Jekyll & Hyde

Bohemian Theatre Ensemble’s Jekyll & Hyde is a frustrating experience. Once again, director Stephen Genovese has assembled a talented cast and surrounded it with a high-quality production. It’s a pity he’s marshaled these assets in the service of an inferior show.

True, Jekyll & Hyde has its hard-core fans, and it had a long run on Broadway. Its hammy lead role has attracted big-name stars, including rocker Sebastian Bach and, yes, David Hasselhoff. But at its bifurcated heart, Jekyll is inept. Subtle as a sledgehammer, it substitutes wooden exposition for character development and key modulations for musical depth. It’s clear what kind of show it would like to be—a soaring epic à la Phantom of the Opera and Les Miz—but Bricusse and Wildhorn are more interested in producing generic breakaway pop hits than lyrical revelations of character.

Still, Genovese has made a strong effort. Vocally, the show is quite accomplished, as are the clever set and lovely costumes (by John Zuiker and Michelle Julazadeh, respectively). Crouse’s Hyde mesmerizes; part snuffling Neanderthal, part crouching gargoyle, he’s creepily magnetic. (His Jekyll, by contrast, is dull as dishwater, but that’s more a fault of the tepid script.) His leading ladies are a mixed bag: McClain gives a powerful vocal performance as Jekyll’s fiancé; Szaflik’s prostitute lacks both the musical oomph and earthy sexuality she needs to set her apart from the other leading lady. But what can we expect in a show that offers only generic, one-size-fits-all-divas tunes?