I realize that by titling this post “Jekyll & Hyde, the worst musical I’ve ever endured” I will have to back that up with justification for what otherwise sounds like hyperbole. And I don’t really want to do that so I accept that you may reject my statement due to rhetoric and a lack of substantiation.
Today I went with my mother to the Pantages theatre to see Jekyll & Hyde. I was originally schedule to see it last weekend but I had to reschedule. It’s nice that subscribers are allowed to change shows up to 48 hours before the performance which I had to do.
Frank Wildhorn wrote the music for Jekyll & Hyde and also did the music for The Scarlet Pimpernel. I really liked Scarlet Pimpernel so I was looking forward to Jekyll & Hyde. I’ve never seen it, but I’ve heard songs before like “This is the Moment.” According to wikipedia, the musical originally ran for 1,543 performances from 1997 through 2001. The article also noted that the the musical lost $1.5 million and was not well reviewed.
This production features Constantine Maroulis as Jekyll (and Hyde). Deborah Cox is also in it. Constantine Maroulis you may remember from American Idol. This isn’t the first time I’ve encountered former American Idol contestants in musicals.
He can’t sing. His accent was bad. The acting I’d consider hammy. The only good bits in the show is Deborah Cox’s Lucy. She plays the role that was previously done by Linda Eder, Frank Wildhorn’s wife.
The plot is bad, the play ends with a whimper, and the music is uneven. The best songs are given to Lucy, perhaps because Linda Eder is Frank Wildhorn’s wife. Lucy has some fairly marketable pop tunes and the rest of the cast suffers with dissonant songs that they struggle with.
I would suggest that instead of seeing Jekyll & Hyde you read a book. Or watch netflix. Or do your laundry. Any of those three would probably provide you with more pleasure. This has been a negative review, one frowny face and no smiley faces. I refused to clap for Constantine; even when he was taking bows with the cast. Some members of the audience were on their feet and I can’t tell you why.
I preferred Russell Crowe in Les Miserables. Really.