The Masque gears up for Jekyll & Hyde

By Frank Visco
Collegian Editor
November 8, 2006

Four or five Masque members sit at their regular table, just inside the door of Backstage. Several of them click away on their beloved Mac laptops, while others eat lunch and talk. A mere 10 feet away, senior Mike Glanzmann sits at a table against the stage, having left them momentarily to talk about his role in the theater company’s upcoming winter production.

Mike Glanzmann (right) confronts three members of the Board of Governors - Sara Allen

Wearing a green track jacket and his hair gelled, with a hoop earring resting on the top of his left ear, Glanzmann, 21, sits across the table, embodying contradiction. He seems calm and relaxed, but he sits upright, leaning forward on the table. He appears rundown, but the glint in his blue-green eyes suggests a boyish energy.

Contradiction seems to be an ever-present part of Glanzmann’s life these days, as he has been preparing to bring to life literature’s best-known personification of the word — Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

“In a lot of shows you play different characters. Even in this show some of the chorus members are doing it,” he said. “Past experience with that has helped, but this is a lot different because this is essentially the same person. It’s different than creating two completely different characters. It requires more nuance, since it’s the same character showcased in two different lights.”

In addition, Glanzmann carries the added burden of having both lead roles and over a dozen songs. While he calls attention to the fact that there are several other leads, noticeably seniors Jo Anna Van Thuyne as Lucy and Pam McDonald as Emma, and a slew of supporting members, he acknowledges the significant pressure he is facing.

“There’s a lot of weight on my shoulders, and I’m handling it as best as I can,” he said Normally a person plays one role, but I’m playing two major roles, and it’s the name of the show. There are, however, a lot of supporting roles, a few other lead roles and also a big chorus that’s very supporting to the show. However, being in every scene, I feel the need to drive the show.”

Leaning back in his chair, Glanzmann maintains that, despite all the pressure and the girth of preparation and rehearsal time that has been demanded of him, it is drawing the contradiction between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde that has been the hardest part.

“Michael Borton, our music director, told me when we were rehearsing that I sing really pretty, and that’s the Jekyll in me,” he said. But he’s trying to get this anger out of me in speaking and in singing, and that was the hardest part because I’ve never really done something like that before. But I just keep drilling it and trying to show the difference between the two.”

*****

Based on the classic novella by Robert Louis Stevenson, Jekyll & Hyde was originally conceived for the stage by Steve Cuden and Frank Wildhorn in 1997. It concerns Dr. Jekyll and his experimentations to discover the good and evil present in every personality. This results in the creation of an id-type alter ego, Mr. Hyde.

In carrying on such experimentations, Jekyll affects the lives of his best friend John Utterson (freshman Bekim Rauseo), his fiancée Emma (McDonald), a hooker with a heart of gold named Lucy (Van Thuyne) and many other citizens of London. Problems arise when Mr. Hyde amasses more power and begins to murder corrupt city officials. Also complicating things is the love quadrangle between Emma, Lucy and Jekyll/Hyde.

The play is a departure for the Masque, not only because of its dark tone, but also because of its cast breakdown. Past productions, such as Forum and Red Herring have focused on an entire ensemble, but this play is lead-driven. In addition to Glanzmann, Van Thuyne and McDonald take on the bulk of the acting work as his respective romantic love interests.

For Van Thuyne, winning the role of Lucy, who finds herself drawn to the kindness of Jekyll and the raw animalism of Hyde, fulfills a long-held dream. She says that along with the role of Fantine in Les Misérables, which she performed in high school, Lucy was one of only two roles she hoped to play in her life.

“When I got the role I actually almost choked up, because I’ve loved this role since I heard the CD five years ago,” she said. “Lucy has so many dimensions to her; she’s got a front that she puts up to people, but really she just wants love and doesn’t think she’s good enough for it.”

With the less showy role of Emma, McDonald has spent the bulk of her time attempting to erase the perception that Emma is a weak character, because, although the character may not be as flashy, she is still equally as important to the tragic love dynamic.

“I think a lot of productions portray her as an innocent character, who’s sort of a pushover, but I think she’s a really strong character,” she said. “Besides Utterson, she’s probably the only person that really believes in Jekyll, even in the end of the show. She’s a very strong character, despite the perception, and I’m trying to get that across in my songs.”

Despite the weight carried by the three leads, Van Thuyne is sure to point out that the chorus is vital to the play’s success.

“Lucy, Emma and Jekyll do carry the meat of the story, but ‘Façade’ and ‘Murder, Murder’ are two big, important numbers, and everyone does a great job,” she said. “Everyone’s always involved, adding to the overall success of the show.”

*****

Last year, when the Masque was deciding upon prospective plays for this year, they had several factors to consider. First, like many organizations, they had suffered significant funding cuts.

Second, in addition to losing several seniors to graduation, the Masque was also losing, albeit temporarily, some of their strongest male singers in the first semester, due to travel study.

Third, their big winter production, the comedy, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, had been a tremendous success, one they wished to duplicate.

With all these factors in mind, the group voted and decided that their winter musical would be none other than Jekyll & Hyde, a dark and expensive musical, chock full of complicated harmonies and two big chorus numbers.

Cue confusion.

“I suggested the show,” Van Thuyne said. “I’ve loved the show since I was in high school. I was surprised that it went through and that so many people stepped up to the challenge of picking the show. I know it can be very hard vocally and it is dark, but I think, after the two comedies we did last year, we needed a change.”

“Sometimes we worry about it, because people like to go to a show and laugh, and there’s really no comedy in this,” Glanzmann said. “But we’re hoping people come away with something different. The music is just so powerful, and if people love to go to shows because of the music, they’re going to love this.”

Four current members of the Masque, junior Dave Sullivan and sophomores Kate Pendola, Doug Phelan and George Rohonczy, are making their stage debuts in the show, as are eight freshmen, including standouts Stephan Clanton, John DiPompeo and Rauseo.

“Everyone’s surprising me, and I think everyone’s being surprised by each other,” Van Thuyne said. “The new people and those that are stepping in have been great.”

*****

It’s five days before the curtain goes up on opening night, and the cast is almost half way through their second full run through of the day. The lighting’s a bit off and more work needs to be done with the music and fluidity of scene changes, but all in all, things are shaping up well.

The ambiance of the show is dead on. The set is built around a majestic staircase that is seamlessly worked into every scene, be it outdoor or indoor.

In an attempt to shroud the show in darkness, the show’s lighting designer, junior Greg Allen, has decided to light the show minimally. Such lighting has resulted in a rich enhancement of textures and shadows.

Spotlights are used to follow the principals, but otherwise it’s mostly darkness. Unless of course, a scene is changing, or murder or emotions need to be evoked, then attention turns to the color scrollers, which project colorful lights onto the set (red in the case of murder).

After Hyde commits his first murder, the first act draws to a close, and the cast is given a 10-minute break. Some go over lines and others take the opportunity to fool around, while tech people run rampant, making minor tweaks to lighting, suggestions to actors and stage adjustments.

Director Tom Reing sits in the center of the Dan Rodden Theatre going over notes with his stage manager, while Borton pops in and out of the trap door on the stage, simultaneously giving notes to the performers on stage and instructions to those in the pit below.

Then, as the 10 minutes draws to a close, the actors stop what they’re doing and scurry backstage. Techies resume their places and Borton lowers down into the pit. It’s time to get back to work; they’ve got a play to prepare, and only five days of hellish preparation to do it.

Jekyll & Hyde runs Nov. 10 and 11 at 8 p.m., Nov. 12 at 2 p.m. and Nov. 16-18 at 8 p.m. In lieu of the traditional organization night, a raffle drawing will be held on Thursday, Nov. 16 show, so that all of the attending students have a fair chance at winning one of several prizes.

viscof1@lasalle.edu