…Dr. Jekyll? We Must Hyde!!!

That quote from Shemp Howard from the 3 stooges short “Spooks” (which, by the way, was shown in 3-D) merely serves to introduce some Chicago live theater information- that, among the offerings of “Broadway in Chicago” next spring will be a revival of a Frank Wildhorn- Leslie Bricusse musical that ran on Broadway for about four years- “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”! Could this have surfaced after "Phantom of the Opera” hit it big, and producers were looking for another horror-based hit? regardless, it’s a Victorian-era psychological thriller, according to the promotion, and will appear in early March. It is, of course, based on the story “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” written by Robert Louis Stevenson. It’s original Broadway run (ahem) lost money- but there will be a Broadway revival following a tour which includes the Chicago performances. From what I can tell, as has been the tradition in most adaptations of the story for stage and screen, the same actor plays both Jekyll and his brutish alter ego Hyde. This got me thinking- if you were going to cast someone to play this dual role- who would you suggest? It would have to be someone who could pull of the mannered, genteel persona of the doctor as well as the barbaric Hyde. Could a Hugh Jackman manage the role? I think he could. Remember, he’d have to be able to sing, and Jackman has done plenty of musicals. In a kind of stretch- could John Goodman pull it off? Think about that- he’s a versatile enough actor…and, though I love him in comedies, he certainly can sustain a dramatic role. However-would you consider him too old for the part? What if we had to add in some pre-written songs, to kind of update the score? Would we get away with the old Lou Christie song “Two Faces Have I”? What about the Beatles’ “You’ve Got to Hide (Hyde?) Your Love Away”? Could we alter the Duran Duran song from that James Bond film “A View to a Kill” and make it “A View to Je-kyll”? I guess I need to mention the famed superhero equivalent of Jekyll and Hyde- none other than Dr. Bruce Banner and his big green alter ego, the Incredible Hulk (and, let me say it again- the BEST movie Hulk ever was in “The Avengers”!) Stan Lee said that the Hulk was actually based on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but also on the Frankenstein Monster. Lee said the Frankenstein part of the story came from the fact that the Monster wasn’t really a bad guy- he was misunderstood, and his power and reactions made people think he was evil. Of course, we need to remember that Mr. Hyde WAS evil- the unbridled evil side of human nature. So, Smilin’ Stan bringing in the humanity from within the Monster and transplanting it in the Hulk certainly took the green goliath several steps away from the sheer villainy of Mr. Hyde. Not that I’m suggesting they forgo Jekyll/Hyde and just go straight to “Hulk: the Musical”, but- say, isn’t there a Spider-Man musical that’s been hanging around Broadway? (Yes, I know it’s had its problems- but, again- this Jekyll/Hyde musical they’re reviving was not well-received in its first incarnation either…) if they did do a Hulk musical, though, I think they’d pretty much have to go with two separate actors playing Banner and the Hulk- like Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno did. So, Hulk on Broadway- now, how did I get from “Broadway in Chicago” to “Gamma Rays in Gotham”?