Jekyll and Hyde

[wolfwynd]

Are there any other fans of this musical out there? I for one think its the best thing since sliced bread lol ;)

My favourite character is Hyde... he's just so great (in a murdering, psycho kinda way...) and my favourite songs are "World Has Gone Insane", "Facade", "Confrontation" and "Alive.

My favourite performers are:

- Anthony Warlow (J&H)
- Thomas Borchert (J&H)
- Robert Irons (Simon Stride)
- Louise Dearman (Lucy)
- Shona Lindsey (Lisa/Emma)

[Christine Daaé]

My favorite song is "Once Upon a Dream". We saw the movie with David Hasselhoff in drama class. He was okay, but not phenomenal. I loved the one who played Lucy, though. Don't know why.

~ Zelda de le Fantôme

[ChristineDaae]

I'm a fan of this one, too! The Lucy in the David Hasselhoff version is Coleen Sexton, who also played her on Broadway. I think she is the best! :) There is a J & H fansite at http://jekyll-hyde.org that has quite a bit of content for fans.

[cinty]

I have not seen "Jekyll and Hyde" but I recently started learning singing and oneo f hte first songs I got was "Once Upon a Dream" and I LOVED it. It was such a beautiful song!!! I am so happy to be learning it . Now I really would love to see the whole show to see how it fits into the context. The lyrics are beautiful but puzzling. Because I don't know what they mean. But still, very great! It must be a great show! :)

[IamErik771]

I finally got to hear this one - the complete recording, with Anthony Warlow! I absolutely love it, and can't wait to see it performed.

BTW, there's a movie coming soon... ;) Unfortunately, they weren't able to get Anthony, but as long as whoever they cast is an awesome performer, I should be okay with it.

[MissDay7000]

For those of you who have seen this musical and hate it, don't throw stones at me--when I first saw it, I didn't really like it either, but now I do--for those of you who haven't seen this musical, I think seeing it will put you in for a real trat.
Of course most people are probably familiar with the original story it's based on, Robert Louis Stevenson's book The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but let me say right not that the musical is really NOTHING like the regular book. They add characters and plot lines on to make it more interesting if you ask me. But anyways, getting back to the musical itself; the one I saw was when David Hasselhoff starred in the Broadway production. Surprisingly he did a great job. My favorite songs are This Is The Moment, Once Upon A Dream, and Someone Like You. Any other fans out there?

Jekyll & Hyde (http://www.jekyll-hyde.com/)

MissDay

[Lord Moe]

I love Jekyll and Hyde. I've been a fan since I saw the Hasselhoff version last year. I thought he did a good job too.

My favorite song is probably "This is the Moment." I'm actually singing that for a recital in a couple of weeks, along with "Music of the Night" ^_^

[Christine Daaé]

I love this musical, but more the version before Broadway than the one on Broadway. The Broadway version was kind of . . . not very good.

I didn't like Hasselhoff that much -- or any of the other actors in that film, either. That production just doesn't capture me at all.

But oh, man, the concept cast recording, with Anthony Warlow and Linda Eder . . . I'll admit that their "Lisa Carew" turns me off, and that Emma Carew in the Broadway recording is much better in my opinion. Other than that, the CCR is virtually flawless.

I want to be in this musical someday. It would be a wonderful thing. Unfortunately, the college I'm going to has already done it in the past five years . . . durn.

~ Zelda

[IamErik771]

I adore the musical, mostly for the Complete recording and the foreign-language productions. In my opinion, the Broadway version was way too watered-down -- nearly all the violent bits, as well as Lucy's attraction to Hyde, were removed. I also thought it overdid the "good and evil" symbolism to an almost ridiculous degree.

However, I do rather like some of the orchestral changes made in the Broadway production -- particularly the flurry of woodwinds in "Transformation" and "Alive." Perhaps I'm just biased because I'm a clarinetist. XD However, most of the same changes were also made in the German production, which I consider to be a much better version of the show.

I first saw the Hasselhoff DVD about a year ago, and recently bought it. Although I despised DH's performance (Paul Stanley should've taken the job instead, imo), I rather liked most of the supporting cast -- particularly Coleen Sexton as Lucy. In fact, there are a couple scenes in which I prefer her portrayal to that of Linda Eder.

I adore the Complete Concept recording with Anthony Warlow and Linda Eder, though; in my opinion, it's as close to a perfect representation of the show as I could hope for. If only they had done it as a film! :D

I love the whole cast, including Carolee Carmello as Lisa. Even though Christianne Noll (Emma on the Broadway recording) had a "prettier" voice, I thought CC's portrayal was more substantial. Then again, I almost always prioritize acting before singing when I rate musical theatre performers. *shrugs*

Linda Eder was spectacular, and I only wish they hadn't cut all her best parts out of the Broadway version -- particularly "Bring On The Men." Anthony Warlow is probably my favorite male singer of all, and it's amazing to hear just how versatile his voice is. I heard that the reason why he has never actually performed in the stage show is because he was disappointed that it had been so watered-down. Honestly, I don't blame him . . .

[Victorian Era Drama]

Good for him! I've only heard the CCR, but I truly do enjoy the music. I have not had the chance to see it live sadly, but I would really like to. Maybe one day... however, I hope it's not too watered down!

Anthony Warlow has the perfect voice for the part. It is both elegant and regal as well as deepy passionate.

My all time favorite song though is "It's a Dangerous Game." I sing it all the time and my friends start to wonder if I've gone off the deep end. ;)

[masquerading rose]

I love that song! I saw a Erik/Meg video for it and my sister read a phanphic for it. She said it was good. I'll read it later. I really want to see Jeykell and Hyde. It looks interesting.

[Bohemian-Vampire-Kid]

This is my dream cast
- John Owen Jones(J&H)
- Emmy Rossum(Lucy)
- Keira Knightley (dubbed with Hayley Westenra)(Emma)

[DarkGondolier]

I love this musical to a ridiculous degree. To be specific, I love it as much as POTO. I own the Broadway recording, which is mediocre, and I've heard songs from the CCR, which I find much better, on YouTube. Sometime soon I plan to buy it (the CCR, not YouTube). I haven't seen J&H live yet, but I'm hoping my lovely neighbourhood community theatre will do it eventually. One of the two main theatres in the nearest big city performed it over the summer but no one else wanted to see it with me, which is actually why I decided to look up the songs in the first place.

I've seen clips of the Hasselhoff version, which completely killed any desire I had to see the whole thing. Everyone was okay, except Hasselhoff. The main character not being able to sing well tends to annoy me. So I've decided to wait until the movie version of the musical comes out sometime next year. I'm not sure how they're going to do it, but I hope they don't just use the Broadway version. A combo of the Broadway and concept recording I would be okay with, but not only the Broadway.

Favourites, let's see, Hyde is my favourite character and my favourite songs are Alive, Confrontation, Dangerous Game, Facade, Obsession, The Way Back, and The World Has Gone Insane.

[masquerading rose]

My boyfriend and his sister both auditioned for this play. It was an open audition, but I think his sister auditioned for Lucy (YAYAYA!!!!). I'm keeping my fingers crossed for them.

But anyways, I love the two songs I heard; Dangerous Game and.... the other one I can't remember.... If anyone has clips, please send them to me....

[F-warp]

I saw the whole recording of this some time ago on youtube. I liked it, despite David Hasselhoff's performance (which was still better than the trainwreck I thought it was going to be).

A while back, I picked up the book from my local library. I was surprised at how short it was. 81 pages! I guess I can't blame all the movies and stageplays for making up new stuff.

The only song that really stuck with me was Confrontation (how many times do you see someone singing a duet with himself)

[DarkGondolier]

Confrontation is a very interesting song. I enjoy the showdown between Jekyll and Hyde and the fact that it is a man singing a duet with himself. However, the choreography leaves much to be desired. Really, couldn't they have come up with something better than the flipping hair thing they do on Broadway. I nearly laughed the first time I saw that. For some reason I always pictured them singing to each other in a mirror or something.

As for the length of the book, it's a pretty short book to have so many adaptations made of it. Of course, quantity does not always equal quality and vice versa, but RLS definitely could have added more. Hyde's escapades, for example. There really isn't much detail of what he does, which leaves much to the imagination. That could be a good thing, of course, but maybe if there had been more detail people would stop romanticising the story. It was not meant to be a romance! It was originally a horror story!

[The Countess]

The only song I've heard from it is 'Someone Like You'. It's stunning and I love it! Even though I'm not a mezzo, I'm going to beg my voice teacher to teach it to me.

[WanderingChild<3]

I played Lucy, and my favorite song EVER is Dangerous Game. So much emotion and spice. :)

I like Colleen Sexton. I find her voice and performance real sweet and she plays Lucy like shes misunderstood but also, has that zip.

I sound like a tardo. But yes..Haha

[The Countess]

I sound like a tardo. But yes..Haha

No you don't, you make perfect sense. I love Miss Sexton too. I think there's a video of her singing SLY on youtube somewhere. Costumes, sets, the whole 9 yards.

J&H sounds like it would be a lot of fun to do actually. I'm counting on it to be one of the musicals that the high school I'll be attending does.

[IamErik771]

I heard that a couple years ago, there was a production in Hawaii starring Larry Paxton (who I saw as Sweeney Todd in 2006, and the Padre in Man of La Mancha last fall) playing the lead roles. 'Twas before I even knew of the show, sadly . . . I loved him in the two shows I saw him in, and would like to know how he played the part.

I recently got to hear clips of the Bremen (Germany) cast (http://www.amazon.com/Jekyll-Hyde-Musical/dp/B00002DGRH/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1212666419&sr=1-6) with Ethan Freeman as Jekyll/Hyde . . . LOVE his portrayal. Too bad the official recording didn't include "Alive," though -- I'd have liked to see how he did that, since his Hyde tended to 'speak-sing' a lot in "Confrontation." I also got to hear Thomas Borchert. Didn't like him quite so much, but at least he was still better than Hasselhoff.

Have any of you heard Jekyll & Hyde: Resurrection (http://www.amazon.com/Jekyll-Hyde-Resurrection-Frank-Wildhorn/dp/B000EGDNE0/ref=tag_dpp_lp_edpp_ttl_in)? 'Tis a "rock-ified" recording of the show featuring Rob Evan (former stage Jekyll who was the alternate for Robert Cuccioli and David Hasselhoff on Broadway) in the lead, with Kate Shindle as Lucy and Brandi Burkhardt as Emma. 'Tis rather interesting -- there are some touches in the orchestrations and arrangements I really like, especially the choir and cello at the start of the Prologue. However, Rob Evan was (imo) not the best one for the title roles. His Jekyll sounds way too much like Michael Bolton, especially when he belts in "This Is the Moment." (I find myself chuckling at how he sings it like "momEEEEEEEEENT!") And his Hyde just doesn't sound very dangerous. He seems more like some "bad boy" punk-rocker who would TP your lawn or egg your car; not a psychopathic killer/rapist. But in spite of that, I still enjoyed the recording. :)

In other news, I know there's already a movie version supposedly in the works -- last I heard, the script was still being written -- but just for fun, I'm working on a screenplay of how I would do the film. Because hey, it is fun to speculate on things like that. XD I'll update ye all on that when I've got something to show.

[PhAnToMeSs07]

Although I am yet to really listen to this musical and look into it *writes note to self to look Jekyll and Hyde up,* we actually played "Someone Like You," from the musical in wind ensemble at one of our concerts. One of our music majors that was graduting had to sing as a part of her informal concert and so we played so she could sing.

I really really liked the song when she sang it and so I downloaded the original. What can I say? Seriously, that song is such a classic love song. Its so beautiful and Linda Eder has an amazing voice. I have never heard her sing anything else but she takes this song and owns it. The emotion is obvious and I think even after I choose to listen to it, it will remain one of my favorites.

[EphemeralSanity]

Coleen Sexton is all my all-time favorite Lucy though I love everyone from the Resurrection concert... Any news as to when this may be a film?

This was my first major favorite musical! :D

[IamErik771]

Last I heard, they're still writing the screenplay and trying to find a director, actors, and such . . . Most likely, they won't begin filming before 2010. But that's fine for me -- I'd rather wait a few years than end up with a rushed, slipshod film.

Wonder how it'll be done, and which songs/scenes may need to be cut or trimmed? Much as I loved the approach of the Sweeney Todd film, I'd rather they not cut all the chorus numbers in J&H to fit the screen . . . On the other hand, there are a few solos that I wouldn't mind them shortening, like "This Is the Moment" and "A New Life."

[EphemeralSanity]

I love the Sweeney Todd film but I hated the musical song cuts!

I wonder, too, how and if it will be done (at all). Like, what songs will be included. I love Good and Evil as a song, but, Bring on the Men is more of the cabaret style. And though I love Facade (and the 91878 reprises), I'm not sure how it would translate onto screen... Like the Ballad of Sweeney Todd (though there is supposedly rehearsal footage of the 2007 movie cast performing this song!). Perhaps simply a Facade underscore would be better.

[angelgirl]

I had never even heard of this musical until I came on this board. What's it about? Unless it's just like the novel, in which case, then I know what it's about.
A.G.

[IamErik771]

It follows the basic plotline of the book by Robert Louis Stevenson -- a doctor wanting to find out how to eliminate all evil from mankind tests a formula on himself and brings out the darker aspects of his personality. However, since the book was really short, they added a lot of characters and subplots (which result in some pretty durn awesome songs) for the musical version.

Actually, there are a few different versions of the plot, done in different countries. The Broadway production and most of the ones that followed had a rather useless subplot about Jekyll's father . . . For a full plot synopsis of the Broadway one, click here! (http://www.theatre-musical.com/jekyll/synopsis.html) Hope this helped! :D

[angelgirl]

It sure did, James! Thanks!
A.G.

[Semi-Charmed Chick]

I actually saw this years ago on Broadway when I went to New York one summer in my early 20's. I'm thinking about 2000 but could be wrong (I'm get old you know...LOL). It had Sebastian Bach (formally lead singer of Skid Row) as J/H. Not to bad for a rock guy. I enjoyed it very much. Never could bring myself to watch the David Hasselhoff version.

But anyway I am very found of this. I have always like the darker stuff.

[MaskedMadame]

Coleen Sexton is all my all-time favorite Lucy though I love everyone from the Resurrection concert... Any news as to when this may be a film?

This was my first major favorite musical! :D
gahh i love coleen!

[IamErik771]

Ooh, nice! I saw some YouTube clips of Sebastian Bach -- a TV ad about him starring in the show (no singing), and a concert performance of "This Is the Moment." I'm curious about how he sounded in the rest of the show, particularly as Hyde.

And I agree about Coleen . . . Certainly, she brings a new type of energy and feeling to the role of Lucy. I love her and Linda Eder both, but in different ways.

[Eriksoneandonly]

I saw Jekyll and hyde in theater thursday it was awesome I am so in the mood t roleplay it. The show is Awesome

[MaskedMadame]

I love jekyl and hyde!

fave songs
- Good n' evil
- In his eyes
- dangerous game

[Hidden Away]

I love this musical. My favorite Jekyll would have to be Robert Cuciolli. He's just amazing and I love how he pulls off the curly hair with the fur jacket ;) Favorite Lucy? It's between Colleen Sexton and Linda Eder. Colleen has the attitude for the part down packed! So much detail is added to her version of Lucy. Linda totally has the facial details! Linda has the rich voice that entrance the entire audience, while Colleen has the sweet demure voice for Lucy that reminds us that she's very young and has great potential with her life! Emma/Lisa--or Emmalisa in my head--is best portrayed, in my opinion, by Andrea Rivette. I love how the story has this loves interest now. As I recall Jekyll and Hyde as a book it only spoke about a man that had gone mad and had been possessed by this demon soul from an experiment? (It's been a while since I've read it.) I've heard that it's coming to MYC, not back on Broadway but it's going to get there!

My favorite song is In His Eyes, I'm going to write the music arrangement to it and sing it with a friend of mine for a recital. Dangerous game is just a way to show off the smexiness between Rob and Linda, but it would excite me if Rob and Colleen did the song together. What a statement! Alive makes me laugh sometimes because...for special reason. I'm not sure about you guys but when a friend of yours begins to sing to a song while acting it out in a diverse range of ways, it will get funny :D

[IamErik771]

I think the genius of the original book was that it wasn't told from Jekyll's point of view... Instead, it was told by his lawyer, Mr. Utterson, and so we as the readers don't find out that Jekyll and Hyde were the same person until around the end of the story. But most of the film and stage versions make it all about Jekyll so we can see him transforming before our eyes. Nice, but IMO, it loses a lot of what made the story so intriguing.

With the book, I think the most important aspect it had with Jekyll's character was that Hyde was a part of him from the beginning – the experiment didn't "create" him; he was just a physical being who embodied all of Jekyll's darkest desires, and so Jekyll secretly enjoyed turning into Hyde at first because he was free of society's rules. It was kind of like a drug addiction for him in that way. I think the musical (or at least the Complete recording) conveyed that aspect really well in certain scenes.

And yeah, I'm interested in hearing about how the new production in New York will go. Apparently, it's a benefit concert that will be happening on June 15th, and it will feature Robert Petkoff (Jekyll/Hyde), Brooke Sunny Moriber (Emma), and Jennifer Hallie Rosen (Lucy). If it does well, maybe it will lead to a Broadway revival... we can only hope!

[Hidden Away]

The sad thing is it's only a CONCERT :(. When every they say concert I never can take it seriously. I just can't! It sounds boy bandish. But the cast does interest me, and I swear! Where did I hear about Brooke Sunny Moriber!!!!!

[Eriksmasquerade]

I saw jekyll and hyde once. It was... eh ok. I only say this because the songs have kind of a " pop " feel, and given the year the story takes place I thought it was kind of inappropriate. However, when I saw it, the final confrontation scene was done differently from what it is now. The actor on stage was singing as Jekyll but a recorded video of him as hide appeared behind him instead of the actor changing back and forth as they do now. I read the rumor of a movie version being in progress. I wonder if it will ever happen ( they need to make a movie to make up for the David Hasselhoff dvd performance.. yikes. )

[Hidden Away]

Really, I didn't feel so much of a pop feel? I actually enjoyed the music (which is slightly rare that I love music like that) But...and yes the David Hasselhoff video actually made me laugh. He did okay, but I just had to laugh!