Creepiness Can’t Mask ‘Jekyll & Hyde’ Weaknesses

Director Jan Duncan says she wanted to cloak Fullerton Civic Light Opera’s “Jekyll & Hyde” in as much “deeply gothic” style as possible.

Mission accomplished. Her staging is so darkly moody it’s almost forbidding. But atmosphere isn’t enough to conceal the musical’s weaknesses. Even Duncan realizes the flaws and has tweaked “Jekyll & Hyde” to help the story unfold more readily. Most notably, a few songs have been moved to spots Duncan feels will better reveal characters.

Take Lucy, the sad prostitute. Her anthem of longing, “Someone Like You,” had been a staple of the second act since the show’s Broadway days in the late ‘90s, but now it’s pushed up to the first. Better to know Lucy’s romantic side early on, Duncan reasons.

This tinkering actually does aid the flow. But it doesn’t do anything to make the characters more fascinating. There’s just nobody beyond the good Dr. Jekyll and his murderous alter-ego to get excited over. Lucy is a cliche, the troubled woman-child posing as a bawdy seductress. Rebecca Lowe’s voice is decent; she satisfies with both “Someone Like You” and “No One Knows Who I Am,” but the role doesn’t go anywhere.

It’s the same with the doctor’s fiancee, Emma (Victoria Strong), his confidant, John (Bob Lauder Jr.), and his conniving foe, Simon Stride (Dennis St. Pierre).

This brings us to T. Eric Hart as Jekyll-Hyde. With his expressive voice and acting, Hart does much to keep us interested. His transformation from Jekyll to Hyde is effective, this Hyde is satisfyingly creepy, a cracked mirror image.

*

“Jekyll & Hyde,” presented by Fullerton Civic Light Opera at Plummer Auditorium, 201 E. Chapman Ave., Fullerton. Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m.; and two special performances, 7 p.m. Sunday and 2 p.m. Oct. 27. Ends Oct. 28. $16 to $38. (714) 879-1732 (714) 526-3832.