Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Reviewed by Angie Hoover
The Los Angeles LGBT Center
Extended through October 31
RECOMMENDED
A two-person show adapted from a renowned work of Gothic literature might easily be a disaster, yet it is always those ideas at risk of being abysmal that have the potential to be most extraordinary.
This comedic adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is written, directed, and performed by Burt Grinstead and Anna Stromberg. It’s a highly innovative work, impressive not only for its delightfully morbid sense of humor and the versatility of the acting, but for its meticulous marriage of theme and aesthetics. Visual storytelling is so infrequent in theater that it is almost a shock to the system when it is done so elegantly. The show’s minimal set is made up of blocks and boxes which open and close to expose carefully chosen scenic elements as a way of indicating new locations. Paralleling one of the play’s themes, the duality in human nature, all costumes, props, and set pieces are strictly black and white (with only two or three hints of red). The lighting is designed so that the audience sees the characters’ shadows in each blackout between scenes. Carl Jung would have a field day with this one.
The dialogue, performed with perfect synchronicity, is snappy and silly, with quick and clever pacing that falls somewhere between an episode of Dudley Do-Right and a live Abbot and Costello routine. The writers use every literary device at their disposal to point subtly and artfully to the idea that human beings can only find peace through forgiveness and integration of their darkest selves. Any person who resentfully waits tables to pay off a $40,000 degree in English literature can take solace in their ability to perceive the nuances within.
The two performers, Hyde (Grinstead) and “everyone else” (Stromberg) act as foils for each other while remaining seamlessly synchronized. Their mutual calibration echoes the play’s central message: good and evil are not mutually exclusive, but rather polar ends of the same magnet; to destroy one is to destroy them both. This concept, so beautifully conveyed, may seem simple to understand, but it is beautifully human to fail countless times when it comes to at applying or even acknowledging it. So, for viewers, Jekyll is wholly relatable, embodying the frustration felt by those of us who live in a culture that recognizes domination rather than balance as a resolution to conflict. He believes he wants control, but he truly wants freedom from the expectations he imposes on himself and, his attempts to remove rather than integrate what he deems shameful result in total self-destruction.
It is always important to point out the negatives in a show, if only for credibility’s sake, but if you are a person who loves demented comedy and insightful performance, direction, and design, remarking on the negatives in this work might be as futile as Jekyll’s effort to divorce good from evil within himself.
Los Angeles LGBT Center, 1125 N. McCadden Pl., Hollywood; Mon.-Wed., Oct. 29-31, 8 p.m.; extended through October 31. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dr-jekyll-mr-hyde-tickets-50422863141 or (323) 993-7400. Running Time: 80 minutes with no intermission.
