Adaptation ‘Jekyll’ haunts the stage

Ross Bell’s ’10 “Jekyll,” which he wrote and directed for his Senior 700 work, ran in the Seeler Studio Theatre this past weekend, April 16-18. Based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” the play deviated slightly from the book’s plotline, yet the cast was able to expertly retain the chilling aura of the original thanks to superb acting and set and sound design.

“Jekyll” is set in an alternate version of 1916 London. World War I wreaks havoc across Europe, and Germany is on the verge of developing an advanced bomb that could level cities. Haunted by his brother’s death by poison gas in the trenches, Dr. Henry Jekyll (Christo Grabowski ’12) becomes obsessed with locating a portion of the brain that governs violence.

His hope is to use this discovery to stop human violence and thus bring an end to the Great War. As his experiments continue in his secret laboratory located in his small flat, Jekyll begins a relationship with fellow scientist Dr. Lanyon (the tomboyish Lilli Stein ’11), while also providing medication to his ailing friend Gabriel Utterson (Charles Giardina ’12).

Desperate to discover the violence-causing part of the brain, Jekyll takes a dark turn and begins experimenting on himself, such as injecting himself with LSD and giving electroshocks directly to his head. After a particularly intense electroshock, Jekyll wakes up in his lab with no recollection of the night’s happenings, but according to Dr. Lanyon, a madman attacked the restaurant where she and Jekyll were supposed to dine that night.

A visit from Inspector Newcomen (Noah Berman ’13), a Scotland Yard official with a show-stealing Scottish accent and a comically giant monocle, reveals that the madman is named Edward Hyde.

Realizing that Hyde is his alternate personality, Jekyll is able to hide his guilt from his friends at first. He claims that though Hyde is guilty, he is also mentally ill and needs help. Jekyll’s friends do not agree with this sentiment.

Hyde’s murders grow in number and Jekyll begins to disappear for weeks at a time, much to Lanyon’s distress. Finally, as Jekyll recovers from a 16-day killing spree as Hyde, an ill Utterson staggers to Jekyll’s flat to reveal that Hyde has killed his 10-year-old daughter. He threatens Jekyll for both supporting a murderer like Hyde and neglecting to give him his medications.

Jekyll’s inability to control Hyde, combined with his realization that he has become the one thing he sought to destroy, finally culminates in a shocking scene where Jekyll and Hyde fight for control of his body. It is in this scene that Grabowski’s acting truly shines; he shifts from the cackling, sinister Hyde personality to the overwhelmed Jekyll personality with frightening ease.

The chilling plotline of self-experimentation and split-personality disorder is lightened considerably by Inspector Newcomen’s bawdy and raucous visits to Jekyll’s flat, as well as the bold Dr. Layton’s initial attempts at wooing the introverted Jekyll. Grabowski’s character’s initial awkwardness gives the audience a few snickers, but any trace of that is long gone by the play’s end.

The humor in “Jekyll” is subtle enough to not overwhelm the dark storyline yet still gives the audience a glimmer of laughter before the shocking finale.

However, the cast’s superb acting was only part of what made “Jekyll” so hauntingly good. The set design, done by Ryan Bates ’11 as his independent work, gave the play a charmingly eerie steampunk feel, such as a moving bookcase that served as a secret portal to Jekyll’s laboratory. The sound design, done by Ben Schiffer ’10.5 for his Senior 700 work, drew perfectly upon the play’s alternate-era mood; for instance, the between-scene character voiceovers crackled and wavered as if they were recorded by an early 20th century recording device.

The weekend’s three live performances were filmed and edited for online distribution and a screening later in the semester, so for those who missed “Jekyll” live, there will be another chance to experience the haunting show in the near future.