Re: Jekyll & Hyde talkback!

Saw this show the last weekend and was very disappointed. My tickets are close to the front and the music volume almost knocked me out of my seat. I stuffed my ears with kleenex, and immediately the music sounded gorgeous and the words could be understood.

The murder scenes were altogether too graphic. I closed my eyes during most of them. I know he is going to murder these people --- leave something to my imagination, please?!

My daughter and her family had seen it the weekend before and warned me about the volume --- and she was way back in the theater! She also thought the sex scenes needed to be toned down. This show is a fascinating depiction of the good and evil within us all --- but I don't want to watch graphic sex scenes and horrible murders to get the point!

When I have to put ear plugs in my ears and close my eyes to endure a show, something is wrong! I loved the original show! The talent was there in this one (voices and acting and the MUSIC!) but the show had been ruined by the changes. The comment at the end by most of the group I was with was "Thank heavens, THAT is over!" The show was deeply unpleasant and was basically ENDURED --- NOT enjoyed!

Re: Jekyll & Hyde talkback!

As a long time Jekkie, I was hugely disappointed in this version of J&H. Dr. Jekyll was not portayed as impressive and masculine as past shows. Lead voices were not quite strong enough to carry the story. I miss Linda Eder!!!! And loud is not necessarily better. Margolis had a few sour notes too many. Sets were boring. Maid/Valet scene was boring and "odd". Not as good connection with the folks who were murdered, murdered. Much better when it was the wedding party and the song about "rich, rich rich" and "bitch, bitch, bitch". Relationship between Lucy and Hyde way undeveloped and the relationship between Emma (Lisa??) underdeveloped. Scene with Jekyll fighting himself as Hyde was not as usually dramatic. Psychodelic set was too distracting. Completely missed the connection with Simon Snyde. Leaving out some of the songs really short-changes the story. Have always enjoyed the bawdiness of the "girls of the night" scene. That was missing. All in all, the play doesn't fare well with past performances. Can't imagine how this production can make it to Broadway. I brought 3 friends with me who had never seen the show but had heard me rave about it for years. I was very disappointed that this was the show they had to see.

Re: Jekyll & Hyde talkback!

Saw the last showing of this play last night with my 16 year old daughter. We loved the performance and singing. Deborah Cox and Constantine Maroulis were fantastic. The story was dark but that is the story line. We had not seen previous shows so we can not compare. We liked this one and appreciate the great performance put on by the entire cast. Thanks for a great show.

Re: Jekyll & Hyde talkback!

My husband and I had not seen any previous version of this play. So, there is nothing to compare against...Maybe that is better after reading all the blogs. We loved the production! Are huge Constantine fans and although not previously familiar with Ms. Deborah Cox, thought she was fantastic as well. I guess I dont understand how this subject matter would ever be anything but dark, but I thought it was handled very well by the actors. I particularly liked the "duet" between Constatine as Jekyl and Constantine as Hyde. We sat in the Mezzanine and I never felt like the music was too loud. I didnt notice any one around us leaving at intermission.

Re: Jekyll & Hyde talkback!

I thought this rendition was wonderful - I liked the sets and how Constantine was able to contrast Jekyll and Hyde. It took more than long hair to pull that off - his animated facial expressions, the way he traced the Bishop's face with his finger before killing him.... I saw it this past weekend so maybe some adjustments have been made, but I did not find any of it too loud at all and could understand all of the lyrics. Like others, I especially enjoyed the journal entries. Overall, my husband and I agree this was a great experience and would choose to see it again in the future.

Re: Jekyll & Hyde talkback!

Where do I start? We are TUTS season subscribers from way back so saw the original version as well as both Alley versions and the Broadway version. This WAS a beautifully written score sung by the best singers in the business. To recap our agreement with the entries above, this version is choppy, too loud, does not develop relationships leaving the story unintelligible, headlined by singers that could probably carry it well if allowed to sing ballads as ballads. Biggest travesty was the destruction of one of the most beautiful songs in musical theatre, Someone Like You. I am sure Ms. Cox is able to carry a phrase, not requiring a breath in every bar, please let her sing. The Lucy/ Emma duet (since when is Ms. Carew's name Emma not Lisa?) received the loudest, longest ovation in the 10/19 performance - it was the only true ballad sung in this version and rewarded by the audience. The story is dark enough on its own, don't overdo it.

Re: Jekyll & Hyde talkback!

I have held TUTS season tickets for 22 seasons. This was one of the best shows I have ever seen here! Constantine's voice was amazingly strong and truly filled the house! Deborah Cox and Teal Wicks were excellent as well. The show was very dramatic and good performances were delivered by all. I would agree that the sound was a bit too loud, at times overrunning the incredible voices. I was most pleased that the show was virtually free of vulgar and profane language, and the bar/bordello scenes were all tastefully done. It was refreshing to see that such a high-quality show could be delivered without the tasteless behavior and coarse language we have seen in TUTS productions over the last 4-5 years. I have come close to discontinuing my tickets several times in past seasons due to the lowering of standards in that area. Bravo to the current leadership for elevating Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to a standard of behavior where we can be proud to bring our children and guests. Thank you!

Re: Jekyll & Hyde talkback!

On the way to the play last night, we read this blog and didn't have high hopes for the play from the comments. Boy, was I wrong! The play was so intense and emotional. I can't imagine how Constantine can do this almost every day . . .and sometimes twice! The two lead vocalists are the best we've seen in our 7 years as season ticket holders. For once, I was able to understand the lyrics and dialogue. It was an awesome experience!!!

Re: Jekyll & Hyde talkback!

From a Season Ticket Holder-I think some people are being too analytical! After all, the show is for entertainment, so relax and enjoy! And I did thoroughly enjoy the show, the story, the acting, singing, music, orchestra, and set were all great. I felt the actors were really caring about how they portrayed their characters. Perfect pre-halloween show. Loved it!

Re: Jekyll & Hyde talkback!

We loved the earlier productions of Jekyll & Hyde. We had fun night and always enjoy our time at Hobby Theater but we were not happy with the changes made to this show. This is live theater! Using prerecorded tracts for many of Hyde's lyrics was a mistake. To us, a huge part of this show was always the confrontation scene. Turning that scene into a loud, overwhelming digital production, instead of the back and forth actor's portrayal of soul wrenching conflict was unacceptable to us. I don't think Constantine has the ability to do that scene based on the performance we saw him give last night. I think this show was tailored to his style of music and did not do justice to the music and lyrics of Jekyll & Hyde. Deborah Cox has an awesome voice. Thanks for letting her at least sing some of Lucy's songs as the were intended to be done. If TUTS ever decides to bring back Jekyll and Hyde as it was meant to be done, we'll be there. If this staging of the show is brought back count us out!

Re: Jekyll & Hyde talkback!

Not looking forward to the same Jekyll & Hyde seen twice before at TUTS, it was nice to see a change in the story. I agree more relationship development would be nice, but Constantine and Deborah were so strong you had to be impressed. My question is why Constantine had to manually turn up the volume on his microphone rather than it being remotely controlled off stage. That was really distracting to me and can't imagine how distracting it is for him! Those complaints listed for play being too dark were surprising to me- it's a tragedy!!! A couple of technical glitches last night during the first transformation, test tubes turning red before he added the potion, one line falling off his arm, but that will all be perfected as time goes on. Looked like he had trouble getting sword to come out of back compartment, but maybe we just sit too close and notice everything. For those annoyed by the volume, I am age 59 and still say, if it's too loud, your too old!! Thanks for a modern remake of a tired old classic. Keep working out the kinks and it will be great!

Re: Jekyll & Hyde talkback!

This was my first TUTS production. I loved it. I knew the story of Jekyll and Hyde so expected the good and evil sides. The singing was awesome. I loved Constantine and Lucy. The transformation from Jekyll to Hyde was amazing. Thank you TUTS for bringing a production that everyone could enjoy. I'm looking forward to my next production.. Peter Pan ..... here we come!!

Re: Jekyll & Hyde talkback!

TOO LOUD!! Sorry, didn't mean to shout. This isn't a rock concert and the elevated sound detracted from the beautiful voices of the stars and made it hard to understand the lyrics sometimes. Constantine did a great job with both singing and acting. I agree that the storyline didn't flow well. It felt disjointed and needs lots of work. I liked the writing on the wall for the journal. Overall, the play was simply too dark for my enjoyment

Re: Jekyll & Hyde talkback!

My sister's and I are season ticket holders for TUTS. I am a memeber of TUTS. We attend all shows and normally love them. Jekyll & Hyde was not at all like we have seen in the past. It had a very dark and evil persona. Satan was also mentioned in the play. The play was very disturbing. We left at intermission as well as the people that sat behind us and others that were leaving in the parking lot. The actors did an excellent job singing.!! Their voices were great We just did not like the evil and dark meaning of the show. We look forward to the rest of the season!!!!

Re: Jekyll & Hyde talkback!

I saw the first originsl version of J&H at the Alley tryout; then the second version at the Alley before it went to Broadway. We saw it on Broadway in a finished form. Lovely, considering the musical was about a tragedy. And the musical score was magnificent. Softened the darker theme itself. This re-write is terrible and a travesty of what Wildhorne produced. Did he allow this to happen, or didn't he care? His beautiful score disappeared! We will never attend this version again if it is able to reappear. What a travesty!

Re: Jekyll & Hyde talkback!

I really did not enjoy the show. I agree with most of the comments above. It needs some help! All 4 of us ticker holders were not happy with how loud the rock numbers were as we could not understand a word he was singing! We literally had to press on our ears to drown out the sound, which helped hearing what was being said a little bit better.

Re: Jekyll & Hyde talkback!

This play is going to lose a lot of investor money. I found it unmemorable and Way Too Loud to recommend. The performers all had good voices but there was nothing entertaining about most of the songs. I couldn't hum one of them when I left. If you are going to offer a plot with an unhappy ending you should at least ensure an enjoyable musical experience (see Phantom of the Opera). I asked for ear plugs at intermission but TUTS doesn't offer them.

Re: Jekyll & Hyde talkback!

Very disappointing! Unlike TUTS first run of Jekyll and Hyde, there was no established connections between Lucy and Jekyll. While Deborah Cox has a great voice, she clearly needs help in the acting area. The rewrite of Jekyll as a meek man instead of a gentleman and passionate scientist and the Clark Kent/ Superman change of character really changed this character. The once powerful songs that helped tell the story were either missing or were very lackluster compared to the previous version. I understand trying to bring the show more current, but it should not take away from the wonderful music and lyrics in the process. Did the producers of this version go back and listen to the original TUTS CD...If they did they would realize they have destroyed all that was good about this show. Cut back on drums so we can hear the voices and work on the leads so we can understand the story they are singing.

Re: Jekyll & Hyde talkback!

The ballads were effective by both leading singers, however the rock numbers were far too amplified to the extent that the lyrics were lost in the waves of sound. This spoiled our enjoyment of the show,

Re: Jekyll & Hyde talkback!

We are season ticket holders and we enjoyed this performance tremendously! There was not one weak spot in this production of Jekyll and Hyde. Deborah Cox, Constantine Maroulis and Courtney Markowski were just excellent!

Re: Jekyll & Hyde talkback!

Saw the first Saturday Matinee. My spouse and I are season ticket holders, but were not particularly interested in this performance. The leads had powerful voices, but for some reason we had trouble understanding the lyrics. Unusual as the acoustics in the Hall are excellent.We never really got involved with the plot (we had read the short novel, so were not unfamiliar with the general idea) or cared about the the people being portrayed. We decided to leave at intermission, so possibly missed the best parts. We intend to remain season ticket for many years to come. This particular play was just not for us.

Re: Jekyll & Hyde talkback!

Deborah Cox was wonderful! I also enjoyed the new stage presentations--the writing on the wall as Jekyll wrote in his journal, the carrousel of ribbons in" Bring on the Men", the large screens with faces behind the action, etc. I came home singing the songs that are so good.

Re: Jekyll & Hyde talkback!

Ensemble numbers were the best part of the show. Very tight, good vocals, good costumes, good sets. Jekyll turning into Hyde it just doesn't work well to just have it be a pony tail hair to long hair. I would think something more could be done for the transformation. it was acted well and sang well. There were definite character differences portrayed by the actor. Costumes and sets are great. The story line is a big problem. It doesn't flow. Things seem out of sequence or not developed enough. For example, when Jekyll goes to the bar and meets Lucy, then all of a sudden he is inspired to take the drug to trial oon himself. Why? He sings this big wonderful number but it seems to come from no where. The relationships between Jekyll/Hyde and the women is lacking. You don't really feel a connection between the characters. another example, Lucy is inlove with him but she met him twice; once in the bar and once when he rubbed sauve on her back. Now she is madly in love and sings these beautiful songs? The show is choppy and not connectedc. It seemed like the marriage should be in the beginning and then he should kill himself after Hyde kills Lucy because he lost Lucy but he also lost his wife in the previous scene "Once Upon a Dream" song. The end was almost laughable when he crawls backwards to be in his wifes arms and the slow sword death. That doesn't work. The voices are great! The actors are great! Costumes are great! Set is great! i think the story flow needs rewrites before it goes to Broadway so it flows and the characters have connection to eachother. The audience needs to feel empathy and a connection and there is not one right now.

Re: Jekyll & Hyde talkback!

Deborah Cox is excellent as Lucy...bravo! Teal Wicks is vocally good and plays an adequate Emma, but does not have the commanding presence on stage, as does Deborah Cox. Constantine...hmmmm, better as Hyde than Jekyll. He sounded a little nasally during melodies (and there are lots of opportunities to hear it... a bit too much Jeckyll singing)...better with the big notes, but comes across a bit too technical, slightly mechanical...needs more feeling! The show drags a bit until Hyde makes his appearance, then moves quickly. Good supporting cast...vocals were outstanding. Overall, good entertainment and would recommend!