![\"Melissa](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sut-l-stage-jekyllandhyde-01.jpg\")
Melissa Musial as Lucy Harris in San Diego Musical Theatre\u2019s \u201cJekyll & Hyde.\u201d (Carli Kadel)<\/p>\nThe 1997 Broadway musical \u201cJekyll & Hyde\u201d has always inspired passionate love-or-hate feelings from its audience.<\/p>\n
The book by Leslie Bricusse is melodramatic, gory and sometimes awkwardly silly, but Frank Wildhorn\u2019s pop-rock score is chockablock with great songs that showcase the talents of its actor-singers.<\/p>\n
So, where does San Diego Musical Theatre\u2019s production that opened Saturday in Kearny Mesa land in that divide? It\u2019s an entertaining mix of both.<\/p>\n
Director Omri Schein doesn\u2019t shy away from the blood spatter, PG-13-rated sexual innuendo and innate black humor, and he incorporates audience interaction into this immersive show. And his cast \u2014 led by the gifted vocal powerhouses Richard Bermudez and Melissa Musial \u2014 sing the heck out of the ear-pleasing score.<\/p>\n
The musical is based on Robert Louis Stevenson\u2019s 1886 gothic horror novella about the battle between good and evil, or the rational Ego vs. the animal-like Id, in every man\u2019s soul. High-minded London physician Dr. Henry Jekyll experiments on himself with a homemade potion that allows him to transform physically into his evil alter-ego, Edward Hyde. Although Jekyll\u2019s goal is to use his scientific research to rid humankind of evil, the dark side of his brain ultimately takes control.<\/p>\n
Bermudez\u2019s ponytailed Jekyll is gentle and sweet-voiced, while his wild-hired Hyde is predatory and gruff. Bermudez has a huge singing voice with impeccable modulation and control. Some of his best numbers are \u201cThis Is the Moment,\u201d \u201cI Need to Know\u201d and the dual-character \u201cConfrontation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Melissa Musial as Lucy Harris in San Diego Musical Theatre\u2019s \u201cJekyll & Hyde.\u201d (Carli Kadel)<\/p>\n
Musial brings empathy and heart to her character Lucy Harris, the sexy, singing barmaid who falls for Jekyll (but ends up with Hyde). Her vocal performances of \u201cSomeone Like You,\u201d \u201cA New Life\u201d and many other songs are exceptional.<\/p>\n
Also strong in this cast, in both acting and singing, are Dacara Seward as Jekyll\u2019s fianc\u00e9e Emma and Tannyer Vydos as Jekyll\u2019s best friend John. And Ruff Yeager is gentle and warm as Emma\u2019s father, Sir Danvers Carew.<\/p>\n
Luke H. Jacobs\u2019 choreography is lively, eye-catching and detailed, particularly in the second-act opener \u201cMurder.\u201d Chong Mi Land designed the Victorian-style costumes and Michelle Miles designed the spooky lighting. Paul Peterson designed sound.<\/p>\n
Coached by musical director Richard Due\u00f1ez Morrison, the show\u2019s 22 actors do well with the demanding, almost operatic score. But the show is performed to recorded background music that was often overpowering at the performance I attended.<\/p>\n
Chiara Oyos-Haynes\u2019 scenic design is simple, but a very thoughtful touch is the large matching portraits of the dual-personality protagonist at either end of the stage. For once, the head-swinging back and forth between Jekyll and Hyde in the \u201cConfrontation\u201d song makes theatrical sense.<\/p>\n
\u201cJekyll & Hyde\u201d is not a subtle musical. It\u2019s big, bold and unapologetically grisly.<\/p>\n
Is it over the top? Yes. But Halloween is just a few weeks away, so why not have some fun with it?<\/p>\n
\u2018Jekyll & Hyde\u2019<\/p>\n
When: <\/strong>7 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays; 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Through Nov. 2<\/p>\n