Jekyll & Hyde
November 7 - 23, 2008

All About Writer, Robert Louis Stevenson

Growing up in Edinburgh, Scotland, Robert Louis Stevenson's (1850-1894) childhood was dictated by his weak lungs and problematic health as a "tubercular consumptive." After finishing school, he moved to Europe and then beyond, and never lived in Scotland again. But, his abiding love for his country’s history and culture never died, and his fictional works pay tribute to the land of his birth.

At the age of 30, Robert Louis Stevenson married Fanny Osbourne: American, divorced, the mother of two boys, and eleven years his senior. They had met in France, lived in sin, and later he followed her and settled in California. There they lived in literary splendor on very limited material means while he found his voice as a writer.

Stevenson's idea for the pirate classic Treasure Island came while drawing a treasure map with his 12-year-old stepson. Published in 1883, this was Stevenson's first novel, written for young people but popular with adults as well. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, published three years later in 1886, became a best seller. Kidnapped came out the same year and his career was established internationally.

For Stevenson, life was a struggle - for health, for accomplishment, for appreciating goodness, and for overcoming evil. Duality is the hallmark of Stevenson's body of work. It is most blatantly expressed in Jekyll and Hyde, but present also in Treasure Island, Kidnapped and The Master of Ballantrae. Stevenson understood that both people and cultures have a dual nature, the pull of the past and the push to the future, a complexity that plays out in our lives on many levels.

In 1888, Stevenson and his family sailed around the Pacific islands, which marked a new epoch in his writing career and in his health. The climate was so good that they decided to stay, making their home in Samoa. His aboriginal Samoan neighbors referred to him with great respect in their native tongue as "the teller of tales." Having fought for good health all his life, Stevenson died of a sudden stroke in December 1894, and was buried on a mountaintop on his Samoan island paradise.

Writing Stevenson's Story

Robert Louis Stevenson was interested in the the duality of human nature, more importantly, how could he use it in a story? One night in October 1885, Stevenson had a dream. "In the small hours of one morning," said Mrs. Stevenson, "I was awakened by cries of horror from Louis. Thinking he had a nightmare, I woke him. He said angrily, 'Why did you wake me? I was dreaming a fine bogey tale.'"

Lloyd Osbourne, Stevenson's stepson, remembered, "I don't believe that there was ever such a literary feat before as the writing of Dr. Jekyll. I doubt if the first draft took so long as three days."

As was the custom, Mrs. Stevenson would read the draft and offer her criticisms. She said that in effect the story was really an allegory, but Louis was writing it as a story. After some thought, Stevenson called her. He had burnt the manuscript in fear that he would try to salvage it, and needed to force himself to start from nothing rewriting it. Stevenson then rewrote the story in six days, with the help of a considerable quantity of laudanum and cocaine. Scholars debate if he really burnt his manuscript or not. Whatever the case, there is no direct factual evidence for the burning of the manuscript, but it remains an integral part of the history of the novella.

Stevenson never mentions exactly what Hyde takes pleasure in on his nightly forays, saying generally that it is some thing of an evil nature. However scientists in the closing decades of the 19th century, were beginning to examine various biological influences on human morality including: drug addiction, alcoholism, homosexuality, multiple personality disorder, and regressive bestiality.

By 1900, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was firmly entrenched in the world’s cultural subconscious. The story's influence continues with numerous divergent adaptations such as Marvel Comics and Bill Bixby's The Incredible Hulk to inclusion in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and Christian Slater's current TV Series My Own Worst Enemy, as alternate personalities named after the original, Henry and Edward!

The Double Life Of Deacon William Brodie

A respected member of Edinburgh, Scotland's society, Deacon William Brodie (1741-88) was a member of the Town Council as well as head of the Edinburgh Woodwrights and Bricklayers Union. Unknown to most, Brodie was also the leader of a gang of burglars.

This extra-curricular activity was necessary to support his lifestyle which included: 2 mistresses, numerous children and a gambling habit.

Brodie had the perfect day job to support his nighttime activities. He made and repaired door and cabinet locks. The temptation obviously proved too much for him when working on the locks of his customer's homes. He copied the keys and came back later having already cased the house.

Brodie's last crime and ultimate downfall was a raid on His Majesty's Excise Office in Chessel's Court, U.K. Although Brodie had planned the burglary himself, things went disastrously wrong. Brodie escaped to the Netherlands, but was arrested in Amsterdam and returned to Edinburgh for trial. At first there was no hard evidence against him, before the tools of his criminal trade were found in his house: copied keys, a disguise and pistols. The jury found Brodie guilty and his execution was set for 1st of October, 1788.

Brodie's story however does not quite end there. He was hanged from a gibbet which he himself had only recently redesigned and built. He also had bribed the hangman to ignore a steel collar he was wearing under his shirt , with the hope that this would defeat the noose. Despite his arrangement he could not be revived following his hanging.

It is speculated that Brodie's bizarre double-life inspired The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, whose father had furniture made by Brodie within his Scottish household. Indeed Stevenson knew of Brodie's exploits through local legend. Stevenson later allegedly included aspects of Brodie's character traits in his story of a demonic split personality.

On Stage And Screen

There have been dozens of stage and film adaptations of the story, as well as countless popular culture references . The very phrase "Jekyll and Hyde" has become shorthand to mean wild or controversial behavior. Most adaptations tell the story from Dr. Jekyll's viewpoint, thus eliminating the mystery of who Mr. Hyde is. Indeed there have been no major adaptations to date that stay close to Stevenson's original work. In fact, almost all the versions introduce some form of dual romantic element to counterpoint Jekyll's split personalities.

To date there have been over 125+ film versions, not including the numerous stage and radio adaptations. This is not an inclusive list, but includes some notable adaptations of interest:

• 1887, U.S., Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Just one year after its publication, the first stage version opened in Boston, adapted by Tom R. Sullivan. It became forever linked with lead actor Richard Mansfield's dramatic performance. He played the part until 1907. Sullivan was the first to rework the plot adding a love interest. While Mansfield was performing in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in England in autumn 1888, Jack the Ripper was on a spree murdering prostitutes in London. One frightened theatergoer wrote to the police accusing Mansfield of the murders because he could not believe that anyone could make so convincing a stage transformation into a mad killer without being homicidal. Actor Mansfield was questioned, released, cancelled further performances, and soon left England.
• 1920, U.S., Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The most famous silent film version (there were numerous adaptations), starring an inspired John Barrymore. The plot follows the Sullivan/Mansfield stage version of 1887, with some elements liberally borrowed from Oscar Wilde’s novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. It was the first adaptation to give Hyde a prostitute as a love interest.
• 1931, U.S., Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Widely viewed as the classic film version, known for its acting, visual symbolism, and innovative special effects. It follows the Sullivan/Mansfield plot. Fredric March won the Academy Award for his portrayal. The technical secret of the amazing transformation scenes wasn't revealed until after the director's death decades later. Make up!
• 1941, U.S., Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. An inferior remake of the 1931 movie, starring Spencer Tracy, Lana Turner, and Ingrid Bergman as Champagne Ivy.
• 1955, U.S., Hyde and Hare. A classic Warner Brothers cartoon, directed by Friz Freleng. Bugs Bunny Meets Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde. MGM’s Tom and Jerry had also met the duo in an earlier short.
• 1960, U.K., Jekyll's Inferno. Starring Paul Massie in a lurid version with opium dens, rape, and murder. It is notable in that an aged and ineffectual Dr. Jekyll becomes handsome and virile Mr. Hyde.
• 1968, U.S. TV, Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Starring Jack Palance in a bravura performance as a Satyr like Hyde. Shown as a two-hour TV movie, it co-starred Billie Whitelaw, Samuel Beckett’s muse. Nominated for several Emmy awards, it follows Jekyll and Hyde on a series of sexual conquests and murders.
• 1971, U.K., Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde. Starring Ralph Bates as Jekyll and Martine Beswick as Hyde. A disturbing transgender retelling, it recasts Jekyll as the fiend Jack the Ripper, who uses his alter ego, Sister Hyde to carry out his murderous psychosexual experiments on London’s lower classes.
• 1971, U.K., I, Monster. Starring Christopher Lee in the Jekyll/Hyde role, and Peter Cushing as Utterson. It recasts Jekyll as a 1906 Freudian psychotherapist. It retains a fair amount of the original plot and dialogue, with no parallel love interest included!
• 1989, U.S., Edge Of Sanity. A low-budget remake with psycho Anthony Perkins as a Jekyll whose experiments with cocaine transforms him into Mr. Hyde, who also happens to be Jack The Ripper.
• 1990, U.S. TV, Jekyll & Hyde. A two-part made-for-tv film starring Michael Caine in the title roles.
• 1996, U.S., Mary Reilly. Starring Julia Roberts and John Malkovich. Based on the 1990 novel by Valerie Martin, a re-working of Stevenson's plot centered on a maid in Dr. Jekyll's London household.

FOR A GOOD JEKYLL & HYDE GUFFAW, SEE...

• 1953, U.S., Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Co-starring Boris Karloff. The film follows two dimwitted 1890’s American detectives on holiday in London (the ubiquitously named Slim and Tubby), who become involved in the hunt for Mr. Hyde, who is responsible for (surprise) a series of murders.
• 1963, U.S., The Nutty Professor. Produced, directed, and co-written with Bill Richmond, starring Jerry Lewis as Professor Julius Kelp/Buddy Love. Updated to the swinging 60’s, in 2004 it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally significant" to the era. There's a reason why the French love him.

The Musical...Book, Lyrics & Music: Leslie Bricusse & Frank Wildhorn



Leslie Bricusse (born 1931) is an award-winning British lyricist and composer. He has received two Oscars, a Grammy, and eight Novello Awards, including the 1989 Lifetime Achievement Award. Bricusse has contributed to many memorable hit songs including: "What Kind of Fool Am l?," "Talk to the Animals," "Goldfinger," "If I Ruled the World," "The Love Theme from Superman," and "The Candy Man." Although he is best known for his partnership with Anthony Newley, he has worked with many other composers. A partial list of his credits highlights the diversity of his work. 1961: Stop The World, I Want To Get Off (with Newley); 1965: The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd (with Newley); 1967: Doctor Dolittle; 1969: Goodbye, Mr. Chips; 1970: Scrooge; 1971: Willy Wonka (with Newley); 1976: Peter Pan (with Newley); 1982: Victor/Victoria (with Henry Mancini); 1997: Jekyll & Hyde (with Frank Wildhorn). His next project is a musical biography of entertainer Sammy Davis, Jr., entitled Sammy! Bricusse has also completed the book and lyrics of a musical adaptation (with Frank Wildhorn) of Cyrano de Bergerac, which will open in the U.S. in 2009.



Composer Frank Wildhorn's music spans the worlds of popular, theatrical and classical genres. In 1999, he became the first American composer in twenty-two years to have three shows running simultaneously on Broadway: Jekyll & Hyde (written with Leslie Bricusse), which received two Tony nominations; The Scarlet Pimpernel (written with Nan Knighton), which received four Tony nominations; and The Civil War (written with Jack Murphy & Gregory Boyd), which received two Tony nominations. Wildhorn (born 1959) also wrote additional songs for Broadway's Victor/Victoria (with Leslie Bricusse) and was recently represented on Broadway by Dracula: The Musical (written with Don Black & Christopher Hampton). In 2005, he co-founded Global Vision Records with long-time collaborator Jeremy Roberts. Global Vision releases include a new concept recording of Dracula: The Musical, and a new studio recording of Jekyll & Hyde: Resurrection.

The Musical...What The New York Times Said

Jekyll, Torn Between 2 Women and, Yes, 2 Men
By Ben Brantley, Tuesday, April 29, 1997

It's only a ponytail that separates man from beast in Jekyll and Hyde, the leaden, solemnly campy musical that opened on Broadway at the Plymouth Theater last night, after a cult-making national tour and two recordings of its score that have already sold 250,000 copies.

As long as the earnest, dedicated Dr. Henry Jekyll (Robert Cuccioli) keeps his shoulder-length hair pulled back, he has the bearing of an animated corpse and the precise but anxious diction of someone to whom English is a second language. But once he takes off the rubber band (or barrette , or whatever they used back then) and lets those locks go wild to become the cruel Edward Hyde, he acquire s a hunch, a snarl and a much improved singing voice.

If there were a Tony award for best use of a head of hair (and why shouldn't there be), it would definitely go to Mr. Cuccioli, who even sings a duet with himself with lightning-quick adjustments of his coiffure. That's about the only original element in this plastic monster assembly kit of a musical.

A large part of the appeal of the show, which has music by Frank Wildhorn with book and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, may be its very familiarity to people accustomed to getting their entertainment on the fly. Mr. Wildhorn's pop-opera score, which makes Sunset Boulevard sound like Parsifal, is most notable for shivery musical vamps found in films like The Omen. (The show's big anthem, "This is the Moment," has been played at the Olympics and the 1996 Democratic Convention).

You know the plot, of course: not so much from Robert Louis Stevenson's original novella (there were no love interests in it) as scenes from the various embroidered movie adaptations. There are a couple of scenes with real fire and many more with synthetic fog that creeps on and off the stage, rather like a wandering attention span. It is easy to sympathize with the fog.

Note: Jekyll & Hyde opened on Broadway April 28, 1997 at the Plymouth Theatre. Despite a critical thrashing, it ran for 1,543 performances.

Subscribe to The Barn Players Community Theatre Newsletter

---

Email: