The Columbus Press

It's easy to be of two minds about Jekyll & Hyde, which opened last night in the Palace Theatre. To put the best face on it, this Gothic pop opera is based on sure- fire melodrama: Robert Louis Stevenson's 19th-century novella about a man with two personalities. To put the other face on it -- the "evil'' one of undisciplined libido -- Leslie Bricusse's lyrics are banal. On the one hand, composer Frank Wildhorn knows how to write catchy songs with good melodies. Among them: This is the Moment, stirringly sung by Chuck Wagner's Dr. Jekyll; Once Upon a Dream, wistfully crooned by Andrea Rivette's sweet soprano; A New Life, which Sharon Brown fills with scarred emotion; and Murder, Murder, vocalized with insinuating syncopation by the capable cast in the half-comical, half- ominous opening of the second act. On the other hand -- the one with the knife -- the score is weighed down by Bricusse's uninspired book.

This is not a great musical, but Jekyll & Hyde is one of the 1990s more popular shows, following in the wake and superior style of Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera. Jekyll & Hyde is at its intermittent best when the duality theme is center stage. Last night's greatest applause followed two well-staged scenes: In His Eyes, in which Lucy and Emma pine over the man they love, and Confrontation, in which Wagner alternates between both of his title roles with split-second timing and chameleonic intensity.

Although arguably not as powerful and poignant as the Broadway version, this first post-Broadway tour is a big improvement over the first national tour that central Ohio saw in March 1996. This version strikes a much better balance between comedy and drama, with the second-act murders blending the campy and the grisly. The choreography is better, too. While the dancing is minimal, Jerry Mitchell's orchestration of the chorus' movements reinforces the comic and dramatic moments while underlining the class differences.

Ultimately, this is the type of show that lives or dies on its chemistry -- and not just the HJ7 chemical that Dr. Jekyll injects into his veins to release Mr. Hyde. The chemistry is palpable between Wagner's rasping Hyde and Brown, making believable Lucy's willingness to linger long after she should leave London. The chemistry is also strong between Wagner's upright Jekyll and Rivette's stalwart Emma. With such vital links, the central romantic triangle carries the day.

Wagner, who played the Beast in Beauty and the Beast, gives both aspects of his split personality greater weight and cautionary power than Robert Cuccioli, who took the show to New York after Wagner originated the role in 1990. Wagner is so strong, especially as tormented Hyde, that he deserves to reprise the tricky role on Broadway. Unfortunately, several set pieces couldn't fit into the Palace's cramped backstage, including a large stairway and several backdrops. Even so, James Noone's new scenic design and David Warren's sensitive direction are vastly superior to the first tour, which sacrificed intimacy to spectacle.

Jekyll & Hyde, Broadway Series tour of composer Frank Wildhorn and author-lyricist Leslie Bricusse's musical.
Directed by David Warren.
Jekyll/Hyde Chuck Wagner
Lucy Harris Sharon Brown
Emma Carew Andrea Rivette
Loved Jekyll, hated Hyde

DUEL IN THE DARKNESS
ORIGINAL 'JEKYLL & HYDE' ACTOR RETURNS IN POST-BROADWAY TOUR
Date: Monday, July 5, 1999
Section: FEATURES - ACCENT & ARTS
Page: 10E
Illustration: Photo
Byline: Michael Grossberg
Source: Dispatch Theater Critic

After almost a decade away from two of his favorite roles, a Broadway actor is again undergoing a nightly transformation and wrestling with good and evil. Chuck Wagner in 1990 originated the title roles in Jekyll & Hyde during a Houston run, but someone else earned the Tony nomination for best actor after the musical finally reached Broadway in 1997.

In the first post-Broadway tour, opening Tuesday in the Palace Theatre, Wagner is back at the melodramatic helm of the adaptation by composer Frank Wildhorn and author-lyricist Leslie Bricusse. "My predecessors, who took it to New York before me, describe it as the musical Hamlet," Wagner said from the run in Tulsa, Okla.

Robert Cuccioli starred on Broadway and in the lengthy pre-Broadway tour, which played central Ohio in March 1996.

"I feel like I finally look old enough to be practicing medicine," said Wagner, 40. "Dr. Jekyll is a very noble, good-natured and loving man who releases all of his inhibitions and all that is animal within him when he injects the HJ7 into his veins." He describes the result, Mr. Hyde, as a "dark monster" who is "joyfully alive."

"There is a visceral excitement to his unbridled passion about life," the actor said. "Hyde is so much fun to play because he's giddy with excitement about being unrestrained."

Wagner appeared as the Beast in Disney's Beauty and the Beast for more than 1,200 performances on Broadway. He played Javert in Les Miserables for a year on Broadway and another year on tour. He is attracted to roles that allow him to sing "soaring music" and "go the emotional distances," from the rage in the Beast to the Angst in Javert. His additional stage experience since 1990 has helped him give "more maturity" to Jekyll & Hyde, based on an 1886 novella by Robert Louis Stevenson.

One of the most challenging scenes involves The Confrontation, an Act 2 solo: Without any makeup or costume changes, Wagner plays both roles. "I call it the hair ballet," he said. "The concept is a split physical reality, where you switch back and forth between the two characters on an empty stage. Robert Cuccioli did it on Broadway with his hair down as Hyde and back as Dr. Jekyll."
Wagner finds his initial transformation daunting, too. Jekyll first becomes Hyde after singing This Is the Moment, "an anthem of anticipation."
"Then you have a cavalcade of props to juggle as you prepare to inject yourself."

Wagner -- who has recorded a collection of Broadway hits, including four songs from Jekyll & Hyde -- performs in six of eight weekly shows. Because the producers view Jekyll/Hyde as vocally demanding, Brian Noonan gives Wagner a break on Saturday afternoons and Sunday nights. The director, David Warren, has "pared away some confusion," Wagner said, and opened up the set on tour.

Meanwhile, two songs cut after the first tour -- including Bring on the Men, a "fabulous, bawdy number" -- have been reintroduced.
"In their effort to make it so serious in New York, . . . (the producers) lost some of the humor and some of the sexiness. In all of this darkness, there can be a whole lot of comedy."

Chuck Wagner began his association with composer Frank Wildhorn in 1979, when both attended the University of Southern California.
Even then, Wagner said, Wildhorn was considered a rising star. "He convinced the Theater Department to produce Christopher! -- his first musical, about the second coming of a Christlike figure. "I don't think he's changed a whole lot," said Wagner, who played the title role. "Frank has always been a fountain of music and creativity. He is very inspiring and inspired. He can write hit songs, soaring ballads and love songs that are among the best in the business."

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