Inside most souls, it seems, opposite forces fight for space. There are good
and evil, manic and depressive, There are Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, forever at
odds.
"We all have that dark duality within us," said Chuck Wagner, who has both title roles in 'Jekyll & Hyde,' opening tonight in MSU's Wharton Center.
But what about Frank Wildhorn, the creator of this musical? So far, he's had
no reason for feeling dark or depressed. "I've always been a cockeyed optimist,"
Wildhorn said. By now, he may have surpassed his own optimistic predictions.
He has created three Broadway musicals; he has written a batch of hit songs.
"He has the magic," Wagner says. "The music just flows from him."
All of this happened at a time when American musicals seemed doomed. Wildhorn,
41, has filled part of the gap. He grew up in New York City and Florida, then
went to the University of Southern California. By then, he had savored the old
musicals---especially "West Side Story"---and seen hope in the new ones.
"In 'Jesus Christ Superstar,' the range is so enormous," Wildhorn says. It
goes from Latin to jazz to rock." This isn't a debate between old musicals and
rock musicals, Wildhorn felt. In the new era, musicals can be anything. The
catch is getting the first one produced. While waiting for a chance, Wildhorn
wrote pop music. He wrote songs (including Whitney Houston's "Where Do Broken
Hearts Go?") that have sold a total of 50 million records. He wrote for large
voices, which is how a key contract came up.
"I had a friend who called," Wildhorn recalls. "He said,'There's this really tall, beautiful girl who's off riding a horse. You ought to meet her.'" That was Linda Eder, a 6-foot Texan who's now his wife.
"She's this statuesque beauty with an amazing voice," Wagner says.
Hers was one of the voices running through Wildhorn's mind when he created the "Jekyll & Hyde" musical with lyricist Leslie Bricusse.Even during slow times, Wildhorn says he was always confident this was a good subject for a musical. "It's very sexy," he said. "Yet, there's a lot of warmth and humor to it."
That warmth is important to Wildhorn, Wagner says. "He really writes a love
song like no one's business."
That's basically what "Jekyll & Hyde" offers, Wagner says. "It's kind of a
four-sided triangle, if that's possible."
At the core is Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novel. It tells of the story of
a kindly doctor whose experiments go too far, causing him to periodically transform
into the evil Hyde. From there, Wildhorn built up a romance that involves Jekyll/Hyde
with two seemingly opposite women, a kindly assistant and an outgoing prostitute.
The latter is the role Eder played on Broadway. There, "Jekyll & Hyde" has prospered.
The show will reach it's third anniversary on April 28, still going strong.
In a recent week, the trade paper Variety says, it was still playing to audiences
averaging 97 percent capacity. That's in a small theatre that holds 1, 071 people.
By comparison, Wharton Center's Great Hall holds 2,500.
"We've been to some that are even bigger," Wagner says. " I love reaching so many people."
Wagner---who did the show's pre-Broadway run in Houston---is just the man to
fill such cavernous halls, Wildhorn says. "He's a big. powerful guy, with a
great voice," Wildhorn says.
He also fits the new emphasis on musicals that add thrills. Previously, he
starred in 1,200 Broadway performances of "Beauty and the Beast." Such shows
prove there can be new American musicals, despite the odds. With most new musicals
drawing negative reviews, many producers turn to revivals, from "Kiss Me Kate"
to "Annie Get Your Gun."
That's drawn some grumbling. "The critics in New York only want to embrace
musical theatre that was considered old-fashioned in 1948." producer Cameron
Mackintosh recently told Variety. Mackintosh fights that trend with such shows
as "Phantom of the Opera" and "Les Miserables." Wildhorn fights it, too. He's
had three new musicals---"Jekyll & Hyde," "The Scarlet Pimpernel" and "The Civil
War"---with more in the works. "The print media is still coming down very hard
on new musicals," Wildhorn said. "But, there are so many other sources now."
That includes two TV talk shows based in New York---one hosted by Rosie O'Donnell,
the other by Regis Philbin and Kathie Lee Gifford."People like Rosie and Kathie
Lee have so much more power now," Wildhorn says. " If they champion a show,
it's so much better."
Gradually, "Jekyll & Hyde" has built a critic-proof following, including some
zealots. "They're called the Jekkies," Wildhorn said. "We're not talking about
seeing the show 10 times; we're talking 200 times."
These are extraordinary fans, Wagner says. "Several of us keep in contact with them on the Web site."
Wagner tours the country, occasionally met along the way by his wife and their
two children, ages 13 and 9. He goes from stage to stage, allowing good and
evil to share one large body and one large voice.
ON STAGE
*"Jekyll & Hyde"
*MSU's Wharton Center
*Opens at 7:30 pm, today
*also: 7:30 pm Wednesday and Thursday, 8 pm Friday, 2 pm and 8 pm Saturday,
2 pm and 7 pm Sunday
*Tickets---from $27.50 to $47.50---at 432-2000
*On the Web: www.jekyll-hyde.com