Jekyll & Hyde at GP Theatre Jan. 15-28

Jekyll & Hyde opens Sunday, January 15, 2012 with a 2:00 PM matinee, and continues January 19-22 at 8:00 PM, Sunday, January 22 at 2:00 PM and January 26-28 at 8:00 PM. Performances are in the Fries Auditorium of the Grosse Pointe War Memorial, 32 Lake Shore Road, Grosse Pointe Farms. Tickets are $24. Group rates are available.

For tickets and information,
call 313-881-4004 or
visit the Grosse Pointe Theatre website at www.gpt.org.

SYNOPSIS

Based on the novella, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (1886), by Robert Louis Stevenson, Jekyll and Hyde, The Musical is about brilliant, kind Doctor Henry Jekyll, bestowed with a promising career, a lovely fiancée and exceptional health. Jekyll is driven by a desire to prove once and for all that a human’s darkest, most demented side can be suppressed, allowing only the good to surface. The hospital Board of Governors however, denies him from testing the serum on living patients. Forced to use himself for the experiment, he unwittingly unleashes his dark side: the savage, maniacal Edward Hyde, who wreaks havoc on the streets of 19th century London.

MUSIC

Composer Frank Wildhorn created the music for this compelling musical. Wildhorn also created the powerful music for The Scarlet Pimpernel, produced last season at Grosse Pointe Theatre.

DIRECTOR, CAST AND STAFF

Beverly Dickinson (Pleasant Ridge) directs this complicated, yet fantastic portrayal of good vs. evil  Grosse Pointe Theatre. “We have cast an amazing group of singers and actors to recreate this hauntingly beautiful, romantic and very dark musical,” said Dickinson, whose husband, John, is the show’s music director.

Alan Canning (Bloomfield Township) plays the lead role of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Fresh off his award-winning role as Sir Perceval Blakeney in last season’s Scarlet Pimpernel, Canning adds a mischievousness to Jekyll and a ruthless ugliness to Hyde.

Danielle Caralis (Grosse Pointe Shores) as Emma and Sandi Haney (Royal Oak) as Lucy – both with exceptional voices and powerful stage presence – help lead the cast of 25 in this vocally demanding musical. Other lead actors include Doug Clark (Royal Oak) as the Bishop of Basingstoke and Theresa Selvaggio (Grosse Pointe Farms) as Lady Beaconsfield.

Also in the cast are Steve Sussman (Bloomfield Township) as John Utterson and Peter Di Sante (St. Clair Shores) as Danvers Carew

Grosse Pointe Farms cast members include Eddie Tujaka as General Glossop, MaryLynn Bertello as Nellie, and ensemble members Alexis Mabry and Jessica Tujaka.

Other cast members include Frank “Scott” Davis (Ferndale) as Simon Stride, Perry Calisi (Grosse Pointe Park) as Lord Savage, Adrian Balinski (Warren) as Sir Proops, Marcus Laban (Warren) as Spider, Mike Evans (Grosse Pointe City) as Poole, Clif Levin (Detroit) as Bisset, and ensemble members Mark Konwinski (Clinton Township), Rusty Daugherty (Southfield), Jann Hight (St. Clair Shores), Tryette Puentes (Eastpointe),Jackie Pfaff (Chesterfield), Clare Sawicki (Detroit), and Beth Teagan (Grosse Pointe Woods).