When you see this musical based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella, “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” you’ll be impressed by the visual recreation of Victorian London, the pitch-perfect singing often rendered in tight harmonies and the rousing 14-piece pit band.
What will most impress you, however, will be leading man Henry Wilson in the dual role of the gentle Dr. Jekyll and the violent Mr. Hyde.
Consider Wilson’s assignment: he must embody both the high and the low in man, the devoted and the depraved, the logical and the instinctual, the domestic and the wild, even the conscious and the subconscious.
Though surrounded by a versatile supporting cast, the task of communicating the epic struggle between good and evil is his alone.
At times, he throws his entire body into the transformations from Jekyll to Hyde and back again. His brash physicality vividly illustrates the inner psychological battle.
In one mesmerizing scene toward the end of Act Two, Wilson bounces instantaneously and repeatedly from one character to another. One moment his voice sounds soft and aristocratic, and the next moment it’s growling and grunting. One moment, his face is calm, handsome and placid. Then, his long hair’s flying and his teeth are bared.
Wilson’s bravura performance is a sight to see, and that’s not to mention his superb singing. A professional rock vocalist with a wide range and plenty of power, he opens the show as Jekyll with “Lost in the Darkness.” A visionary young physician, Jekyll seeks a cure for catatonia in 1880s London, as explained in “I Need to Know.”
After an hour of exposition spiced by dance numbers showcasing the crowded cast of 29, patience pays off when the chemicals are mixed and Hyde finally appears. Wilson’s copious coif serves him well here as Hyde’s tousled mane pokes out from under his tattered top hat, and he grabs a twisted walking stick which he swings menacingly.
Wilson owes his wife, Jodi, a big thank-you for the work she did as the show’s costume and hair designer. With Gregg Bilyeau’s street-scene set as a backdrop, Jodi Wilson and crew – Danielle Karlik, Tatum Karlik and Karyn Palinkas – created a real Victorian spectacle, with eye-catching period costumes and hairstyles.
Director Korrie Taylor, who helmed last year’s “Les Mis” (also featuring Henry Wilson), had her hands full at the helm of this massive cast. By showtime, however, everybody knew their marks and did what they needed to do to allow Wilson to tear up the scenery.
Taylor relied on choreographer Stephfond Brunson to coordinate the dances, including the lusty gesticulations of the crimson-corseted Red Rat girls.
Musical Director Abel Searor, aka Professor Reliable, kept Frank Wildhorn’s music flowing from curtain to curtain. Augmented with brass and strings, the orchestra benefitted from the presence of keyboardist Tom Wikowski who had also served as the show’s rehearsal accompanist.
Co-stars included the always-stunning soprano Jennifer Pearson as Jekyll’s fiancée, Robert Searle as her father, Gabriel John Utterson as the doctor’s best friend, Kristina Clark as a love-struck prostitute and Liam Fitzpatrick as a outlandishly outfitted pimp.
In Act Two, Pearson and Clark turn in a soaring duet, “In His Eyes,” soon followed by Clark’s solid solo, “A New Life.”
“Jekyll and Hyde: The Musical,” produced by Mark Baker, continues at the First Presbyterian Education Center, 64 Oswego St., at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 20-21 and March 27-28, and at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 22.
Tickets cost $25 at the door, $23 in advance, and $21 for seniors at the March 22 matinee only; 877-8465; baldwinsvilletheatreguild.org.
