Reviewed by Judy Richter
Because we're human, no one is
all good or all evil. Everyone is a mixture of both, although some may tilt
more one way than the other. This complexity of human nature is what intrigued
author Robert Louis Stevenson in his "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." This same complexity
propels playwright Jeffrey Hatcher's new adaptation of the novella, staged at San Jose
Repertory Theatre as
a co-production with Arizona Theatre Company. The latter's artistic director,
David Ira Goldstein, directs this world premiere.
David
Edgar's 1991
adaptation, staged by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2006, had one actor playing
both the good Dr. Jekyll and the evil Mr. Hyde. Hatcher takes a different tack.
Although one actor, R. Hamilton Wright, portrays Henry Jekyll, four actors, including a
woman, portray Hyde in addition to other characters. Sometimes they switch
characters almost instantaneously, stressing the idea that these
"good" people harbor darker sides. The main burden of Hyde falls on Mark
Anderson Phillips,
who also portrays Hyde's friend Dr. H.K. Lanyon and two minor characters.
Phillips is wonderfully evil and then conflicted as Hyde, especially when he
falls in love with Elizabeth Jelkes (Anna Bullard), the sister of one of his
victims. Like Wright, Bullard portrays only one character, and does so
convincingly.
Ken
Ruta also does a
turn as Hyde, but he primarily plays Jekyll's sensible solicitor, Garbriel
Utterson. Ruta shows once again that he's one of the Bay Area's most gifted
actors. Yet another Hyde is Stephen D'Ambrose, who portrays such varied
characters as Jekyll's nemesis, Sir Danvers Carew; his friend Richard Enfield;
a police inspector and another of Jekyll's colleagues, O.F. Sanderson. Carrie
Paff nicely
completes the quartet of Hydes, lending a feminine note to his character. She
also plays Poole, Jekyll's proper British butler, along with a maid and three
minor male characters.
Kent
Dorsey's set
initially resemble a surgical theater dominated by a giant red door in the
center of the upper level. As the play begins, this door rises, to be replaced
on the main level by another red door, which moves to represent scene changes. Dawn
Chiang's
lighting, Roberta Carlson's music and Brian Jerome Peterson's sound contribute to the
tension. Anna Oliver's costumes evoke the late 19th century and help to reinforce
Hatcher's theme. In one especially telling scene, Wright's Jekyll and Paff's
Hyde resemble each other as they stand side by side, then confront each other
face to face, both dressed alike and both about the same height.
Thanks
to Goldstein's able direction, his talented design team and the skill of his
actors, this "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" works well and brings
intriuging new insights to a familiar tale.