Reviewed 9/3/04
It’s been quite awhile since I’ve seen a production at Fountain Hills Community Theatre, let alone reviewed there. It was long before their current “larger” theatre, with larger being a relative term considering a move from a postage stamp to an envelope. I’ve heard about great productions being mounted there, but distance and other circumstances kept me from attending. However, if I’m willing to drive to distant locales for the almost mediocre, I’ll definitely set aside time to drive a little further to Fountain Hills to enjoy stronger productions, assuming that the quality of their current mounting of Leslie Bricusse and Frank Wildhorn’s weak musical melodrama Jekyll & Hyde is an example of what they have to offer.
The skill that Director Peter J. Hill offers here is his ability to take a stage that is barely large enough to hold twenty people and to transform it into a space where his exact blocking and Noël Irick’s workable choreography rarely call attention to the limitations. Large musical numbers such as “Murder, Murder” and “Bring on the Men” are full of precise (if a bit repetitive) movements that somehow manage not to create an overfull stage picture. Hill’s classic use of a front curtain/scrim combination that was a standard during the golden age of Broadway musicals allows for almost seamless transitions of Jeff Blake’s impressive set pieces that create some very interesting scenes with limited but wisely chosen details. Hill also uses the close proximity of actor and audience to create an intimacy that makes this overblown musical less overwhelming and more personal. Finally, he has adjusted the musical’s original stage pictures in inventive ways that help what used to hinder, such as the use of double mirrors in Jekyll’s laboratory that impressively morph into multiple metaphors.
His cast is generally strong, with only a few concessions to speak of. Jeffrey D. Walker’s Jekyll is a soft-spoken, strongly likeable fellow who is able to use a few specific changes to transform himself into the hideous Hyde. His voice is pleasant, if sometimes his diction is less than stellar. The best thing to be said about his offering is that he is not chewing scenery as much as this character would allow, and that’s what keeps this potentially cloying piece from self-destructing. Janine Smith’s Emma, Jekyll’s betrothed, is well performed and somehow she manages to keep her from sliding into the sugar-shocky realms of this much-too-sweet character. Her voice is also quite nice, and her diction is definitely stronger. Amy Powers stresses the heart of gold within Hyde’s paramour, the prostitute Lucy, which makes her a little too scrubbed and loveable to be a London whore. However, what she lacks in cynicism she makes up for with a strong, well-toned voice.
The supporting cast has many highlights and only a few middling offerings. Most everyone fudges their accents, with some at least remaining somewhere in the vicinity of the British isles, while others simply returned to Fountain Hills soon enough. Hill plays Emma’s dad and Jekyll’s mentor Sir Danvers. He has an excellent voice and some stage presence, though he sometimes lacks focus when he’s not the center of attention. Mark Hackmann’s Gabriel, Jekyll’s friend and lawyer, is weaker. His voice is tentative and he has a tendency to look at the floor as though trying to avoid tripping. This breaks his character in the process. Marilyn Gibson leans more toward the melodramatic as the two-faced Lady Beaconsfield, but she has little choice given the variances of her character. Instigating Simon Stride is given a humorously taciturn performance by Michael Stewart.
The ensemble is generally consistent. They are definitely highlighted in their first performance of the group number “Façade,” though the “Murder, Murder” sequence seems to go on about fifteen bars longer than the ideas of what to do with themselves, less a fault of Irick than their choices. Their most consistent fault lays in their diction. I couldn’t tell you the lyrics of most of “Bring on the Men’s” choral sections, though Bricusse’s writing doesn’t warrant much attention in the first place.
Flora Mogerman’s musical direction is quite strong. Granted, this is an almost completely synthesized show (the band is listed as having two of them), it’s still better than tape. Daniel Davisson’s lighting has many strong moments, especially during the inky night scenes, though his effect for “Murder, Murder” was done to death and beyond. Jesse Berger’s sound design is patchy. Multiple mic failures and moments where leads went unheard were commonplace, especially in the visually distinctive though hard to hear “In His Eyes.” Gail Oliphant’s costuming is generally on target and occasionally shocking, as in her choice for Lucy’s prissy bedclothes.
The nature of community theatre is cyclical. Companies rise and fall in consistency. FHCT proudly touts their 74 noms for the ariZonis from last season. Their star certainly appears in ascension with this strong production.
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