{"id":1892,"date":"2024-06-27T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-27T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebigbluehouse.org\/site\/?p=1892"},"modified":"2024-07-02T14:49:40","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T14:49:40","slug":"jekyll-and-hyde-the-musical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebigbluehouse.org\/site\/jekyll-and-hyde-the-musical\/","title":{"rendered":"Jekyll and Hyde The Musical – NODA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Review URL<\/strong><\/td>NODA<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Date<\/th>27th June 2024<\/td><\/tr>
Society<\/th>Hayling Musical Society<\/td><\/tr>
Venue<\/th>Station Theatre, Hayling Island<\/td><\/tr>
Type of Production<\/th>Musical<\/td><\/tr>
Director<\/th>Rob McGough<\/td><\/tr>
Musical Director<\/th>Helen Castle<\/td><\/tr>
Choreographer<\/th>Emily Dulake<\/td><\/tr>
Reviewer<\/strong><\/td>Mark Donalds<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Loosely based around Robert Louis Stevenson\u2019s story \u201cThe Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde\u201d, Jekyll and Hyde the Musical<\/strong> has a powerful score by Frank Wildhorn and strong lyrics by Wildhorn, Leslie Bricusse and Steve Cuden. It garnered considerable critical acclaim for its professional productions but has never gained the success that it really deserved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Director Rob McGough, assisted by Emily Goldthorpe (also responsible for the choreography), has gone back to basics with a very simple black set with just a raised platform at the back, and created a most powerful and stylish production. Maria Hammon\u2019s well chosen costumes, combined with Ian Pratt\u2019s ingenious and beautifully atmospheric lighting, and the sheer force of the acting talent on stage made this a show that grabbed you from the first note and didn\u2019t let go till the very end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Sadly, there was no orchestra, but the excellent backing tracks meant that Tom Davison was able to balance the sound perfectly, the quality was impeccable, and every word was heard \u2013 essential in a musical like this that is mostly sung through. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

With very little to move around (apart from Jekyll\u2019s very clever laboratory) scene changes were super smooth and the show kept up an excellent pace. McGough\u2019s clever use of the sides of the auditorium as characters entered and left the stage was a clever touch for keeping the action moving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the title role, Lucas Bradshaw excelled as Jekyll and Hyde. What a talented young man he is, able to switch between the two characters in the blink of an eye \u2013 the power of his acting meant that you were never in doubt which one he was portraying. The \u201cConfrontation\u201d in Act 2 demonstrated this talent so well. His singing voice is just sublime. He has immense power but equally can perform down to almost a whisper with great feeling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You must be brave to go up against a voice like that, but Lois Huntingdon as Lucy Harris, the prostitute with a heart, and Grace Campbell as Jekyll\u2019s fianc\u00e9e Emma Carew, were more than up to the job. Lois played Lucy on full throttle, every inch the common lady of the night, but her beautiful, heart-rending singing had every member of the audience on her side. In complete contrast, Grace was totally the loyal and elegant young woman who knows her own mind but is baffled by Jekyll\u2019s strange behaviour. Her singing was also top-class and her duet with Lucy \u201cIn His Eyes\u201d was spellbinding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tremendous support was provided by the rest of the cast. Every person on stage had their own character, sang with great strength and feeling, and moved perfectly, creating some beautiful tableaux at the ends of numbers. I particularly liked Paul Goldthorpe as Jekyll\u2019s loyal lawyer friend, Utterson; Danny Owen as Emma\u2019s father Sir Danvers Carew and Finn Harkness as Simon Stride. Also, Karla Mawdsley, as Nellie the Madam, got the hard, unsympathetic character just right and the bickering ladies Beaconsfield and Savage (Lauren Elkins and Courtney Elkins) only had a moment in the limelight, but they grabbed it and made it count. Wonderful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wow \u2013 I was stunned! What more can you say when you\u2019ve had your breath taken away by such a stupendously good production? This was a top-quality show, totally professional in every respect \u2013 we felt energised and uplifted and talked about it all the way home.  Please give us more like this!!<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Jekyll<\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The excellent backing tracks meant that Tom Davison was able to balance the sound perfectly, the quality was impeccable, and every word was heard \u2013 essential in a musical like this that is mostly sung through. 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