After a 15-year Chicago drought, Jekyll & Hyde is back to terrorize audiences just in time for Halloween, and frankly, it’s about time. Kokandy Productions is taking its biggest swing yet, moving to the Chopin Theatre Mainstage with a 15-piece orchestra. That’s right, Frank Wildhorn’s bombastic score gets the full orchestral treatment it demands, not some keyboard-heavy approximation.
Director Derek Van Barham promises we’re “going full swoon into penny dreadful pulp,” which sounds deliciously unhinged. Given Kokandy’s track record of breathing new life into overlooked gems (current hit Amélie was just extended through September 28), this gothic revival could be exactly what this Jekyll needs. Critics famously panned the original Broadway production, but it ran for over 1,500 performances, a classic case of populist passion versus critical snobbery (guilty as charged!). The 2013 revival starring American Idol‘s Constantine Maroulis closed in less than a month.
It wants better content.
David Moreland tackles the infamous dual role, supported by Kokandy returnee Ava Stovall (Alice By Heart) as Lucy Harris. We’re expecting full commitment to Wildhorn’s melodramatic excess.
The real question isn’t whether this will be good (Kokandy rarely disappoints and loves a blood pack, as proven by its 2023 revival of American Psycho). But are Chicago audiences ready for unapologetically theatrical gothic camp? Van Barham’s dare, “How far is too far?”, feels perfectly timed for our current cultural moment of moral ambiguity.
With that 15-piece orchestra promising to drive audiences “to the edge,” this Jekyll & Hyde might just be the shot of adrenaline this much-maligned musical has been waiting for. Sometimes the best revivals happen far from Broadway’s watchful eye.
Jekyll & Hyde plays October 9 through December 21 at Chicago’s Chopin Theatre.
‘Jekyll & Hyde’ Broadway flashback
The New York Times didn’t mince words in 1997:
If there were a Tony award for best use of a head of hair (and why shouldn’t there be?), it would definitely go to Mr. Cuccioli, who even sings a duet with himself with lightning-quick adjustments of his coiffure. That’s about the only original element in this plastic monster assembly kit of a musical
Ben Brantley, The New York Times
Still, audiences loved it. Robert Cuccioli in the title role was nominated for a Tony Award and won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical.
