Allen Community College’s production of “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” may not be for the faint of heart, but it’s clever writing and intricate plot may shed some light on the “beast” in all of us.
The play, opening tonight and running through Saturday, is based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella, and adapted to a new form by Jefferey Hatcher. The first thing audiences will notice — this isn’t your grandparents’ Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Full of murder, mystery, twists and turns, the play starts fast and is a sprint to the finish.
The play opens on the foggy streets of London in 1883. A mysterious man collides with a woman, badly injuring her. When authorities question the man, the unusual trail of evidence leads them to Dr. Jekyll, a well-recognized medical doctor who has his own unusual methods of practice.
The action is fast and furious, darting between drawing rooms, offices, a morgue, street scenes and many more locales. As the plot unfolds, Dr. Jekyll and his medical colleagues find that there may be more to a split personality than meets the eye. When people on the streets are attacked by a strange man known as Mr. Hyde, the trail of evidence seems to lead to the good doctor.
The play does a fantastic job of keeping the eye of the audience. Sets are simple and move quickly — a scene can quickly change from Jekyll’s home office to a morgue in a matter of seconds. The action never slows down as the tragedy and horror of this classic tale unfolds.
It is difficult to describe the roles of the actors, especially that of Mr. Hyde. He is actually played by four different actors. Throughout the scenes, Mr. Hyde’s different personalities and desires are represented by several actors, often at the same time on stage. This unique effect gives the audience a very real feeling of a man with multiple sides, and multiple identities.
The role of Dr. Jekyll is played by Micah Reynolds. He tackles the role well as the good-hearted doctor who falls deeper and deeper into darkness with his counterpart, Mr. Hyde. Reynolds plays the differences to a T, making the viewers believe that the men are truly unique from each other. However, as the play nears the end, the clear difference between the man and the monster don’t seem as black and white.
Nick Thomsen’s dark representation of Mr. Hyde perfectly complimented flow of the play. He also plays the role of Gabriel Utterson, colleague of Dr. Jekyll’s who is hot on the trail of unraveling the mystery of the murders and attacks. He is the skeptic, questioning Jekyll’s relationship with Mr. Hyde. In one of the more memorable dialogues, Utterson explains that the “beast” inside man cannot be fully suppressed, saying “even a beast must be fed.”
Michael Lowder, another Mr. Hyde representative, also plays Sir H. K. Lanyon. Lanyon also is a colleague of Dr. Jekyll. Lowder plays both roles well, expressing the animalistic desires of Mr. Hyde, as well as the tragic good intentions of H. K. Lanyon.
Craig Hendricks plays Mr. Hyde, and shines in the role of Sir Danvers Carew, a medical examiner who has some methods that Dr. Jekyll sees as “eccentric.” Jekyll and Carew are anything but friendly in the story, and the competition and resentment between the two begins to drift towards Jekyll’s more unpleasant persona.
Krista Bonzo plays the role of Elizabeth Jelkes, a meek chambermaid who catches the eye of Mr. Hyde. Her role, played with a great attention to detail, serves ad catalyst for Hyde’s behaviors. The two fall into a twisted romance — one that begins to be muddled between Jekyll and Hyde.
Matthew Wynn plays an alternate of Hyde’s personality, as well as Poole, another of Jekyll’s medical colleagues. Poole, along with Utterson, begin to question the strange relationship between Jekyll and Hyde, eventually discovering the condition “that has no name.”
Dakota Gibson is another version of Mr. Hyde. He also plays the role of Enfield, Jekyll’s butler, to perfection. It seems as if Gibson was meant to portray the faithful servant, his accent and mannerism truly captured the classic English butler.
Brianna Holliday serves multiple roles, including that of an unfortunate prostitute and an old woman who witnesses one of Mr. Hyde’s more gruesome acts.
The poster for the play states “PG-14,” and is well deserved. The subject matter delves into some of the darkest areas of the human mind, without much conscience. However, for those up for the action, this story should not be missed. It keeps audiences riveted through numerous scenes as they see Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde spiral further and further into madness. Before the conclusion, viewers will see that often times the line between good and evil can be very gray — and in this case, the same thing.
A LOOK AT THE ‘DARK SIDE’
