Jekyll and Hyde: The Musical

I'm sure most of you remember my thrilled reviews of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde from back in June when I finished reading the book for the first time. Right after I had finished it, I went to the library and requested the musical Jekyll and Hyde both on CD and on DVD. The CD came in very quickly, and I listened to it several times before returning it. The movie, however, just came in about a week ago! I wasn't sure if I was really interested in watching it, especially since my little "Hyde high" had worn off, but I thought it might be interesting, so I put the DVD into my computer and started watching it yesterday, and finished it today. (It's a very long movie...over two hours!)

I loved it! I was totally mesmerized by the music, the storyline, the songs, the characters, the costumes... It was a wonderful production, and so different from the classic story Robert Louis Stevenson had written. There is so much I could talk about, but I don't want to bog down this post with a long and detailed description of what happens...the experience is much more rewarding if you were to check it out yourselves ;)

But, I will say this: the cast was amazing! Just a quick bit of clarification, though...I am not a Hassehoff fan. When I discovered he would be playing the doctor and Mr. Hyde, I will admit that I was hesitant to watch. I've seen all the crap he's been up to on the news, and I really wasn't interested in seeing the drunkard/druggie Hasselhoff on stage. I was sooo wrong! Hasselhoff's performance was AMAZING! Jekyll was pitiable and depressing, the emotion so raw at times that you just wanted to cry. And his Hyde could only be described as demonic. He truly captured the duality that the characters were supposed to maintain. Kudos!

Coleen Sexton, Andrea Rivette, George Merritt, and Barrie Ingham were all amazing as their respective roles of Lucy Harris, Emma Carew, Mr. Utterson, and Sir Danvers Carew. The four of them provided a wonderful supporting cast, and each one captured their characters and brought new light and life to them.

As for complaints, I have very few. I was disheartened that some of the songs I enjoyed had been removed from this production (although, probably in the interest of time), and I was a little confused by some of the remaining songs' rewordings. Also, I was a bit surprised that the leading lady Emma Carew had her name changed. In most productions, her name is actually "Lisa," not "Emma". Finally, I thought that Hasselhoff, while putting on an amazing performance, tended to get a tiny bit over dramatic. Especially at transformation scenes.

Evil Abe

My mom has been trying to get rid of this creepy $5 bill all day, but I think it's funny; although, I feel bad for poor Abe Lincoln who got a bit of makeover :P

Is this Mr. Hyde: The Five Dollar Edition?

The End of Sherlock; the Rise of Dracula

No, no...this does not mean that Holmes failed in his task to overthrow Dracula in Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula, but it does mean that I finished the book, and the logical progression would be into Dracula itself. I'm actually sinking my teeth into Dracula: The Connoisseur's Guide by Leonard Wolf, which does not contain the original book, but is full of the same sort delicious and bloodcurdling facts that I so enjoyed in the copy of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde that I was reading earlier. After this, I'll read Bram Stoker's novel. So far, this summer of Gothic novels is going better than I had expected. Not only am I reading some wonderful literature, but I'm also getting my fill of history. :3

The Gothic

Every summer, I try to have some sort of theme for my reading habits. Not that I limit myself to one genre, but I try to really delve into a certain area of study, just as I would for a literature class at college. After reading The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which I'm sure you all know I loved, since I rambled about it for multiple blog posts, I've decided to make my theme Gothic Novels!

I'm working on creating a list of Gothics that I should read, but I need your help. The websites give me lists of books, but I don't have the all-important Book Reviews to back them up. If you've read a Gothic novel, tell me about it: was it good, bad, scary, stupid? I'd love to know what you think about this genre! There is a lot for me to choose from, but your comments might help me to narrow down my choices for the first couple of books.

Thanks guys! ;)

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

I found this picture at www.deviantart.com

Thank you so much to Nymphesque for this amazing piece!

The End of Jekyll and Hyde

I just finished The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde today, and I am thrilled with it! It was a wonderful book, a fulfilling experience, and a pleasure to read. In fact, I highly recommend it.

I know what a lot of you are thinking (because I know everything-- just kidding!) I already know how this story goes! I've seen the movie; I've heard the plot. I know what's going to happen! Well, yes and no. It's true that the story of Jekyll and his evil counterpart Hyde has become ingrained in our minds from so many sources, but even so, the story the book tells is very different from the movies:

First of all, there are almost no women. Dr. Jekyll does not love a pretty young woman of a good family, while Hyde frequents a prostitute. Jekyll is fifty and single. The only women Hyde encounters are a young girl whom he tramples on, and a grown woman whom he slaps.

Second, it is not the pure and simple Good Jekyll verses Evil Hyde. Jekyll is not the good half. He is the collaboration of the two halves. Hyde is always in Jekyll who calls himself a hypocrite. However, Jekyll is absent in Hyde, who has no good in him whatsoever.

Third, Jekyll and Hyde do not communicate to each other. In the musical Jekyll and Hyde (specifically in the song Confrontation), the two parts interact with each other. However, Jekyll refers to himself as Hyde several times in the last chapter of the book, saying that as Hyde, he felt powerful, young, and devious. But, the two parts do not actually talk, since both are aspects of Dr. Jekyll himself.

Finally, while Jekyll is becoming more and more of Hyde (who is a part of him), Hyde starts to become Jekyll, for as we find out, there are scenes when Hyde struggles to find the antidote to bring himself back to Jekyll, cries "like a woman or a lost soul," and eventually kills himself, crying out before he does, "Utterson...for God's sake, have mercy!" (Robert Louis Stevenson -- The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde).

I was mesmerized by this little tome. It was a fascinating read that left me feeling fulfilled, like one who has just eaten a wonderful dinner. And yes, I did devour this book. (figuratively of course; paper does not appeal to my taste buds ;3)

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Today was my Tuesday library run, and while there, I found a copy of Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I even managed to snag an edition that is sure to be a total treat for a devoted bookworm/history buff such as myself; it's just bursting with annotations and notes about the book itself and the history of the time period, importance of names, etc. I've only read the introduction so far (twenty glorious pages) and I've learned so much about Stevenson, his life, his family, the creation of this book, and predecessors that might have inspired it's creation. This is the stuff that I love! The history, the little tidbits and facts...this is what makes a book so exciting! I'm going to have to check out this series for more annotated versions of the classics; they enrich the reading experience.

Speaking of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, there are a few videos I wanted to post along with this. The first two are from the musical Jekyll and Hyde (an amazing production) and the last one is from one of my favorite TV shows when I was little: Arthur. (Yes, I know I'm too old for that show, and I don't watch it anymore, but the song is very catchy and picking up the book reminded me of it).