Chuck Wagner plays the dual role of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Chuck Wagner
doesn't mind he has a bad hair day throughout "Jekyll and Hyde," the musical
version of Robert Louis Steven-son's classic story of good and evil.
Wagner says he enjoys the show's intensity. One moment he is the mild-mannered
Dr. Jekyll, trying to save humanity with his unselfish experiments. Then he's
going on a rampage as the whacked-out Mr. Hyde.
"I try to ground Dr. Jekyll in the sky, where Hyde is grounded in the dirt,"
Wagner says.
Wagner says he can feel his voice and posture change when he reveals his sinister
alter ego, Mr. Hyde. "The transformation all happens on stage," he says. "It's
not a make-up trick. It's an acting challenge."
While Dr. Jekyll turns slowly mad - a victim of his own experimentations - he
sings about the good and evil in mankind. "Because I have to advance the story
with my songs, I carry a lot of the show on my shoulders," Wagner says.
He says Frank Wildhorn's "heroic ballads" and beautiful love songs are thrilling
and demanding to perform. "His songs are almost like athletic events," Wagner
says. "He doesn't make them easy to sing. This show has strengthened my pipes."
The story of a science experiment that backfired, "Jekyll and Hyde" explores
the moral dilemma Jekyll faces when he realizes the sinister Hyde is getting
the upper hand. "Dr. Jekyll is this altruistic character. Hyde is this gleefully
evil, sexually obnoxious character," Wagner says. "By trying to elevate mankind,
Jekyll releases the demon within."
While Wagner deplores Hyde's behavior, he admires his spirit. "Hyde is like
a kid with no rules," he says. "He doesn't play nice, but he has a good time.
You can't respect what he's doing, but you have to appreciate the intensity
with which he does it. That passion he has with life - I tend to share with
him."
Wagner says this play is more of visceral experience than a psychological thriller.
While it has dark edges, Hyde also has his funny moments when he is losing his
mind. Even during a murderous rampage, he says Hyde has the audience laughing.
Wagner says this disturbs the audience because they realize that a Mr. Hyde
exists in all of us. "We all have the monster within us," he says. "I think
that's one of the reasons the show resonates with so many people."
Wagner receives standing ovations every night because even in his evil moments,
he creates a likable character. "You really have to open your heart to this
show to make it fly," Wagner says. "The journey the show takes you on is exhilarating."
Wagner says performing in this play made him realize Steven-son's novel, written
right before Jack the Ripper's savage crimes, was way ahead of its time. "The
lesson of this story is you can't have the light without the dark," Wagner says.
"You have to go somewhere in the middle. That is the yin and yang of life."
IF YOU GO . . .
WHAT: "Jekyll and Hyde," a Frank Wildhorn musical.
WHERE: Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St., Chicago.
WHEN: March 28-April 9.
TICKETS: $37.50 to $69.50.
PHONE: (312) 902-1500.