DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE to Open Next Week at The Filigree Theatre
Performances will run from February 7-23.
Tickets are on sale now for The Filigree Theatre's second production of their Sixth Season, "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde," adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher and directed by Elizabeth V. Newman. This run of performances opens Friday, Feb. 7 at Factory on 5th (located at 3409 E 5th St., Austin, TX 78702), and will play through Feb. 23, Thursday - Sunday evenings at 8 p.m. with matinees on Sundays at 3 p.m. This show is a novel take on Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale of "depravity, lust, love and horror" (per Dramatist Play Services) and the impulses that lurk under the surface within all of us - pulling us either towards good or towards evil - as embodied by Dr. Henry Jekyll's deadly struggle with his "shadow self," villainous Edward Hyde.
"As a part of our Third Season, 'Fear and Fearless,' Filigree produced Jeffrey Hatcher's adaptation of Henry James' ghost story, 'The Turn of the Screw,'" said Filigree's Artistic Director Elizabeth V. Newman. "I'm thrilled to direct another chilling tale adapted for the stage by Jeffrey Hatcher for our mid-winter show, this time, his brilliant take on the 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' story by Robert Louis Stevenson."
"Hatcher has written into the script that the character of Hyde be split amongst four actors (who otherwise play all of the roles aside from Jekyll and Elizabeth)," explained Newman. "By having the role of Hyde split, we explore the fragmentation of Jekyll's persona when he transforms into Hyde and how each of the 'faces' of Hyde provides a different reflection of his nature. If Jekyll is the prism, then each Hyde is a different refracted color."
"With the actors, I am exploring how this fracturing, doubling and mirroring plays out in a physical way on stage; discerning which aspects of Hyde (and of Jekyll) remain as constants across the Hydes and which are distortion, or 'fun house mirrors' of Jekyll," said Newman. "In this season of 'Masks & Mirrors,' we get to have fun exploring which face of Jekyll (or Hyde) is truthful and which is his mask.
Through lighting and design, we've been able to explore not only the haunting, dark and dangerous, gas-lit, world of Victorian-era London on stage but also how to have that world likewise reflect the fracturing and splintering of Jekyll's psyche."
For more information about The Filigree Theatre and their Sixth Season, entitled "Masks and Mirrors," you can see below and Filigree's website here.
ABOUT FILIGREE'S SIXTH SEASON:
The Filigree Theatre's annual season is structured to connect the Past, Present and Future of theatre over the course of a three-show season. Each season is structured as follows: the Fall (Past) is represented by an older or classic play; Winter (Present) is represented by a current piece from a playwright living/working today; and the Spring (Future) is represented by a new work or World Premiere. Each season is tied together with a common theme that runs throughout the three productions. In its sixth season, Filigree takes on the theme of "Masks & Mirrors."
"In this Season, we explore how these masks and mirrors work on a symbolic, and not merely literal, level: When and why do we mask the truth? How does one character provide a mirror for another character? How do we mask our true selves? How and why are our reflections on past events accurate or distorted?" said Filigree's Artistic Director Elizabeth V. Newman.
"In the Fall, with the famed Tennessee Williams play, 'Suddenly Last Summer,' we examined how dangerous it can be for those who speak the truth - especially when that truth is uncomfortable, or even threatening, to those who hold power," said Newman. "In the Winter, with Jeffery Hatcher's 'Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde' adapted from the Robert Louis Stevenson novella, 'Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,' we reflect on the thorny struggle of 'good vs. evil' that lives within us all; which part, which impulse, which side of the mirror is our true self? Which is the mask we wear?"
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