STAGE WEST: "Jekyll & Hyde the Musical" at San Diego Musical Theatre

Richard Bermudez as Dr. Henry Jekyll, the character's better half.                      Karli Cadel Photography

            It takes nearly an hour and a half for Mr. Hyde to show his murderous self, but when he does in San Diego Musical Theatre’s graphic production of “Jekyll & Hyde the Musical,” look out. Put it this way  -- Jason Voorhees would be admiring.
            Stage blood is spilled and splattered liberally, while one particular killing is gasp-worthy. I come to praise SDMT’s production, not to bury it, for these visceral effects, without which this Frank Wildhorn (music)/Leslie Bricusse (book and lyrics) show would be stylishly costumed and somewhere between melodramatic and lurid – no more.
            This staging has something else remarkably going for it: a balls-out performance in the schizophrenic lead role by Richard Bermudez. Not only is he a fabulous vocalist but the sheer athleticism he invokes to inhabit the horrible hide of Edward Hyde is nothing short of prodigious.
            Bermudez’s performance rises above a show that’s a dark and eerie tale (based somewhat on Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”) but elongated  principally by the presence of standard-issue ballads given to its female characters – Jekyll’s fiancée Emma Carew (Dacara Seward) and the archetypical prostitute with a heart of gold, or at least a good heart, Lucy Harris (Melissa Musial).
            On the other hand, the opening number “I Need to Know” and the telling “This Is the Moment,” both rendered with muscular conviction by Bermudez, are essential dives into the character of the English doctor whose humanitarian motives ultimately undo him and wreak mayhem.
            This production boasts a huge cast, and it’s the ensemble numbers, choreographed for the small SDMT stage with ingenuity by Luke H. Jacobs, that are the most inspired in “Jekyll & Hyde” Case in point: the first-act romp inside the Red Rat, where the ladies-for-hire reside and where during “Bring on the Men,” Musial brings to mind Madeline Kahn’s Lili Von Shtupp in “Blazing Saddles.” Another highlight is the second-act-opening “Murder” (no context needed), with the company collectively expressing the shock over the gory crimes committed by some mystery fiend.
            That second act is far superior to the first frankly because it’s action-packed, and shorter. Even with its overall length, however, “Jekyll & Hyde” is an entertaining thrill ride in the hands of director Omri Schein, a versatile artist who has a smart way with material like this.
            This production affords some gifted actors character parts they can sink their teeth into as well: Tanner Vydos as Jekyll’s loyal and steady lawyer, Utterson; Ruff Yeager playing Emma’s father (and Jekyll’s reticent ally) Sir Danvers Carew; Cameron Blankenship as Lucy’s despicable pimp Spider.
            Everyone’s authentically costumed by Chong Mi Land, with compatible hair and wig design by Monique Hanson. Bermudez alone has hair to spare.
            I could fantasize during this performance about how SDMT’s “Jekyll & Hyde” would play if a.) it were staged in a larger theater and b.) it had the benefit of a live orchestra instead of recorded music. Bigger and better.
            Yet the smallish confines position Hyde, at his most out of control, so close to audience members I could see some of them recoiling. You wouldn’t have that at, say, the Civic Theatre. (This show did play there, in 2012, by the by.)
             I don’t know how many tickets are still available for “Jekyll & Hyde the Musical” at SDMT this Halloween weekend – it closes on Sunday. If there are any, that’s one way to get the you-know-what scared out of you.
            “Jekyll & Hyde the Musical” runs through Nov. 2 at San Diego Musical Theatre in Kearny Mesa.