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.