The * ideal * Jekyll & Hyde: A discussion- Page 5

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 12/22/15 at 6:58pm

If his father's death did push him to care less about the outcome of the experiment, why would he would attempt suicide with a formula he believed just hours ago would be beneficial and not just poison himself?

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 12/22/15 at 7:02pm

Well, you misread my interpretation as Jekyll deliberately setting out to commit suicide with the formula. That's not what's happening. That's what I postulate he subconsciously realizes may be the result, and at any rate it's not the only thing motivating him to push on. You're still thinking of it as though his father is the sole motivation. He's not in my version.

[DigificWriter]

Posted: 12/22/15 at 11:42pm

I sat down and typed out a lengthy number-by-number synopsis (partially based on the Wikipedia synopsis for the show) for my 'ideal' arrangement of the score. It might be too long to post in a single post, though, so I'm going to separate it into two. First, Part 1:

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

[Act One]

 

The audience is introduced to DR. HENRY JEKYLL, a brilliant research scientist, and his friend and lawyer, JOHN UTTERSON. Jekyll is obsessed with the dual nature (good and evil) of man and determined to find a way to separate those two natures and discover a way to help his father, believing that his father's better nature has been subsumed by the evil part of his soul ["Prologue", "I "Need to Know"].

 

Elsewhere in London, we find an ENSEMBLE of various Londoners speaking of how people act how they want others to see them, no matter who they really are inside ["Facade"].

 

Dr. Jekyll travels to St. Jude's Hospital to visit his father ["Lost in the Darkness"] and to speak to its Board of Governors (THE BISHOP OF BASINGSTOKE, ARCHIBALD "ARCHIE" PROOPS, THEODORE "TEDDY" SAVAGE, ELIZABETH "BESSIE" BEACONSFIELD, and SIMON STRIDE) about seeking funding for his research, hoping that his demands will find a sympathetic ear from the Board's chairman, SIR DANVERS CAREW ["Board of Governors", "Jekyll's Plea"]. However, his proposal is soundly rejected, with Sir Danvers abstaining from voting and the others unanimously voting to reject him. Angry and frustrated, Jekyll speaks about his conviction that he can save both his father and others whose minds have been poisoned by their evil natures, with Utterson offering support and encouragement ["Pursue the Truth"].

 

Later that evening, Sir Danvers hosts a party at his residence in Regent's Park to celebrate the betrothal of Jekyll to his daughter EMMA CAREW as various arriving party guests speak about the neighborhood's opulent architecture ["Facade (Reprise)"] 

 

Inside at the party, the Board of Governors - minus Simon - gossips about various other partygoers as they wait for Dr. Jekyll - who is tardy - to arrive, with Utterson and Sir Danvers being drawn into the fray as well ["Bitch! Bitch! Bitch!"], while Simon Stride privately speaks to Emma of his concern (motivated by his own attraction to her) that she has chosen the wrong man to marry, causing her to spurn his concern and reaffirm her commitment to Jekyll ["Emma's Reasons"]. Jekyll arrives and shares a moment with Emma. Though he warns her that he may always be busy with his work, she swears that she will be beside him through it all ["I Must Go On", "Take Me As I Am"]. As Jekyll and Emma separate, Sir Danvers approaches her, expressing his support of her and Jekyll's engagement while also speaking to her of his concerns over Jekyll's obsessive behavior and his worries that she will be hurt, with Emma assuring him that, even as she marries Jekyll, he will never lose her ["Letting Go"].

 

Jekyll and Utterson go to a pub and brothel in London's East End called The Red Rat ["Facade (Reprise 2)"] for Jekyll's bachelor party. Backstage, LUCY HARRIS, one of the Red Rat's performers and resident prostitutes, contemplates the sad state of her life ["No One Knows Who I Am"], but is interrupted by GUINEVERE, the pub's manageress, who sends her out to perform ["Good 'N Evil", "Bring on the Men"-]. After the performance, Lucy begins circling amongst the patrons but is approached by SPIDER, the pub's owner, who berates her for arriving late and slaps her. Jekyll witnesses the altercation and approaches Lucy, who is inexplicably drawn to him, speaking to her kindly and telling her that her performance was stimulating and illuminating. He also gives her his visiting card and tells her to come see him should she ever need a friend ["Lucy Meets Jekyll"].

 

As Utterson and Jekyll arrive at the latter's residence, Jekyll reveals that he has found a subject for his experiments. Utterson bids his friend goodnight and leaves, recommending that Jekyll get some sleep, but Jekyll dismisses his butler, POOLE, and proceeds to his laboratory, excited by the prospect of finally succeeding in his quest ["Now There is No Choice", "This is the Moment"]. Keeping tabs on the experiment in his journal, Jekyll mixes his chemicals to create his formula and injects into his own arm. At first, nothing seems to happen, but he suddenly begins to writhe in pain and is soon taken over by an alternate, aggressive personality ["First Transformation"].

 

The transformed Jekyll takes to the streets of London, where he begins tormenting innocent bystanders (including Lucy) and reveling in the freedom and uninhibited euphoria wrought by the change he has experienced, giving himself a new name as well: Edward Hyde ["Alive", "Lucy Meets Hyde"].

 

Updated On: 12/24/15 at 11:42 PM

[DigificWriter]

Posted: 12/22/15 at 11:43pm

Now, Part 2:

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

[Act Two]

 

A week later, no-one has heard anything from Jekyll. Emma, Sir Danvers, and Utterson ask Poole where he is, but Emma decides to leave and believes that Jekyll will come for her when his work is finished. After she and her father depart, Poole tells Utterson that Jekyll has been locked in his lab around the clock and that he has heard strange sounds coming from the lab. A distraught Jekyll emerges and sends Poole on an errand, leaving Utterson alone to confront his friend about his behavior and warn him not to let his work take over his life. Meanwhile, Sir Danvers and Emma argue about Jekyll's behavior, with Emma vigorously defending her betrothed ["His Work and Nothing More"]. After her father leaves, however, Emma expresses her own private doubts and fears ["If You Only Knew"], while Jekyll gives Utterson 3 letters - one for Emma, one for Sir Danvers, and one for Utterson himself - and then writes in his journal about the toll that his experiment and the ever-increasing emergence of the Hyde personality is having on him ["Reflections (Jekyll's Soliloquy)"].

 

Lucy arrives at Jekyll's residence with a nasty bruise on her back, and asks to see him. As Jekyll treats her, she tells him that the injury was caused by a man named Hyde. Jekyll is disturbed by this, but hides his reaction. Feeling compassion for Jekyll for being kind to her, Lucy kisses him ["Sympathy, Tenderness"], but Jekyll, disturbed by his reaction, leaves her alone to marvel at their encounter and realize that she's fallen in love with him ["Someone Like You"].

 

As Jekyll wanders the streets, he suddenly transforms into Hyde. Coming across the Bishop of Basingstoke paying for sex from an underage Red Rat prostitute, Hyde beats and stabs the Bishop to death with a swordstick before gleefully setting the body aflame ["Alive [Reprise)"].

 

The citizens of London gossip about the Bishop's murder whilst Hyde goes on a murderous rampage, seeking out and killing General Glossop, Archie Proops, Bessie Beaconsfield, and Teddy Savage ["Murder! Murder!"].

 

Emma, concerned about Jekyll, sneaks into his laboratory and finds his journal open. As she starts to read one of the entries, Jekyll enters and closes it, preventing her from finding out what he has become. She professes her love for him and begs him to confide in her ["Once Upon a Dream"]. He professes that he still loves her, but doesn't tell her anything about his work. After she leaves, Jekyll writes in his journal that Hyde has taken a heavy toll on him and those around him, and that the transformations are occurring of their own accord ["Obsession [Streak of Madness)"]. Utterson arrives, seeking to find out who Edward Hyde - who is named in Jekyll's letter as being his sole heir - is. Jekyll tells him only that Hyde is a "colleague" involved in the experiment and asks Utterson to obtain some chemicals for him. Utterson, seeing that his friend is desperately ill, agrees, and leaves.

 

Meanwhile, both Emma and Lucy wonder about their love for the same man ["In His Eyes"].

 

The next day, Spider warns The Red Rat's employees about the dangers of the East End ["Facade (Reprise 3)"] and then confronts Lucy about an imagined slight, beating her. Backstage, she joins another prostitute, NELLIE, in lamenting the sad state of their lives ["The Girls of the Night"]. Hyde arrives and Lucy is at first terrified of him, but he begins to slowly seduce her and overcome her objections ["Dangerous Game"].

 

Utterson comes to Jekyll's lab with the remainder of the chemicals Jekyll asked him to retrieve and discovers Hyde, who informs him that the doctor is "not available" tonight. Utterson refuses to leave his package with anyone other than Jekyll and demands to know where he is. Hyde says that Utterson won't believe him if he told him and injects himself with the new batch of formula, transforming back into Jekyll in front of an appalled Utterson. Jekyll tells Utterson that Hyde must be destroyed, whatever the cost. He then begs Utterson to deliver money for Lucy so she can escape to safety. As Utterson leaves, Jekyll mixes in chemicals and injects the new formula, fearing that he might lose his mind forever, and praying that he can restore his former life ["The Way Back"].

 

Utterson goes to see Lucy and gives her the money and a letter from Jekyll. After Utterson leaves, Lucy wonders at the possibilities ahead ["A New Life"], only to be surprised by Hyde, who tells her that he and Jekyll are "very close" and that they "share everything". Holding her slowly so that she will not suspect anything, he suddenly begins to stab her repeatedly and slits her throat ["Sympathy, Tenderness (Reprise)"] and then runs off as her body is found by The Red Rat's other employees.

Jekyll wakes up in his laboratory and is horrified to discover himself covered in Lucy's blood. He lapses into a waking nightmare ["The World Has Gone Insane"] that segues into a final battle for control with Hyde ["Confrontation"].

Weeks pass as Jekyll abandons his "quest for the truth" and he and Emma plan their wedding ["Facade (Reprise 4)"]. Moments before he and Emma walk down the aisle, however, Jekyll suddenly transforms back into Hyde and kills Simon Stride, the remaining member of the Board of Governors and a guest at the wedding, before taking Emma hostage. Utterson confronts him just as Jekyll momentarily regains control and demands that his friend kill him. When Utterson refuses, Jekyll desperately throws himself onto Utterson's swordstick ["The Wedding"]. Weeping softly, Emma cradles Jekyll in her arms as he dies, with the both of them lamenting the way that they lost the dream they'd planned on building ["Finale: Once Upon a Dream [Reprise)"].

 

Updated On: 12/24/15 at 11:43 PM

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 12/23/15 at 12:31am

I'm glad we've all begun to master the spoiler button. It's something in general that I think the site should use more of to hide huge blocks of text that people don't necessarily have to read.

 

Having read yours, DfW, I have this to say: from looking at your version (and this thread), I can tell the Broadway version is your first love and your overall base. Certainly a solid line to go out on. However, you also seem to have added a lot of material from the Complete Work recording, and basically aped some of my list in the process. :P (It's cool. I'm a huge fan of "if something works, use it" as a principle.)

 

The problem with this approach is that it makes the show entirely too long. The balance between book and score is key, and I would have to see a script to tell you what shape this show would take. I have a few suggestions that I'll email you about.

Updated On: 12/23/15 at 12:31 AM

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 12/23/15 at 12:34am

We enjoyed the original production and all of Wildhorn's efforts

 

Point here is what a detailed discussion of a work many think of ,wrongly, as wreck. Keep it up guys.

[DigificWriter]

Posted: 12/23/15 at 12:53am

g.d.e.l.g.i. said: "From looking at your version (and this thread), I can tell the Broadway version is your first love and your overall base. Certainly a solid line to go out on. However, you also seem to have added a lot of material from the Complete Work recording, and basically aped some of my list in the process. :P (It's cool. I'm a huge fan of "if something works, use it" as a principle.)

 

The problem with this approach is that it makes the show entirely too long. The balance between book and score is key, and I would have to see a script to tell you what shape this show would take. I have a few suggestions that I'll email you about."

 

The basic idea I had is to do the show sung-through in the same vein as Les Miserables and Sweeney Todd (as I noted yesterday), but that might not have come across as clearly in the synopsis as I intended it to.

 

I did borrow some of your structural ideas, but for the most part followed the song list I'd posted yesterday, with the only changes being the omission of the Lost in the Darkness and Letting Go reprises, having both Good 'N Evil and Bring on the Men (the version from the 2012 Concept Album recording more so than on the Resurrection recording) back-to-back, and adding Lucy Meets Hyde as a standalone piece during the Alive sequence.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 12/23/15 at 1:02am

How can anyone say if something works or not just from looking at it on a page? It has to be up in front of a paying audience before anyone knows if it works. And you know what did work in front of New York audiences for 1,543 performances? The original Broadway version.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 12/23/15 at 1:39am

Yeah, and you know what lost oodles of money and never got licensed in that form, or for that matter ever seen on a stage in that particular formulation again? The Broadway version.

Updated On: 12/23/15 at 01:39 AM

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 12/23/15 at 2:03am

All kidding aside, why isn't the Broadway version available to license? MTI has two different scripts, FCLO has theirs and not one of them is the Broadway version? Come on.

[AHLiebross]

Posted: 12/23/15 at 3:18am

I've only seen J&H once, about two years ago, during the Maroulis tour. I'm not that familiar with the music, so I can't speak to that aspect. What I'd do to improve the musical would be to add some shades of gray to both J and H.

In a first season Star Trek episode clearly based on the J&H story, Kirk was split into two people, one good and one evil. What added some nuance was that the good guy was a wimp, and that Kirk's decisiveness came from the evil aspect. I'd like to see some similar nuance added to J&H, so the evil character has some positive characteristics, such as courage, and the good one has negative characteristics, such as being a whiner.

[philly03]

Posted: 12/23/15 at 10:15am

CATS - Essentially the MTI version is the same, is it not except for the cutting of "No One Knows Who I Am" and "Good 'n Evil"? Maybe a few dialogue changes. I believe it's virtually the 2nd National Tour version.

 

The sung-through musical is dead and given Jekyll's global history of being able to adapt to different audiences (the 10 year running South Korea production is different from the Spain productions or the German productions (Bremen is reportedly the favorite of Wildhorn) I think it should adapt to modern times as well (such as the last revival's re-orchestration). The engagement scenes are so boring (this is coming from a fan!) the shorter and less sung-through they are the better!!

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 12/23/15 at 12:36pm

It's not the same. The book follows the same structure as the Broadway version with cuts and additions such as those you mentioned but the dialogue is the equivelant of paraphrasing what was performed on Broadway and the orchestrations are very different in certain spots.

[AHLiebross]

Posted: 12/24/15 at 2:08am

Philly03 writes, "The sung-through musical is dead."

 

I STRONGLY disagree. POTO is still running in NY and the West End, as well as touring in a new production. Les Miz is still running in the West End and concluding a successful revival on Broadway.

 

These shows are not new, but they are still successful. Even if sung-through new musicals are rare, I think it's going too far to say they're dead.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 12/24/15 at 2:53am

And then there's Hamilton...

[DigificWriter]

Posted: 12/24/15 at 12:48pm

Circling back to my "ideal" J&H arrangement, I almost had "The Girls of the Night" and "No One Knows Who I Am" in entirely different places. TGotN was originally going to be the song that precedes "Good 'N Evil" and "Bring on the Men", with NOKWOIA following "Facade (Reprise 3)" and Spider yelling at and beating Lucy, which I thought would be a nice way to explain why she gives in to Hyde when he shows up again [she's feeling particularly low about herself, and basically says 'screw it'], but ultimately decided to stick with the more 'traditional' song arrangement of NOKWIA coming before GNE/BotM and TGotN coming before "Dangerous Game".

Updated On: 12/24/15 at 12:48 PM

[Emcee4ever]

Posted: 8/4/16 at 12:46am

I found some neat off-Broadway versions of stuff, student versions, and pre=Broadway stuff including a version of "Alive" from the 1986 demo!

What to do when your high school production has Jekyll and Hyde played by 2 people? Stage Confrontation as a physical/mental fight! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Iq_9BdA70c

I also found an awesome college version of Confrontation! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVFL7NfJADM

AND the original 1986 demo of Alive with different lyrics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN5scUi2Rsg

AND a pre-Broadway video of the complete 1995 show! It has Hyde's vocals in Confrontation as a backing track. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRfov1AQs-I

Then I found a more recent off-Broadway Confrontation that has Hyde briefly take over in the "Lost in the Darkness" reprise. It's the best take I've seen of that version yet! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osP9MNzctpg

I also found a high-budget high school production that changed the ending after Confrontation to have a reprise of Facade, leading into Jekyll killing himself presumably just after getting married. Both comments like it a lot more than the other endings XD https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig5FC_ONPek

Their Board of Governors is really good too! They made Simon Stride and Herbert/Teddy Savage girls. That school is gonna do Les Miserables next year! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxPhkoBw-AI

Also, Anthony Warlow, the person who played Jekyll/Hyde on the 1994 Concept Album but never onstage, is finally going to get to do the role live for the 25th anniversary Broadway show this year assuming it goes as planned!

Updated On: 8/26/16 at 12:46 AM

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 8/4/16 at 7:37am

I'm in the vast minority, but I loved the last revival.

[Emcee4ever]

Posted: 8/4/16 at 6:40pm

What versions of the show can be licensed? I know a lot of productions have added back the songs and lore that was cut or altered from the initial Broadway run, making it closer to the 1994/1995 version, but I don't know if they use a pre-BW version or a combination of that and the later script.

[Alex Kulak]

Posted: 8/4/16 at 6:54pm

I wouldn't necessarily move around the songs, but I would like to see some new arrangements/orchestrations. I love Jekyll and Hyde, it was one of the first musicals I really sank my teeth into, but it has the same problem as all the other Wildhorn shows, being that it drowns out an otherwise nice score with bland pop ballads. Maybe do away with one or two, and reorchestrate it to sound more like something out of the Victorian Era, and make it a little like Hamilton, where the classical and the contemporary complement each other.

[Emcee4ever]

Posted: 8/14/16 at 3:24am

Found a production that leans closer to the Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll movie, portraying Jekyll as older and sickly and Hyde as young and lustful... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUDT_nuvN6I

Their version of "Alive" is also notable because it has Hyde actually stealing his hat and cane from someone XD https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuLz0XCW9g0

And an amazing Hyde from a school production (I think) who mixes humor and childishness with horror. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvYSBgYrg8k

He really gets into the physical part of acting, too! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Wvw3WjGOeM

His Confrontation keeps it up, with every switch being painful instead of just the major ones. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2YszFtY-Ac

Also, as divisive as the 2012 revival was, their Wedding scene is amazing. It goes for the wedding reception/dance route, then adds in Jekyll's reprise of Once Upon A Dream just before he stabs himself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr_pknShZ7U

This version of Alive is also neat because it has a brief fight scene. I've seen others that do that at different spots. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvfKLHxURQc

This one has Hyde be with Lucy for the last half of the song. I SWEAR I've seen another that does that but also keeps the heartbeats from the concept album version but i can't find it off the top of my head. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeYAmlCnNyA

Updated On: 8/26/16 at 03:24 AM

[Dave28282]

Posted: 8/19/16 at 7:52am

I think the song "Reflections" should be in every version:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq18yXagGNg

 

And also this one, No one must ever know:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhMykV8eSWE

[Emcee4ever]

Posted: 8/19/16 at 8:17am

I love how Reflections is paraphrased directly from the book.

Jekyll's version of "Once Upon a Dream" is really, really good too. I like how the 2012 version placed it at the wedding, just before he stabs himself.

[Dave28282]

Posted: 8/19/16 at 9:33am

Emcee4ever said: "Their Board of Governors is really good too! They made Simon Stride and Herbert/Teddy Savage girls. That school is gonna do Les Miserables next year! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxPhkoBw-AI
"

Thanks for the tip. This production is great. I am completely mesmerized and have seen all the video's. The guy who plays Jekyll has a tendency to hold the wrong syllables for too long in some lines, but he has an incredilbe voice and aura. The girl who plays Lucy is amazing too. There are many scenes, especially dialogues that are better than any professional production I have seen. It is like they really understand this artform and take the time in acting and tempo of the songs, combined with the passion and age from the students makes it a piece of art.

[BenjaminNicholas2]

Posted: 8/19/16 at 11:53am

At the end of it, they've yet to cast a Lucy who can match the vocal firepower of Linda Eder.

Yes, I've seen Luba Mason

Yes, I've seen Deborah Cox

They just don't have the right sound (to my ear).  It's a tough show for me to sit through, remembering having seen the pre-Broadway tour and the initial Broadway version with such an incredible cast. The most recent revival of this show was pure garbage.  It felt so...  Incomplete. 

 
And to whoever called him 'Andy' Warlow, it's Anthony

Updated On: 8/19/16 at 11:53 AM