PicksInSix Review: JEKYLL & HYDE - Kokandy Productions - Chopin Theatre
“Go Where No Angel Will Go.”
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy
It’s no surprise that any revival of “JEKYLL & HYDE” requires a blockbuster performer in the challenging dual role of the steadfast Dr. Henry Jekyll and his evil alter ego, Edward Hyde. Director Derek Van Barham has accomplished just that in casting the explosive David Moreland in the Kokandy Productions revival that opened Saturday on the Chopin Theatre Mainstage. Moreland’s dynamic presence, with Ava Lane Stovall as the sultry Lucy and Emily McCormick as Jekyll’s conflicted fiancé Emma, anchor a top flight ensemble of enormous depth and versatility, buoyed by Brenda Didier’s delightfully quirky choreography, Nick Sula’s exceptional music direction and the on-stage presence and staggering brilliance of a 15-piece orchestra.
The story, based on the Robert Louis Stevenson classic novella, examines the medical phenomenon of dual personalities and the research of Jekyll, a highly regarded physician in 1888 London. Jekyll must defend his seven years of research before a skeptical Board of Governors of St. Jude’s Hospital. His proposal is to divide a human subject’s personality in two—one good, the other evil; “compassion and hate”—in an attempt to rid the world of evil. Provoked by Jekyll’s arch nemesis, Simon Stride (Quinn Kelch), the Governors flatly reject the proposal with only Emma’s father Sir Danvers Carew (Nathan Calaranan) abstaining. Incensed and bitter, Jekyll is left to explore other means to test his theory.
At the engagement party at Danvers’ home, Emma confirms her devotion to the troubled Jekyll. Later, along the streets of London, he and his friend and lawyer, Gabriel John Utterson (Kevin Webb), visit The Red Rat, a brothel run by Spider, where Jekyll meets the ravishing Lucy who unsuccessfully plies her charms only to receive an earnest promise of assistance in the future from him. On the way home, Jekyll tells Utterson that his only course forward is to take the potion himself. Despite the consequences, Jekyll proceeds and the catastrophic result is the awakening of the merciless killer Edward Hyde who begins his deadly campaign of retribution.
“JEKYLL & HYDE” was conceived for the stage by Frank Wildhorn and Steve Cuden with music by Wildwood and book and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse. The challenging piece is in expert hands here with an intriguing gothic aesthetic at work in the creative scenic design of Sotirios Livaditis, a multi-level chamber that serves the movement of the piece well and frames the orchestra upstage. Rachel Sypniewski’s goth influenced costumes provide rich texture against the stark atmospheric lighting design of G “Max” Maxin IV. Matt Reich’s sound work here is simply exceptional.
The show relies on expressive, full featured arrangements and nuanced underscoring that are all expertly interpreted by Sula to provide a rich and unmatched musical foundation. Moreland’s vocal work throughout, and especially on the soaring anthem “This Is The Moment,” is flawless. McCormick delivers a commanding “Take Me As I Am” and “Once Upon A Dream.” Stovall sets the table with the boisterous “Bring On The Men,” her powerful delivery of “Someone Like You,” and then brings the show to a full stop with her exquisite and impassioned “A New Life.”
It doesn’t get better than this!
PHOTO|Evan Hanover
Kokandy Productions
presents
JEKYLL & HYDE
Chopin Theatre
1543 W. Division
through December 21, 2025
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