Perhaps He Has Another Side: A Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde Review

Nathan Darrow and Nayib Felix. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

“He who fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster.” — Nietzsche

Hartford Stage invalidates the black and white notion of good and evil with a shrill and provocative interpretation of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. This production, under the direction of Melia Bensussen, opens Hartford Stage’s 24/25 season with Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Henry Jekyll and Mr. Edward Hyde like you’ve never seen them before. This iteration of Stevenson’s gothic psychological thriller warns us of the danger of labeling the worst of humanity in ways that shelves our own innate propensity for darkness.

Dr. Jekyll (Nathan Darrow) is a physician with agnostic beliefs and an interesting philosophy on the soul. Mr. Gabriel Utterson (Omar Robinson) is both a friend and the lawyer of Dr. Jekyll, from whose perspective the story is largely told. The drama begins to unfold when a friend of Mr. Utterson, Mr. Richard Enfield, shares an incident he saw in the wee hours of the morning.

Dr. Jekyll’s associations are called into question when the incident, recounted by Mr. Utterson, involving a young lady who was trampled by Mr. Hyde is financially resolved with a check signed by Dr.Jekyll. The clear depravity of Mr. Hyde’s nature— the wickedness he hasn’t the sense of control to keep relegated to the shadows, made him a person of interest in each subsequent case of  malfeasance. Tensions heighten when the chemical mixture Dr.Jekyll creates to separate the evil from the good within him begins to lose its intended impact, and the lines between the light and the shadows of his nature blurs irreparably.

The ensemble folds over on itself continuously, weaving an intricate plot and making it all the more tangled. Each member contributes to the shadows— haunting, mirroring, and echoing to emphasize the presents of darkness, of evil spirits. Darrow (as seen in The Winter’s Tale at Hartford Stage and House of Cards) is perfectly cast as the self-assured, philosophical superior— foreshadowing his own bad science and evil mindedness. Nayib Felix (in his Hartford Stage debut and as seen in Jessica Jones) personifies charisma, implementing an unexplainable swagger in his delivery of The Inspector. Robinson (also in The Winter’s Tale and The Finest Hour), Jennifer Rae Bareilles, Sarah Chalfie, Peter Stray adds to the cohesion of the ensemble.

The set, designed by Sara Brown, is a grunge wooden paneled laboratory with pockets of secrecy and displays of science that emphasizes the terrifying nature of the exploration of the things we “cannot comprehend”. Evan C. Anderson’s lighting design highlights the themes of light and shadows with intricately timed and strategically places bursts of light and covers of darkness. Jane Shaw’s sound design is the icing on the psychological cake, creating additional essences of eerie that add question marks to the things we think we’re beginning to understand. An-Lin Dauber’s costume design paired with Jodi Stone’s wig, hair, and make-up contributions layer the authenticity of the style elements of the early 1800.

There is a clear understanding of the spiritual nature of good and evil that is explicitly depicted in this production. There is much to be unpacked, even in the witty one-liners. The density of the thriller is sprinkled with intellectual humor and light banter between the diametrically opposing views of the character’s professions and experiences. The entire production team works seamlessly together to bring life to Jeffrey Hatcher’s iteration of this timeless work.

Catch Dr.Jekyll & Mr.Hyde through to November 3rd. For tickets, visit https://www.hartfordstage.org/ and be on the lookout for the rest of productions for this, their 61st season.