Jekyll and Hyde: The Musical Comes to Stadium Theatre

The popular Broadway show Jekyll and Hyde: The Musical will be performed by the Rhode Island Stage Ensemble at the Stadium Theatre in Woonsocket from Feb 13 through 15.

Jekyll and Hyde is based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic story about a brilliant doctor whose experiments with human personality create a murderous counterpart. Convinced the cure for his father’s mental illness lies in the separation of Man’s evil nature from his good, Jekyll unwittingly unleashes his own dark side, wreaking havoc in the streets of London as the savage, maniacal Edward Hyde.

URI graduate Jason Denton is playing Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and he didn’t know much about the show when he took the role. “I did a little research and found what I could on YouTube and watched it,” Denton told Motif. “There’s some fantastic music (in the show).”

Denton has also enjoyed working with director Jason LeClair. “The way (he) works is collaborative in nature in that he really stresses the importance of the character. He has a vision for how he wants to see different scenes, but he also wants to see what you think you would do in different situations,” Denton said.

Denton promises a thrilling experience for theatergoers with this production. “It really runs such a wide gamut of emotions,” said Denton, who previously appeared in Les Miserables. “You have the love story on one side with Dr. Jekyll and his fiancee and his earnest search to find answers to help his father, the complete opposite of the gleeful, maniacal attitude from Hyde and bending the world to his will. I expect it to be really well received and a really good show.”

Amy Gingras plays Emma Carew, who becomes engaged to Dr. Jekyll. “The audience for Jekyll & Hyde can expect to feel myriad emotions during the performance,” Gingras said. “Their heartstrings will be tugged as they become attached to the characters in the story, and they may even jump in their seats a little.”

Gingras previously played Cossette in Les Miserables. “That show has always been one of my favorites and to perform in it was a magical experience,” Gingras noted. “I love the feeling of becoming someone else on stage and doing everything possible to show the audience who the character is, letting them get to know the character as I have.”

Hannah Lum plays Lucy, the tragic heroine who is the main attraction at the Red Rat, a brothel in a seedy part of town. Lucy meets Jekyll and falls in love with him. “It’s a great character,” said Lum, a Cape Cod native. “One of the songs I get to sing is ‘Someone Like You.’ That was one of my favorite Broadway ballads since I was a little kid and I’ve often used it for auditions.”

Lum said the short run of the production will actually benefit the performers. “There will be no holding back,” Lum said. “We don’t have to worry about conserving our voices, our vocal energy, our physical energy. There’s nothing that’s gonna stop us from giving it our all.”

Jekyll and Hyde: The Musical will be held at The Stadium Theatre in Woonsocket. Tickets are available at the Stadium Theatre Box Office or by calling 401.762.4545 and online at stadiumtheatre.com.