Masque's two-faced behavior shines through

By Taylor-Lynn Capaldo
Collegian Staff
November 15, 2006

There’s a certain thrill in seeing a live performance over a recorded one. Be it a concert, a poetry reading or a play/musical, there’s an excitement, an anticipation, behind seeing a group of people create art in front of an audience.

Last Friday, the opening night of Jekyll & Hyde, was no exception. With style and verve, the Masque delivered yet another in a long series of quality performances, but this time with a much darker twist than has been seen in recent productions.

A musical written by Leslie Bricusse, with music by Frank Wildhorn, the plot surrounds Dr. Henry Jekyll, a scientist who is desperately trying to find a cure for his father’s mental illness. In the final stages of perfecting the potion, Jekyll tests it on himself and causes his alter ego, Mr. Edward Hyde, to emerge. This leads to a series of destructive events throughout the remainder of the play, including a slew of murders, as well as a love affair between Jekyll’s split personalities, his fiancée Emma and a prostitute, Lucy.

After an extended wait to start the show, due to a new computer system in the ticket booth, the play began. Behind the curtain, an intricate set design was revealed, only to be enhanced by the tech crew’s lights design. All of the technical aspects of the show, from the sets and the lighting to the costumes and props, seemed more professional and well-put together compared to previous Masque performances. It was obvious that the cast and crew cared deeply about this performance, and their efforts to take it seriously showed throughout the entire play.

Jekyll & Hyde features a plethora of musical numbers, which is a lot to take on for a college production. However, due to the smartlyselected cast by director Tom Reing, and vocal director by Michael Borton, the Masque took on the challenge well. Regardless of the play’s late start, the cast still exploded on to the stage during the opening ensemble number, “Façade.”

A wide variety of vocal talent meshed well together as the full ensemble shined in the few musical selections that they appeared in. Because the play features mostly solo parts, the minor characters and chorus members made sure that they made their mark on the audience.

Senior Mike Glanzmann (Henry Jekyll/Edward Hyde) performed a bulk of the music selections. The play kicks off with his first solo in the opening scene “Lost in the Darkness,” and continues on throughout the rest of the play to end up with a total of eight solos and 18 overall musical performances by Glanzmann. Although his musical numbers can seem redundant with multiple reprises, Glanzmann took on the challenge well. Anyone who has even a small appreciation for theater will get goosebumps upon hearing him belt out such songs as “This is the Moment,” “Alive” and the powerful number toward the end of the play, “Confrontation.”

Because he plays two different roles, each of his separate characters must have their own vocal style, injecting emotion into each song. Glanzmann has this covered. His portrayal of Hyde is unlike anything seen recently in Masque performances, and displays a complete 180 from his gentler portrayal of Jekyll.

The two female leads in the play are Emma, played by senior Pamela McDonald, and Lucy, portayed by senior Jo Anna Van Thuyne. The girls played opposite roles, each embracing the character as her own. Although the part of Emma seems to have a small effect on the plot as a whole, McDonald shined through, with a beautiful voice and emotional delivery with her solos as well as her dialogue. Van Thuyne, who’s sultry alto voice fit right in with her character, stunned with the passion that she emitted during songs such as “Bring on the Men” and the well-known “Someone Like You.” Both actresses did an excellent job at personifying their roles, making it clear that they loved every second they graced the stage.

Other notable performances include many of the supporting characters, such as freshman Bekim Rauseo as John Utterson, as well as the members of the Board of Directors from St. Jude’s Hospital, including Chris McBride as Simon Stride, Amy Nickerson as Lady Beaconsfield and newcomers Stephan Q. Clanton III as the Bishop of Bassingstoke, Doug Phelan as Sir Danvers Carew and George Rohonczy as Lord Savage.

The cast and crew of Jekyll & Hyde took on a challenge this year. After the hilarious A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum last fall, Jekyll & Hyde is quite the opposite, with dark music and dialogue and a tragic ending. The cast remained on cue and professional at all times, and the leads put on stunning performances.

A slight flaw is that some of the most talented actors in the show were not equipped with body mics, making it difficult to hear some dialogue as well as some solos. Although the acoustics in the theater usually don’t require the actors to use mics, the floor mics were just not enough. Some of these actors have incredible talent, and their voices deserve to be heard.

Jekyll & Hyde continues this week in the Dan Rodden Theatre on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8p.m. Admission is free for La Salle students.

capaldot1@lasalle.edu