he did seem to have some very slight speech impediment or lisp that could be detected now and again but overall it wasn't very noticible. He had a full, rich baritone and some of the sustained higher notes had me in rapture. And fortunately most of the other cast were very tall as well and so he didn't look too out of place.
During the chorus songs strange flats were lowered from the flies. They were distorted images of houses that were a very good background to the ensemble "Facade". This was sung beautifully, and gave me a chance to see the costumes. Most were lovely - especially the upper-class women's dresses. You see, in this scene the stage was split between the upper classes in their suits, top hats and bustle-d dresses, and the lower classes looking like a scene out of Les Miz. During the scene they sang seperately and then together, and occasionally a beggar would confront an aristocrat until their stage places switched and the beggars overpowered the upper classes. Then the chorus exited and the Board of Governors took their place for the next scene, surprisingly, "The Board of Governors".
I loved the fact that this performance followed the song on the concept CD almost word-for-word, with mininal lyric changes and some dialogue. Simon Stride stood stage right at a lectern, writing in a printed book which looked suspiciously like a Bible, and the Board lined up diagonally down the stairs, facing Jekyll where he stood at a small table arranging his papers and chemicals. The whole scene was staged and sung beautifully. I'm sorry, I fell in love with Lord Savage... (it was this bit that got me, just after Sir Danvers has abstained and Stride closed the meeting... Lord Savage: "Who wants to take me to lunch? Bessie, mmh?" Lady Beckonsfield: "No thank you, I've heard enough demented babbling for one day without having to listen to you, Herbert."). And also Simon Stride himself (never mind the fact that he is the son of one of the professors that my Dad works with at JCU...!), he was so deliciously oily and suave, and his costume - consisting of a bottle green brocade coat, maroon waistcoat, mustard yellow trousers and a paisley cravat - amused and delighted me to no end.
Facade reprise one was sung by the guests as they entered for "The Engagement Party". I found that the Facade reprises worked extremely well onstage, they added greatly to the dramatic impact of the whole show, particularly reprise 3, which was very hauntingly sung by the guests as they entered for the Jekyll/Carew wedding. But more on that later. The choreography in this scene was a bit choppy and didn't look very well rehearsed, unfortunately. The second time when my attentions weren't focused on the main action I was captivated by Simon Stride - he drunkenly fell down the stairs, and tripped rather than walked into the room. The business with the wine glasses was hilarious - he found Archibald Proops, then hailed the maid from whom he took two wine glasses. He drained the first himself, then gave the empty glass to the Proops, and drank the second one!
"Dr. Jekyll's tardy for his own engagement party..." Henry still hadn't turned up yet, as Simon sang "Emma Carew" to... well, Emma Carew. He was gloriously slimy, staggering a little as he turned Emma's face outwards and sang from behind into her ear. Finally Henry arrived, and he and Emma sang "Take Me As I Am". It was beautifully sung - the pair were wonderfully matched in vocal timbre and it sounded gorgeous. Emma was beautiful to look at, she had a charming face and wore a delightful cream dress with embriodered pink roses that we found out afterwards her mother had made for her. In the afternoon performance her voice was a little breathy and husky but by the evening she sounded divine. The reaction Sir Danvers and Utterson had to the kiss after the song very entertaining. Jekyll endeared himself to me more with this snatch of dialogue as they exited - Jekyll: "Was there a Lord Beckonsfield?" Emma: "Oh, yes, but he died over thirty years ago." Jekyll: "Sensible fellow!"
Then into the Red Rat, Henry declaring "I'm feeling dangerous" as he is led off by Nellie. I was so envious of that girl. It was very interesting to see all the male members of the Board (bar Sir Danvers) in that scene. Then Lucy entered, wearing a rather un-prostitutish long dress that was lovely all the same, and sang "Bring on the Men" to absolute perfection. That woman had such an amazing voice. It had a much purer tone quality than Linda Eder and on the higher notes it didn't sound as strained as Eder's does. The staging for this scene was great as well, especially the dance segue using only 4 benches. The second time I saw this I watched Lord Savage the whole time and envied every woman who sat in his lap. This leads me to another comment about how well this show was done - whenever the chorus was onstage, even when the focus wasn't on them, they were still acting. They were all part of the scene. You could look at anyone and have your attention riveted by them.
There was real chemistry between Lucy and Jekyll, it made for a great scene and also further into "Sympathy, Tenderness". The Spider had the strangest face - he was a young man of about maybe 21 or so, and he had this animated quality to his face that set off his quite bizarre, pixie-like features. He was very scary and believable. As Jekyll sang "This is the Moment" (oh, swoon), stage cut to "the lab" - which featured one of the very few props in the show. It was a stunning sight - the table was wheeled onstage half-way through in the darkness, made all the stranger by the pipes, test tubes and general glassware illuminated by about a dozen candles scattered over the table and dry ice pouring everywhere. (I later learnt that these props had all been salvaged from the chemistry department of the university where my Dad works, JCU.)
Then the crucial scene - "First Transformation". How the transition between the two actors as Jekyll/Hyde worked, and whether it did work at all, was the variable on which the rest of the show weighed. But it worked, damn me, it worked. Jekyll sang the first part charmingly, actually checked his fob watch for the time (a part which I had been concerned about before) and drank the HJ7 - bright red stuff, I meant to ask him afterwards what it really was but I forgot! probably Ribena or something - and continued on until the formula took effect. At this point he began to reel about the stage in terrible pain before collapsing near the front, slightly stage right, just as Hyde entered from beneath the balcony. My God, what a sight. The man had a huge, hulking frame and the thick, red smoke behind him silhouetted this and made him appear as if he were walking out of the very Gates of Hell. Jekyll managed to raise himself on his shoulder and he and Hyde stared at each other for a moment as Jekyll whispered "who is this... creature that I see?", before he fainted. Hyde assumed the position over the fallen Jekyll, giving the effect of another soul escaping from his body, before he stormed to the front of the stage and roared "Free!"
Into "Alive", in which the lighting and direction was great. The people of London wandered through the scene and as Hyde caught Lucy she sang the opening lines of "Dangerous Game" from the concept version, "I feel your fingers/brushing my shoulder/your tempting touch..." which I found very effective, before Hyde began to beat her.
Jekyll's study, five days later - Poole was the most ideal looking butler I've ever seen and he was charmingly acted. This moved into "Work and Nothing More" which I loved, as I have loved in every incarnation except the Broadway version. I was especially charmed in this scene by Sir Danvers, the actor of whom I was adoring more and more because of his natural Irish accent and gorgeous singing voice. I enjoyed some of the changes to this song - I never liked the changing of Lisa to Emma, especially because of that gorgeous music line Jekyll has during this song where he sings desperately "Lisa... Lisa!" four times to the other harmonies. I liked, though, the replacement here - he sang the first two lines to "Emma, Emma!" in the same tune, and then went into the Board of Governors theme, "and I will prove if I'm ever permitted to, things are not wrong just because they are true!". Emma's beautiful harmonies at the end set off the whole piece delightfully, she really had a gorgeous voice. "Sympathy, Tenderness" was really sweet, again the tension between Jekyll and Lucy set the scene on fire.
Then into the "Alive!" reprise, when Hyde kills the Bishop. The stage combat effects in this show were extremely violent and frighteningly realistic - here Hyde stabs the Bishop and then beats him with his cane, to the strains of "and I feel I'll live on forever!..." I was, however, amused by the fact that in the first performance the Bishop's top hat was left onstage after the lights went up, and in the second both his hat and his crucifix remained.
ACT TWO
This act opened with a song I have never particularly liked, "Murder, Murder!" But in this show it quickly became one of my favourites. It was wonderfully performed and milked for humour, the whole scene was hilarious. It began with singing about the murder of the Bishop ("seen walking with his daughter a moment prior to slaughter!" always cracks me up), and soon General Glossop is walking across stage with Lord Savage after the funeral of the Bishop (where Lord Savage stood at the back, unable to control his laughter at the completely false comments being made about the Bishop's wonderful and charitable life) discussing him ("loved buggering children, eh what!") when Hyde appears and laughs at this joke as well. When he begins to threaten the General Lord Savage tries to make himself scarce but when Hyde breaks Glossop's neck Lord Savage runs under the balcony and off, screaming "Murder!" The beggars then swarm over the General's body and take his valuables before dragging him off.
Soon after Lord Savage is again socialising, this time with Archibald Proops and Lady Beckonsfield. Once again Hyde appears, breaks the neck of Proops and strangles Lady Beckonsfield. And again Lord Savage escapes, screaming "Murder!" (though the first time I could have sworn he was actually saying "Mother!"). And then the most brilliant part - when he is standing at a train station with a suitcase, and Sir Danvers and Emma appear. He informs them that it is not safe for him in London, so he is leaving. "But where are you going?" asks Sir Danvers desperately. "That," Savage says, "I am telling to no one." He walks away for a moment, reconsiders and turns back. "Aberdeen, actually," he admits to the surprised Sir Danvers. "I want you to know that I really tried to save the others. Tried like Hell." "That," replies Danvers, "is between you and God alone, Archibald. Goodbye." He and Emma bid their farewells and they leave.
And then Hyde emerges from the shadows, with a large cane. "Bad news from God, Herbert."
The scene changes back to Jekyll's lab, that Emma has somehow got into. She is worried about Jekyll's now reclusive nature and wants to know what is going in. He bursts in on her, shouting like a madman, demanding to know what she has read. She replied with "Once Upon a Dream", sung absolutely beautifully by her. After she leaves, Jekyll sings "Streak of Madness", another track replicated from the CD. I always loved that song. And then into "In His Eyes" - this had to be the best performed song in the show. Emma stood stage right, at the foot of the stairs, and Lucy stood at the balcony. They were both such wonderfully talented singers and it just sounded amazing. I love the harmonies at the end - especially the interval that they end on, it sounds so much better than the one note. That song honestly could have been right out of a cast recording somewhere.
Into "Dangerous Game". Lucy's bedroom was interesting - it was a simple double bed but the bedhead was a flat lowered from the flies, rather crown-shaped and just taller than a man. The importance of this was explained soon after. Hyde sang this song very well, though his voice didn't complement Lucy's as much as Jekyll's did. And they didn't really do much with the staging, though the lighting was brilliant. They used the Broadway lyrics, which I don't like as much, but I was glad that they included the snippet from the beginning of the concept version in the first "Alive!". This song moved into "Facade" reprise 2: the whispering one (there were only 3 reprises here in total - aren't there 4 in the Broadway recording?). The staging for this was great - the bedhead flat was raised, where the Spider was revealed standing behind it. As he sang the reprise, he stalked up to the stairs and exited from there, while four men with long sticks entered and provided the backing as they lifted the bed with the sticks and exited.
Then a short dialogue scene between Utterson and Hyde, who changes shortly afterwards into Jekyll. I really loved the Utterson, he just seemed so concerned for Jekyll. And this scene is a lovely set of references to the book. This went into what is known here as "Angst 2" (where's "Angst 1"?) which was essentially "No One Must Ever Know", one of my favourite Jekyll pieces from the concept. Jekyll sang this best of all, and it was in this song that I could really pick out the fact that he had obviously been trained as an opera singer. "A New Life" came next as the scene moved back into Lucy's bedroom - this was set in a storm, and there were faint flashes of lighting and rumbles as Utterson entered, gave Lucy the money and read the letter to her. Lucy sang this song so beautifully, it had me in tears because I knew what was going to happen next... she ended it, and went to bed. The lights dimmed, and through strobe lighting effects we saw Hyde enter. The director obviously wanted us in as much suspense as possible... for half a minute Hyde stood at the side of the bed gazing at Lucy before waking her up, and finding the letter... he sang the "Sympathy, Tenderness" reprise so sweetly that I really thought he meant it before he pulled out the knife, still stroking her. Then I just sat completely shocked, as Jekyll entered behind them, looking absolutely tortured, and to my infinite astonishment, as Hyde drew the knife across Lucy's throat, Jekyll placed his hand on Hyde's and guided the blade! The he drifted out, looking horrified.
This led perfectly into "Confrontation", which was done... interestingly. Jekyll and Hyde sang at each other across the lab table. The singing was perfect. Then by the end dialogue ("take all your evil deeds" etc) Hyde was physically attacking Jekyll. The sides were determined as each fought back with their line - at "Never!" Jekyll threw himself at Hyde, but the question of whether he won or lost was never really answered as the stage was flooded with darkness at that point - I really liked that effect.
Then Facade reprise 3, my favourite. This really haunted me, because it was sung to the background of what could almost be a wedding chorus, and the guests themselves sang it as they entered and sat on the benches in their finery. When Emma entered, looking stunning, I felt a collective sigh of relief from the audience - it looked like everything was going to turn out fine. But I felt my heart sinking, I didn't know if I could bear watching this, live, onstage... then Jekyll entered. I wanted to cry.
The priest (an interestingly reincarnated General Glossop) began to read the ceremony (Henry John Albert Jekyll... oh, I love him all the more!) when suddenly Jekyll seemingly fainted, caught by John. Emma gasped as Jekyll then fell out of John's arms and crawled along to stage right, singing, until he collapsed - and Hyde entered, once again standing over the fallen Jekyll. He declared "there is no Henry... only Hyde!" I knew the audience was horrified as well as everyone at the wedding. Emma tried to run to Hyde but was restrained by her father - John looked on in horror as Simon Stride approached Hyde, where he was caught and his neck snapped in a matter of seconds. No one really paid attention to his death except a couple of young women at the back of the congragation who ran to him and wept over his body. Then Hyde got hold of Emma, and this time it was Sir Danvers who was restrained. Emma pleaded to the Jekyll inside Hyde, as Utterson pulled out his sword-cane thing (actually a prop from "Maskerade", the Discworld PotO parody that my Dad acted in last year). Hyde seemed to be enduring some internal struggle as suddenly the prone Jekyll leapt up and threw himself upon Utterson's sword. Hyde had by this time moved to stage right and the both collapsed simultaneously, falling even in the same position. Emma rested Jekyll's head on her lap as the wedding party crowded moved back to give them room. I loved how she said "Rest now, my tormented love..." to touch upon the concept, but then sang the much more fitting finale "You are free now, you're with me now, where you'll always be..."
And bows, and curtain calls, and encores, and clapping until my hands were numb. From where I was sitting in the evening I could see Jekyll from the left of the door that he was coming out on (opposite to the one Hyde entered) counting them both in in the final bows - I loved the use of the red spotlight on Hyde, and the blue spotlight on Jekyll.
And it was over! Dad and I hung around at the after-show party for a while, as he usually does (even though he wasn't in any way involved with the show), and I met nearly everyone. Including the marvellous Dr. Jekyll (Alex Thomas, actually) and we chatted about things. He knew (and was amused by) the Hasselhoff version, and he had also studied the Warlow version in preparation for the show! I was so pleased with him. And he wished me a happy birthday for the next day... Jekyll wished me happy birthday! Eee!
And that's really about it. I could write so much more but this has already taken me two and a half hours from my notes and rather grand additions to them. My first experience of this show onstage was absolutely unforgettable, I enjoyed every moment of it and am so glad I could travel so far to see it, and twice. It's so very unlikely anyone involved in it is reading this, but if they are - thank you so much for such a fantastic show, and for throwing a new tree on the fire of my obsession.
Hmm. That took me several hours. I should really go and finish my art essay now.