Good vs. Evil
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Jekyll & Hyde storms the stage at Actors’ Playhouse
By Tina Wyngate
Like most people with at least a smattering of education, I knew about Robert Louis Stevenson’s Gothic horror novel “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” When I thought about it, however, I realized all I knew was that it was about this doctor who drank some kind of solution that turned him into a monstrous, murderous character named Hyde. So, part of the fun in seeing “Jekyll & Hyde” at the Miracle Theatre was to follow the actual narrative and see where it led.
“Jekyll & Hyde” is the first show of the 39th season of the Actors’ Playhouse, and it is staged with consummate professionalism. From the set design to the lighting to the costumes – not to mention the performances – the Actors’ Playhouse delivers a top-quality performance that goes far beyond what you would expect from regional theater. You’d be hard pressed to tell the difference between this production and the Broadway show that ran for 1,543 regular performances.
The scene is 1880s London, in the laboratory of Dr. Henry Jekyll, an up-and-coming physician obsessed with somehow conquering the evil side of human nature. He takes his ideas to the Board of Governors of St. Jude’s Hospital, where he works, hoping they will back his research and supply a human subject for his experiments. The board rejects his research as unsafe as well as heretical, which prompts Jekyll to conduct the research by experimenting on himself.
This turns out to be a bad idea, as Jekyll’s concoction transforms him into a brutal, ugly thug by the name of Edward Hyde. This new identity – portrayed brilliantly by actor E.L. Losada – unleashes his unrestrained subconscious, with zero self-control when it comes to violence and lust.
Jekyll’s metamorphosis, as well as the narrative of his romance with two very different women, is writ large in the script and score of “Jekyll & Hyde.” If you are a fan of Broadway musicals, you are in for a treat. The music, lyrics, and song stylings of the original award-winning score are top notch. If anything, there are too many showstoppers, like Jekyll’s “Lost in the Darkness” and “I Need to Know,” belted out with great aplomb by Losada – the same voice that garnered record Carbonell nominations for his previous roll as Don Quixote in “Man of La Mancha.” The co-star female leads – Emily van Vliet Perea as Lucy Harris and Anette Barrios-Torres as Emma Carew – are both superb vocalists as well. Barrios-Torres’ rendition of “Once Upon a Dream,” and van Vliet Perea’s “A New Life” are magical. Other cast members are also to be lauded, notably Don Seward as Jekyll’s friend and lawyer Gabriel John Utterson.
Overall, “Jekyll & Hyde” lands somewhere on the Broadway spectrum between “Sweeney Todd” and “Phantom of the Opera” on the horror side, and between “Oliver” and “Les Misérables” as a period piece from the 1800s. It’s the Gothic fun house of Broadway musicals, a brooding, compelling exploration of good and evil set to a great score. Well staged, well directed, and well performed, “Jekyll & Hyde” shines darkly as the Actors’ Playhouse at its best.
Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre
280 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables, FL 33134