"Has anyone seen the tour?"
Ooh, yes, I saw the tour on Saturday, so I'll tell you all about it!
First of all, the set was VERY minimal, with the stage set up a bit like a rock concert. There were set pieces, such as the shelves in Jekyll's laboratory and the tables and chairs in The Red Rat, that actors brought on and off the stage. Overall, it was not a visual replica of either the original or revival Broadway productions, but given the scale of this version, I think the simplicity was a good thing.
The actor playing Jekyll/Hyde, Mr. Aleks Knezevich, was EXTREMELY talented. His voice had the entire audience melting in their seats, and his distinction between Jekyll and Hyde acting-wise was spot-on. I hope he gets to go into more professional work in the near future, because he really has many things going for him. The rest of the cast was fine, too, but this is one production where the lead truly stands out, which is always a good thing.
Looking at the song list in my program, it seems to mostly reflect the original Broadway arrangement (except in this version, Bring On the Men was used instead of Good N' Evil). However, there were many differences in the script, and the first Alive actually was presented the same way it was on the 1994 Concept Recording (meaning the song was performed in its entiretey instead of being split apart), and the reprise at the end of Act One was just a brief snippet of, "FOR I FEEL I'LL LIVE ON FOREVER--" and onwards after Hyde murdered the Bishop. The other changes to the script were good, however, and the show as a whole really felt as if it flowed smoother than it has in the past.
Also, the rock orchestrations were not used here, thank God; the orchestrations are identical to the original Broadway production.
Unfortunately, they did the Umbrella Dance during Murder, Murder.
**SPOILER TO ANYONE WHO CARES**
We get to see Hyde attack Lucy, only instead of smacking her with his stick, he feels her up for a moment before biting extremely hard into her shoulder, causing Lucy to run offstage. (Strangely enough, Lucy was beginning to sing Dangerous Game as she was being felt up before the bite interrupted her; don't know why they decided to include that.) Also, Lucy's murder was particularly chilling here, as Hyde slowly pushed his knife into Lucy's skull as she trembled silently with pain; I feel this was a lot more disturbing to watch than the typical stab in the back scenario, so kudos.
Another funny tidbit was that, during Bring On the Men, most of the "female" dancers were actually men dressed in drag. Once the audience picked up on this, everyone was laughing their lungs out.
Confrontation went back to the classic Jekyll-Hyde-switcheroo that we saw in the original Broadway production. There was a big screen that went in front of the stage as this happened, and the lights switched frequently between a deep red for Hyde and a bright white for Jekyll.
Overall, I really enjoyed this production, and I feel that anyone interested in Jekyll & Hyde should check it out if the tour goes near their home.
"Was uns befreit, das muss stärker sein als wir es sind." -Tanz der Vampire
