{"id":10330,"date":"2013-02-13T14:37:45","date_gmt":"2013-02-13T18:37:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/?p=10330"},"modified":"2013-02-13T14:37:45","modified_gmt":"2013-02-13T18:37:45","slug":"theatre-jekyll-and-hyde","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/theatre-jekyll-and-hyde\/","title":{"rendered":"THEATRE: JEKYLL AND HYDE"},"content":{"rendered":"

JEKYLL AND HYDE<\/em><\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

I’m always amazed when there’s a Broadway musical I haven’t seen before! But that’s the case with Jekyll and Hyde<\/em>. Of course, I’ve heard the big song, This Is The Moment<\/em>, a million times, (mainly because I watch a lot of sports,) but that’s all I know about the show. (Other than the classic Robert Louis Stevenson story, of course!)<\/p>\n

We in SoCal are lucky enough to have the show here at the Pantages Theatre right before this revival, with the same cast, opens on Broadway in April. I love beating New York to the punch.<\/p>\n

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Constantine Maroulis, as the evil Mr. Hyde, with Deborah Cox. Photo by Chris Bennion.<\/p><\/div>\n

Most importantly, for those old school American Idol<\/em> fans, Constantine Maroulis is the star. (I just hope they don’t screw him out of the upcoming film again, like they did with Rock Of Ages<\/em>. Hey, how’d that work out for them???)<\/p>\n

His singing was the highlight of the show for me. He just keeps getting better and better. It’s weird\u2014I wasn’t really a fan of his on AI<\/em>, but now I am. I kept trying to remember why that was, and I swear\u2014I think it was because I thought his hair was always dirty! But he makes good use of his famous mane in this show because his hair is a mess as Mr. Hyde, but back in a ponytail when he’s Dr. Jekyll. It all came back to me by the second half. And it gets messier as his character gets crazier. It’s like he was cast as much for his hair as for his singing! (I’m joking about that, of course.)<\/p>\n

I love that Simon Cowell always made fun of \u201cBroadway singers\u201d on AI<\/em>, yet here’s one of that show’s pop<\/em> guys, who was really a rocker<\/em> back then, making his mark on Broadway. And I bet he’s thrilled to be doing so, getting a Tony nomination in the process a few years back, (for Rock of Ages<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

This show is perfect for Constantine because he gets to show-off his rocker chops by wailing on some of the songs. He sounded really great. I could have listened to him just sing This Is The Moment<\/em> over and over again for the whole two plus hours! (Actually, I think I might have preferred<\/em> that!)<\/p>\n

As much as the opening night audience loved him, they went even wilder for co-star Deborah Cox. I know I should be familiar with her music from my hip-hop clubbing days, but I’m not; I know just her name. Her singing was excellent, but she didn’t get to my soul like the voice of the other female in the cast, Teal Wicks, (what a name, right?,) did. She<\/em> sung like an angel. The duet they did in the second half was gorgeous.<\/p>\n

I must say this for Deborah, though; while the rest of the crowd was applauding in the middle<\/em> of her big number, I was marveling at her lack of cellulite! I’ve never seen anything like it, even in the thighs of my twenty-something pals! And she’s had three kids!<\/p>\n

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Constantine Maroulis and Teal Wicks as the "good" Dr. Jekyll and his fiancee. Notice his clean, shiny hair, at this point in the show. Photo by Chris Bennion.<\/p><\/div>\n

One odd note: I don’t think Constantine’s mike was mixed right; it made him sound like he has an \u201cs\u201d speech impediment, which I think I would have noticed long ago, if that was the case.<\/p>\n

And I must add a word about the plot. Since the show is based on a famous classic story, (over one hundred years old, as a matter of fact,) therefore not one full of surprises, I heavily suggest you look-up the entire synopsis before you see it. It will definitely help you to know what’s going on!<\/p>\n

When I got home, I stayed up quite late researching everything about it, including the original Stevenson novella, and all the subsequent plays, movies, and TV shows. [Note: NBC just cancelled their <\/em>take on it, the doomed series Do No Harm<\/em>, after airing only two episodes.] It appears that everyone does a different version of the author’s real<\/em> story; that bit of info reminded me of what several of my classmates did to me in elementary school whenever there was an essay contest. They \u201ctook\u201d what I had written (idiot that I was to always show them mine when they asked,) and then they changed a few details around a bit, and claimed it as their own! (Their sub-titles should have been \u201cbased on an essay by my desk-mate, Karen Salkin!\u201d) None of these Jekyll and Hyde<\/em> incarnations do the theft <\/em>part; they just change it around so that we’re not seeing Stevenson’s true vision. It makes no never-mind, as they say; I just thought it’s an interesting point you might like to know going in. Or not.<\/p>\n

So, here’s the bottom line on Jekyll and Hyde<\/em>: go see it for the great voices, and some of the music. (I hadn’t realized that two other beautiful songs, Take Me As I Am <\/em>and Once Upon A Dream<\/em>, are from this show.) The story itself is not fun or interesting, as far as I’m concerned. And there’s not much wonderful about the sets or costumes because what can really be done with this depressing storyline?<\/p>\n

But I think everyone should see this in LA while they have the chance; it’s a worthwhile endeavor. Just don’t dress-up in crazy person attire and make-up, thinking it’s a tribute to the show; you’ll just look insane, as several of my audience-mates did. Thanks goodness that at least they didn’t attempt to sing along!<\/p>\n

[Note: this was quite the star-studded audience, but you’ll have to wait to read about that in my next Celeb Sightings column in a few weeks.]<\/p>\n

Jekyll and Hyde<\/em> running through March 3, 2013<\/strong>
\n Pantages Theatre \u00a06233 Hollywood Blvd. \u00a0800-982-2727 \u00a0www.BroadwayLA.org<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

JEKYLL AND HYDE   I’m always amazed when there’s a Broadway musical I haven’t seen before! But that’s the case with Jekyll and Hyde. Of course, I’ve heard the big song, This Is The Moment, a million times, (mainly because I watch a lot of sports,) but that’s all I know about the show. (Other<\/p>\n

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