Review: ‘Jekyll & Hyde’ proves itself more than ready to fill the Broadway Playhouse
Great roars of appreciation accompanied the downtown re-opening of Kokandy Productions’ new Chicago production of the Frank Wildhorn, Steve Cuden and Leslie Bricusse musical “Jekyll & Hyde” at the Broadway Playhouse, replete with its full orchestra, power ballads and a happily campy sensibility that proves an entertaining and ebullient match for the fan-favorite material itself.
Along with musical director Nick Sula and his 15-piece band (now under union contract), the biggest strength of this elevated, PG-13 show staged by the director Derek Van Barham remains the performance of Ava Lane Stovall as Lucy. Stovall expands vocal operations to fill the new space and, well, blow the audience away.
Fans of “Jekyll and Hyde” know well that Wildhorn obliged his formidable star (and later wife) Linda Eder with one show-stopping LITE-FM number after another back in 1997, and it’s a great pleasure to watch how Stovall has refined her vocal interpretations. Justice demands that this kind of showcase just off Michigan Avenue pays some dividends for this young performer.
That said, the entire cast of this non-Equity show, including the star, David Moreland, and Emily McCormick, who plays the third wheel as the doctor slowly succumbs to his darker side, banishes all worry that an off-Loop production couldn’t fill this space. It most certainly can. If anything, the show now has to be concerned about not getting too large so that the nuances of the piece (such as they are) remain intact.
This is the same inventive, all-in production that was seen last fall at the Chopin Theatre, so I won’t repeat myself here. But if you’ve not had the pleasure and count yourself a Jekkie, you will have a blast.
If, like me, you like to see edgy Chicago theater companies get a rare chance at a much bigger and longer dance, that will be part of your enjoyment.
And if you’re just up for an entertaining and sexy night out just off the Mag Mile requiring no brain power whatsoever, then this show awaits you. “Murder! Murder!”
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic
cjones5@chicagotribune.com
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“Jekyll and Hyde” (3.5 stars)
When: Through Nov. 8
Where: Broadway Playhouse, 175 E. Chestnut St., Chicago
Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Tickets: $45-$100 at 312-977-1700 and broadwayinchicago.com