“Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde”a Easy, Intelligent, Enjoyable Option to Eat a Basic –

Despite having plowed by greater than my justifiable share of Western literary canon, I’ve by no means learn a phrase of Robert Louis Stevenson. So though I used to be aware of the underlying premise of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (isn’t everybody? Is there any title phrase this aspect of “Romeo and Juliet” that’s confirmed so profitable at transmitting its referent to individuals who don’t truly know the work itself?), I got here to Long Beach Playhouse with no level of comparability — and left fully happy.

Henry Jekyll (David Vaillancourt) is a person of science and boundless curiosity. His quest for data has taken him far past the streets of London and the prejudices of Nineteenth-century Western drugs. Of late he has been experimenting with potions acquired from the Orient, making an attempt to unlock the secrets and techniques of the human mind, the thoughts, even the very nature of excellent and evil. What do these investigations must do with the shadowy, violent determine of Edward Hyde, presupposed to be dwelling just some doorways down? Ah, therein lies a story….

Because everybody within the theater is aware of the place that is going, the one thriller is how we get there. Both Stevenson and Jefferey Hatcher, who tailored the novella for the stage, deserve kudos for cleverness. For his half, Stevenson explodes the false binary of excellent/evil by meditating on the character of morality after which hypostasizing the concept that people are advanced and paradoxical beings, every able to all method of feeling and conduct and never essentially modified by the legal guidelines and mores of society. (An amazing little twist on the finish actually brings this dwelling.)

Hatcher’s nice contribution is to stage the motion not with one actor taking part in Hyde however 4 (Carmen Tunis, Trevor Hart, Aaron Izbicki, and Terrance Sylvas — every of whom should additionally play a further function), permitting for lots of enjoyable interaction with Jekyll’s psyche. Director David Scaglione is aware of simply what to do with this, thoughtfully blocking Jekyll’s inside conflicts, together with some great tableaux (enhanced by Miranda Richard’s sharp but moody lighting).

The complete forged is sweet — together with unfailingly hitting the correct beats with the jokes scattered right here and there — however the spotlight are the Hydes, who’re merely scrumptious. Adorning them with matching sun shades is a robust selection regardless of its simplicity, an additional little bit of aptitude in Christina Bayer’s natty costume design.

Including intermission, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde is available in at beneath two hours, with Act II scudding by so quick that you just nearly want it might last more. But that’s a great factor. From substance to fashion, this can be a well-conceived, well-executed, enjoyable night time of theatre.

Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde at Long Beach Playhouse
Times: Fri–Sat 8 p.m., Sun 2 p.m.
The present runs by October 18.
Cost: $20 to $30
Details: 562-494-1014; LBplayhouse.org
Venue: Long Beach Playhouse, 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach