Review: ASNY'S Production of JEKYLL & HYDE THE MUSICAL

Ain’t Seen Noth’n Yet (ASNY)’s production of Jekyll & Hyde The Musical takes place at the Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre, a heritage building dating back to 1912. The venue boasts a large wooden stage flanked by enormous Corinthian-style columns, with a large pipe organ as a backdrop. Because there is no individual seating, tickets are general admission. The seats are wooden pews, which contribute to the unique setting but become increasingly uncomfortable by intermission. The patrons in front of us knew better and brought their own seat cushions.

Although undoubtedly a beautiful setting, the location’s setup contributed to some problems. The performers were not equipped with microphones and the actors were unable to consistently project their voices. This made it particularly difficult to understand the dialogue and lyrics. To try to compensate, there was a choir in addition to a large ensemble, which worked extremely well for harmonies and choruses. Jekyll & Hyde contains a fair amount of dialogue and struggling to hear inevitably led to confusion as the story progressed. This was hindered by the fact that there were no obvious discerning elements to help the audience distinguish between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (except maybe a top hat?). Because of that, the fact that the characters couldn’t see any remote resemblance between the two was almost laughable.

Jekyll & Hyde was a bit of an odd selection for ASNY. Even though it enjoyed an initial Broadway run of more than 1,500 performances from 1997 to 2001, the musical was much maligned. Ostensibly no one could stomach the re-vamped 2013 Broadway revival, which closed after only 29 performances and 15 previews. Indeed, the score is monotonous, and the lyrics are repetitive. Most of the songs (music by Frank Wildhorn and lyrics by Wildhorn, Leslie Bricusse, and Steve Cuden) are unmemorable ballads that are difficult to differentiate, as they all seem to be in the same key and use similar orchestrations. The only notable exception is the chorus heavy, “Murder, Murder” in the beginning of the second act.

The costumes (designed by Debbie Carmichael, Carole Fontaine, and Kathleen Renaud) were gorgeous, using sumptuous fabrics in designs fitting for the Victorian period in which the story takes place. There was virtually no set to speak of and few props, putting even more emphasis on the actors. The score was well performed by a pianist (Wendy Berkelaar), a cellist (Steve Smith), and a violinist (Tessa Bangs), but they often overpowered the performers, further exacerbating the problem. It was often impossible to tell who was singing unless it was a true solo, due to the overuse of the chorus to mask the uneven sound. Because of this, it was easiest to assess the vocal abilities of Micah DeShazer (Henry Jekyll / Edward Hyde), Madeline Hunter (Emma Carew), Rachel Duchesneau (Lucy Harris), Benjamin Haile (Sir Danvers Carew), and Marc Lessard (Bishop of Basingstoke). Those performances ranged from good to excellent (the latter most specifically relating to Hunter).

There was an ensemble member who stood out to me, but because there were no identifiers with the cast photos at the front entrance, I can’t give them a well-deserved shout out.

Audiences familiar with the Robert Louis Stevenson novella, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, upon which the musical is based, will be better able to follow the story despite the sound issues. If not, I strongly advise at least a cursory review of the plot summary before seeing the show. The cast did the best they could given the source material but, ultimately, this is a forgettable musical that does nothing to showcase the actors’ talent or versatility. With no shortage of events going on in Ottawa this weekend, unless you are one of the few Jekyll & Hyde aficionados (perhaps surprisingly, they do exist), you should probably skip this show and wait for ASNY’s next production.

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