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The Orpheum Theatre, San Francisco
Jekyll and Hyde
National Touring Production
August 4, 1999
Review by Rodney Anderson
 
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I attended last night's performance of Jekyll & Hyde at the Orpheum Theatre here in San Francisco. I have not seen the
Broadway production as it has always been at or near the bottom of must-see shows when I've been in New York. I did see a
touring version of the show up in Sacramento in September of 1995. The most I remember about that Sunday was that it was
Labor Day weekend, it was hot, and I was going to the California State Fair afterwards hoping that things would have cooled off
by late afternoon. I only remember a little of the show that I can use to compare the two productions though I do remember that
the Sacramento show did not contain some of the songs that I heard on the concept CD. I also remember thinking the book
needed work. It appears that a lot more has changed.
A lot of the new show is sung through in the first act, which I don't remember from the first production. Also, I don't remember
the first scene in the hospital. Stabbing seems to be the preferred method of murder in this production. In the Sacramento version,
Lucy is murdered by having her throat slashed, which was really gory. Hyde was also shot dead. The sets also seemed to be
better before. And I don't remember "In His Eyes" from either the concept CD or the Sacramento show.
As for my opinion, I didn't like the sung through first act as the music didn't go anywhere but on and on and on. I was unable to
detect any songs. It seemed as if there were only two songs in the first act, "This is the Moment" and whatever Lucy's number is
at the end of the first act. Jekyll's "transformation" was more humorous than real. Actually, I didn't really detect a transformation
at all. I remember the scene in Sacramento in that the lights changed (got darker) and his hair became loose and he became this
dark creature. Here, it was more like he let his hair down. The lighting remained the same. There wasn't any real character
development in the show and I also noticed a lack of energy by most of the actors. Act two was better in that it wasn't sung
through. Song's were more noticeable. I enjoyed "Murder, Murder" and "In His Eyes" was particularly lovely. This act seemed to
be more organized than the first. Of course, the differences from the first production I saw keep coming back to me.
Chuck Wagner was decent as Jekyll/Hyde. He was the best singer of the group though he overacted a bit. He was definitely
more intense. Sharon Brown played Lucy and she was good when she could find the note. The poor percussion player kept trying
to find her as she was having trouble staying on the beat. Her verbrado was also lacking and then she would go off on a tangent
with variations during some of her songs. I keep thinking "Sharon, you have a good voice but stay with the melody and the
harmony, don't go off on your own". Andrea Rivette was a lovely Emma and has a lovely voice. Their "In His Eyes" was good
but could have been better if Sharon would have stayed the course.
The set/costumes were fine. The laboratory was similar to the Sacramento production but I can't remember any more similarities.
And it was lovely to have a show in the Orpheum with good sound. It seems every other show in that theatre is over amplified.
You can actually hear this show clearly.
While I really like the music, it's really only generic pop music. It is so completely detached from the book that any other songs
with the same themes could have been used. They aren't interwoven into the text very well. And that sung through first act needs
to be re-thought out. As a complete show, I can't say it is very good. I'd have been happy just listening to the concept CD. I didn't
need to see the show but that's par for the course when it comes to musicals and me.
-------Rodney Anderson
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