Revel in the dark side

Granted, Dr. Henry Jekyll’s quest to find a chemical cure for mental illness would have to be considered an early misstep on the road to Prozac. But as a mirror for contemplating the conflicted good and evil in each of us, the remarkably effective Cabrillo Music Theatre revival of “Jekyll & Hyde,” the Frank Wildhorn-Leslie Bricusse gothic musical, finds continuing resonance in the cautionary tale penned by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1886.

Credit the producers for committing the talent and resources to making the most of the creators’ epic ambitions. Drawing on the show’s many variants on the long road to its three-year Broadway run, this updated “2nd Edition,” adapted by Broadway cast member Paul Hadobas, includes the substitution of the bawdy cabaret number “Bring on the Men” in place of the heavy-handed “Good ‘n’ Evil,” as well as streamlined characters and story lines to improve clarity.

In the title role(s), Robert J. Townsend handily demonstrates the requisite versatility and vocal chops, relying on posture and inflection to switch between the cultured, primly ponytailed Jekyll and his snarling, disheveled alter-ego, Edward Hyde.

Hyde is the more compelling character, a portal for audiences to vicariously indulge forbidden impulses within a safely defined theatrical context. Director Nick DeGruccio understands this, and his inventive staging revels in the story’s darkness and eroticism. Hyde’s murderous excesses are given free rein, complete with Grand Guignol-caliber effects.

It’s the Jekyll role, though, that showcases Townsend’s singing prowess, particularly in “This Is the Moment,” a song with a triumphant tone better suited to a “Rocky” installment than a harbinger of tragedy. Yet for all his nobility of spirit, Jekyll is a bit of a simp -- five murders in, he gets around to noting in his diary, “I’m convinced that I must find an antidote.” D’ya think?

In the critical role of Lucy, the doomed prostitute who gets caught between both personalities, Lulu Lloyd’s pitch-perfect precision sometimes coasts on plot rather than emotional exploration, but she hits her stride in the show-stopping “A New Life.” As Jekyll’s upper-class fiancee, fine-voiced Beth Obregon heads up a polished supporting cast that includes Jack E. Curenton, Douglas Crawford and Aaron Phillips.

Under musical director Steven Applegate, the live 17-piece orchestra delivers a lush rendition of Wildhorn’s brooding, romantic score, while Jonathan Burke’s well-balanced sound engineering ensures the singers’ audibility.

That’s a mixed blessing given the show’s Achilles’ heel in Bricusse’s often pedestrian lyrics. Where the best-crafted songs elegantly crystallize a moment or insight that would otherwise take ages of prose to capture (think any song from “Sweeney Todd”), the plodding verses in “Jekyll & Hyde” are mostly spoken dialogue set to melody. It’s a testament to Wildhorn’s compositional skills and DeGruccio’s lively staging that the energy never flags.

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‘Jekyll & Hyde’

Where: Fred Kavli Theatre, Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, 2100E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks

When: 8 p.m. Thu. and Fri., 2 and 8 p.m. Sat., 2 and 7 p.m. Sun.

Ends: Sunday

Price: $36 to $64

Contact: (805) 583-8700

Running time: 2 hours, 50 minutes