About the Play:
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde has long been a favourite of acting teachers for Male Monologues.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a full-length drama adapted for
the stage by Jeffrey Hatcher,
from the novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
by Robert Louis Stevenson. The timeless tale about the
good doctor, Henry Jekyll, and his dark echo, Edward Hyde. Stripping
away the melodrama and romantic distractions of the novel, Jeffrey
Hatcher develops a smart and suspenseful take on the evil that
lurks in the hearts of men.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is an exciting, suspenseful, and
engaging adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale of good
and evil. Set in the late era of Victorian London, the highly
regarded and moral Dr. Henry Jekyll is faced with the sensualistic
nature and actions of a mysterious friend, Mr. Edward Hyde. As those
closest to Jekyll try to warn him away from Hyde, he becomes more and
more engrossed in Hyde's life and relationships. When Hyde meets a
lovely chambermaid named Elizabeth who stirs his interest, Jekyll
fears for her life. Eventually, Jekyll's secrets of tinctures and
potions threatens to come to light, exposing that Jekyll and the evil
Hyde might be one in the same. What ensues is a deadly game of
cat-and-mouse to determine who shall be the master and who his slave.
Jeffrey Hatcher's adaptation and use of characters is sure to
leave you with one question – is there a Hyde inside us all?
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde premiered in a co-production by
Arizona Theatre Company and San Jose Repertory Theatre in 2008. The
play quickly became
a staple at leading regional theatres, and has become a popular
choice for school and community theatre productions.
Cast: 2 female, 4 male (doubling)
What people say:
"A smart, tense and
suspenseful new take on Stevenson's look at the evil that lurks in
the hearts of men … Hatcher has fashioned a play that seems truer
to Stevenson but hipper, sexier and more intense…a suspense almost
as affecting as it is intense." — San Francisco
Chronicle
"An elegant re-telling of the
classic tale. Hatcher has a sure hand with tone and suspense. He
knows how to spring just enough surprises to keep us guessing. In the
end, despite the legion of villains in the play, it's the tug of war
between Jekyll and his own erupting sense of shame and disgust that
leaves the most indelible mark on the mind's eye." — San
Jose Mercury News
"This is not your
grandfather's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In
Hatcher's version, the dark Hyde indeed comes out, and he is evil
beyond measure. But not all evil: He loves, and is loved. Too, Jekyll
isn't the pure soul we've come to believe him to be. Hatcher has
written a play that honors the original, but gives a more complex
interpretation of the dual nature of man. A dark and disturbing story
liberally peppered with humor." — Arizona Daily Star
"Sex, drugs, violence. What's
not to like? … [A] psychological thriller that makes an old-hat
horror story scary again. The dark intensity of the drama is
unrelenting, even through the well-timed laugh lines. While paying
homage to Stevenson, this remixed version makes his Victorian
concerns relevant in the 21st century. It would be a sin to miss it."
— Arizona Republic
About the Playwright:
Jeffrey Hatcher is an award-winning American writer for
stage, screen, and television. He grew up in Ohio before attending
New York University to study acting. After a brief career on stage,
he turned his attention to writing. His many award-winning plays,
original and adaptations, have been performed on Broadway, off-Broadway and in theatres around the world.