West Valley City — After a rough few months this Spring when West Valley City abruptly announced they would be tearing down the theater that houses West Valley Arts, the theatre company has continued to step up to prove their worth. In the aftermath of a truly incredible display of community support and activism, it was determined that West Valley Arts would remain open as a new, independent non-profit organization. It was inspiring just how many people and organizations pulled together to demonstrate the value the arts have in our communities and to save this theatre in particular. With productions as masterful as Jekyll & Hyde, West Valley Arts deserves the support to be a long standing company that will not only continue to greatly serve the community, but is rapidly becoming a leading non-professional company in Utah.
Show closes November 2, 2024.
Based on the classic 1886 thrilling tale by Robert Louis Stevenson, Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical originally opened in 1990 and later debuted on Broadway in 1997. With a book and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and music by Frank Wildhorn, the musical has seen many revisions since its inception. The story follows the brilliant Dr. Jekyll as he studies to separate the good and evil sides in one’s personality as an attempt to cure mental illness and the woes of society caused by mankind. Dr. Jekyll’s experiments go awry as he inadvertently creates an evil and murderous persona of himself, Edward Hyde. The two persona’s struggle to become the stronger entity, trying to strangle the other one out as Hyde wreaks havoc on Victorian London. Those unfortunate enough to cross his path include the love interests Emma, Jekyll’s fiance, and Lucy, a prostitute who finds herself dangerously involved with both the doctor and his alter ego. Shelby Ferrin’s excellent direction focuses on themes of the duality of man, social status and the struggle between good and evil.
The greatest strength of the musical generally is its beautifully epic and complex score. Music Director, David Martin, excelled at bringing the songs to life. I have loved this music for quite a long time and hearing the songs performed live was a delight in itself. Although the singing was not the most incredible I have ever heard, the cast did not disappoint at all. Alongside the excellent vocals, it is the leading performers’ acting abilities that are their true strengths.
As Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde, Rhett Richins is outstanding, a virtuoso of his craft within this role. As Dr. Jekyll, Richins is gentle, caring and deeply passionate about helping others through his work. As Hyde, the actor transforms into a rough, violent and terrifying madman, resulting in a riveting performance. Richins’ physicality, vocal changes, breathing patterns and energy clearly indicate the character’s shift in persona as he descends into madness, losing grip of the good doctor he once was. The musical number “Confrontation” is a fascinating masterpiece with Richins seamlessly switching characters and emphasizing the battle within himself. The acting is very physical and emotional, extremely difficult to pull off so well. Richins makes it consistently clear which character is present, no matter how brief.
Rhett Richins as Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde.
As Dr. Jekyll first transforms into Edward Hyde, I admit that I was expecting something more dramatic at first. While the transformation is evident, there is also a surprising subtlety to it that I quickly found to be genius. Hyde is often made to appear as a horrible monster – a beast. Richins’ Hyde is pure evil, but he maintains human-like qualities that make him less of a creature. He becomes a different person, a vile man, but he is still human. I felt this choice emphasized Richins’ depth of performance as well as the duality of man even more, grounding the entire production. This also helped me to remain sympathetic to Jekyll and those who care about him throughout, and the moments when Jekyll resurfaces, showing pain and remorse at what Hyde has done is touching. Richins’ portrayal and the directorial choice to present the character this way serves the production very well, making it serious, artistic and less campy than how it is sometimes presented.
As Emma Carew, Kersee Whitney has a beautiful classical singing voice with a tone perfect for her soaring melodies. Whitney’s portrayal was sweet but strong, showcasing her love and devotion for Jekyll. Her expressive acting, particularly moments when the devastation in her voice was palpable, made it hard to watch at times as I felt an intense amount of empathy for her.
Jessica Knowles Andrus as Lucy Harris features a wonderfully rich and strong voice, a perfect contrast to Emma. Andrus is confident and particularly commanding in the cabaret number, “Bring on the Men.” She shines as a multi-faceted character, also able to show a vulnerable and fragile side. Her performance in “A New Life” was heartfelt and tender, though my favorite musical number was the lovely “In His Eyes,” a harmonious duet between Emma and Lucy. Both Andrus and Whitney showcase a genuine chemistry with Richins as well, and it was interesting to see how the relationships compare and contrast.
Choreography by Benjamin Roeling is visually stunning and excellently paired with Ferrin’s staging, bringing the action to life. Morgan Golightly’s Gothic Victorian Set Design was also expertly executed with every aspect adding to and aiding the production. Most notable was Dr. Jekyll’s lab, filled with flasks and beakers, some that contained brightly colored liquids. Most impressive was the special effects and chemical reactions that Richins would create on stage during his scenes. At various times throughout the show, Dr. Jekyll mixes compounds to create different colors, or cause the chemicals to burn or bubble into something new. Not only was this intriguing, it was a nice choice to help give Richins’ something to do during his ballad or motivational numbers rather than just directing the songs at the audience. This helped to further the plot and make everything seem more believable. I could say much more about the design elements elevating this production, but I simply do not have space in this review.
The only thing that could be improved is Andrew Domyan’s Sound Design. I appreciated much of it, but there were many times where the pre-recorded tracks were too loud to hear some of the actors. The sound over the speakers and the volume of the mics need to be adjusted for clarity. I was sitting in the second row and I struggled to hear all the words at times, especially in the complex ensemble numbers, “Facade” and “Murder, Murder.” I wondered how much I would not have understood had I not been so familiar with the music previously. I should note that some of this could be perhaps the actors themselves not being loud enough or having clear enough diction, though that was not my first impression.
While the show was not completely without flaw, the extraordinary skill overall makes it a supreme artistic achievement. I don’t know that I’ve ever written about my impressions of a curtain-call before, but this one truly gave me pause. As the show ended and the audience applauded, I was extremely moved by the cast whose expressions made it absolutely evident how invested they had just been in telling this dark and tragic story. The visible anguish on their faces is in stark contrast to how actors typically appear very joyous while taking their final bows. This simply solidified how strong of a production this was. I left the theatre with many emotions that had been brought out in me, but one of those was being so pleasantly pleased that I could be this impressed. Coupled with a very affordable ticket price for the exceptional quality, I cannot recommend West Valley Arts’ Jekyll & Hyde highly enough.
