PATRICIA C. SYAK | Symphony Notes Broadway hit 'Jekyll & amp; Hyde' comes to Powers

"Jekyll & amp; Hyde: The Musical" arrives at Powers Auditorium for performances April 23 and April 24.
Presented by the Youngstown Symphony Society in conjunction with First Place Bank, the shows begin at 8 p.m.
The classic tale of good and evil comes to startling new life in "Jekyll & amp; Hyde," the smash hit musical direct from Broadway. This is the show that grabbed Broadway by the throat with a show-stopping score that touched audiences' souls and chilled them to the bone.
"It's a phenomenon!" exclaimed The New York Times. "A big flashy spectacle that knocks the roof right off the theater," said Gannett Newspapers.
The scene is London -- the time is 1885. Dr. Henry Jekyll is the toast of London society. His days are spent in the pursuit of medical advances well beyond the imaginations of his peers. His evenings were another story, a story of hot-blooded passion and cold-blooded murder.
Melodrama: A whirlwind odyssey pitting man against himself, Leslie Bricusse and Frank Wildhorn's musical melodrama adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson's Gothic novel resounds with the clash of a drug-induced battle between good and evil, callous aristocrats and exploited underclasses, and romantic love and wanton lust.
"Jekyll & amp; Hyde: The Musical" was conceived by Steve Cuden and Frank Wildhorn. The show debuted at Houston's Alley Theatre, breaking box-office records and playing to sold-out houses. A subsequent production was mounted at Houston's Theatre Under the Stars. A recording based on the Alley Theatre production was released and yielded the hits "Someone Like You" and "This Is the Moment."
The success story gained momentum when stars such as Liza Minnelli and The Moody Blues started performing and recording songs from the show. The show's popularity grew when songs from the musical were featured at such major events as the Super Bowl and the Olympics.
"Jekyll & amp; Hyde" opened on Broadway April 28, 1997, with a score by Frank Wildhorn and book and lyrics by two-time Academy Award winning lyricist Leslie Bricusse. Two years later, Wildhorn would become the first American composer in nearly 25 years to have three musicals running simultaneously on Broadway ("Jekyll & amp; Hyde," "The Scarlet Pimpernel" and "The Civil War").
"Jekyll & amp; Hyde" is a dazzling package of spectacle and music. Costumes richly reflect the classes and characters of the story. Scenic designs capture the look and feel of Victorian London, from gritty waterfront to posh mansions and a Gothic version of Jekyll's laboratory full of musty secrets. With its blend of romance, social conscience and Gothic fantasy, "Jekyll & amp; Hyde" is a sort of "Les Miserables" meets "The Phantom of the Opera" in Frankenstein's laboratory.
Inspiration: The first musical linked by Internet, "Jekyll & amp; Hyde" has inspired a nationwide cult of enthusiasts knows as "Jekkies." Jekkies are linked via their own Web site and have generated almost as much publicity as the show itself.
The Jekyll legend lives in countless books, films and recordings. John Barrymore starred in the 1920 classic silent film version of "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." Fredric March won an Academy Award in 1932 for his portrayal of the brilliant Dr. Jekyll and his evil alter ego Edward Hyde. In 1995, Julia Roberts starred in the latest version of the Robert Louis Stevenson tale, "Mary Reilly."
Along the way, Abbott and Costello met Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Jerry Lewis' and later Eddie Murphy's "The Nutty Professor" were derived from Stevenson's basic story line.
For tickets to "Jekyll & amp; Hyde" at Powers Auditorium, call the Symphony Center box office at (330) 744-0264.
XPatricia C. Syak is executive director of the Youngstown Symphony Society.