Jekyll & Hyde The Musical

Jekyll & Hyde The Musical

Book & Lyrics by Leslie Brickhouse

Music by Frank Wildhorn

Directed by Kelly Apps

Musical Director: Joseph Binmore

Choreographer: Carly Poole

Lighting & Sound: Seventh Wave Audio

Axminster Musical Theatre

The Guildhall, Axminster

Tuesday 26th September 2023

‘Tricia Barclay

NODA SW Representative District 6

As the title would suggest this was certainly not typical of the usual musical production where boy meets girl, they fall in love, some struggles and conflict generally follow but all is resolved, and everything ends happily ever after!

There were certainly struggles and conflict in this piece, and with no happy ending but all made for a powerful and thought-provoking production.

The poignant opening number was sympathetically sung as the audience was introduced to Dr Jekyll visiting his sick father. Believing that the evil in his father’s soul had caused his illness Jekyll is determined to find a cure to separate good from evil and prevent further suffering. He manages to create a formula in his laboratory but is thwarted by the Board of Governors at St Jude’s Hospital who unanimously turn down his request to test on a human subject, leaving him no option but to test it on himself.

In the lead role this performer gave a mesmerising and perfect portrayal, strongly displaying  the massive change of character as he turned backwards and forwards from the warm and genial Dr Jekyll into the dark and controlling Mr Hyde. 

Commanding the stage the whole time he successfully showed both his love and fear for the future for Emma, his fiancée, and his concern for Lucy from the Red Rat Brothel, who he urges to leave town. His solo numbers were striking and the duet with Emma Take Me as I Am was beautifully sung.

All the principal characters were strongly played, and the two  leading ladies were sublimely different, both made a strong mark in their individual roles and sang exceptionally well. 

Emma, stepping into the Director’s shoes halfway through rehearsals, showed a steely determination throughout to “stand by her man”, while Lucy brought out her vulnerability, trapped into a life she longed to escape and clinging to Jekyll in the hope for a way out.

All the cast gave sterling  support to the principals, and it was good to see faces on stage from other societies, and youngsters given a chance to tackle perhaps otherwise not typical roles.

Among many memorable moments were the ladies of the “bordello” in Bring on the Men, all dressed in red and black, Simon changing to Spider disguised in a striking costume and wig, a lovely scene with Emma and Lucy In his Eyes, and the delightful Newspaper Boy in Act II.

The fight scenes and murders were very well handled, although a little light relief did ensue when the “bodies” scampered off in semi-darkness, and the crowd scenes were well grouped and choreographed.

All the costumes were well chosen and beautifully co-ordinated, with those of the General and Spider making a stark contrast, and the set was simply designed with cut out arched windows upstage allowing for some stunning lighting effects throughout. The scene changes were smoothly managed by members of the cast with occasional input from the backstage crew and Jekyll’s laboratory set DSR worked well with some excellent period props.

The large orchestra under an experienced MD played superbly throughout  and the music was evocative and spellbinding at times.

The Sound team did exceptionally well with the levels and the Lighting was simply first class, reflecting the costumes and the mood of the scenes perfectly.

Of course, Dr Jekyll did the decent thing at the end realising that he couldn’t go ahead with the wedding and fell on his sword, or rather his best friend’s sword – cleverly executed!

A powerful and moving production – very well done!

Any observation made by the reviewer can only be based on what they see at the performance in question.  The reviewer may have received information in advance of the performance, and it is inevitable that their assessment will be affected by that knowledge.

The N.O.D.A. Representative’s intention is to give an objective critique of the overall production and in particular the performance viewed.  It should be remembered that any review of this nature can only be objective as far as the techniques used during the performance observed.  Any criticisms expressed may not have been valid at other performances and are only made to encourage higher standards in Amateur Theatre.

It is hoped that the audience’s appreciation of your efforts will have given everyone a lift and encouraged you to greater achievements in the future and that the observations made by the reviewer will prove helpful in improving future productions.

 

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