T H E AT E R
BY RICK LEVIN
THE KILLER INSIDE
Director Mark VanBeever delves into
the exquisite evil of Jekyll & Hyde
L
ike so much that descends to us from the rich and
fertile period of the late 19th century — Freud, Ni-
etzsche and Marx, to name but the obvious heav-
ies — Robert Louis Stevenson’s gothic novella The
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde has entered
common parlance, describing an aspect of the human con-
dition, and not a particularly pleasant one.
The story of Jekyll and Hyde is a familiar one, as is the
way it speaks to the duality of human nature, good and evil
and all that. Like so many writers of his time, Stevenson
intuits the catastrophes of the coming century, and how
questions of addiction, social engineering, mental illness
and amoral scientific advancement would plague us in the
form of mass murder and, by extension, our own extinction
as a species.
With admirable relish and a strong sense of the maca-
bre, director Mark VanBeever digs into the darkest aspect
of Jekyll & Hyde, the Broadway musical currently on stage
at Cottage Theatre. In a production that calls to mind the
dastardly, corrosive glee of Sweeney Todd, all shadows and
leer, VanBeever turns this song-and-dance nightmare into
a perfect parable for our times — a cautionary tale about
innate evil that delights and disarms in equal measure.
Here, the Jekyll/Hyde split is literalized, with the role of
the main character being divided between two roles: Play-
ing the good doctor is Josh Carlton, while his evil incar-
KORY WEIMER AND TRACY NYGARD IN
COTTAGE THEATRE’S JEKYLL & HYDE
nation Hyde is played with chilling malignancy by Kory
Weimer, who literally shadows Carlton throughout the
cottashow until those moments he seizes control.
It’s a wonderful conceit, and one which almost got the
show canceled until a last-minute reprieve was sent from
the show’s publishers in New York; apparently, it was
originally deemed that VanBeever’s idea of making Jekyll
and Hyde two separate parts violated artistic intent. Thank-
CLASSIFIEDS
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THE HEART HAS NO WRINKLES Planned
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Previous experience with museums, cultur-
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Jekyll & Hyde plays through Oct. 29 at Cottage Theatre in Cottage Grove;
$15-$25, tickets at 541-942-8001 or cottagethreatre.org.
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ASSISTANT THEATER MANAGER POSITION –
Richard E. Wildish Community Theater,
Springfield Oregon. The continuing and
exciting success of the Richard E. Wildish
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seat theater offers its rental clients a stage
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rently home to four Resident Companies
and scores of additional users. The suc-
cessful Assistant Manager applicant will
assist the manager in all aspects of running
the fabulous Wildish Theater, including
office operations, bookings and contracts,
and tech system knowledge The half-time
work schedule will vary week to week
based on the theater performance schedule
and other demands. Please respond by
sending a cover letter and resume to PO Box
620, Springfield, OR, 97477. Resumes need
to be received by 5:00 p.m. Friday, October
20, 2017.“Richard E. Wildish Theater is an
equal opportunity employer. All qualified
applicants will receive consideration for
employment without regard to status as a
protected veteran or a qualified individual
with a disability, or other protected status,
such as race, religion, color, national
Oregon, sex, sexual orientation, gender
identity or age.”
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EVENTS
fully, the owners of the musical relented.
The musical numbers, accompanied by a pit orchestra,
are fantastic, and the choreography is expertly conceived
and realized, creating a busy, teeming atmosphere that
brings to mind the crepuscular noir of Fritz Lang. Overall,
the production evokes a humid atmosphere, full of threat
and insidious intent, evoking the twilit claustrophobia of
darkened city streets crawling with evil.
The cast is big, full of unnamed ensemble parts, and the
most important roles are exceptionally well cast. It would
be impossible to list them all here, but I will mention a
pair of stalwarts who certainly elevate the show, in terms
of both vocal and acting chops: Phoebe Gildea as Emma,
Dr. Jekyll’s long-suffering fiancée, and the always strong
Tracy Nygard, who sizzles as Lucy Harris, a tavern girl
taken in by the sexualized gaslighting of Jekyll as he suc-
cumbs more and more to his Hyde-ness.
It’s rare to see a community theater put on such a vi-
brant (in a dark, gothic way) and lush production. Van-
Beever likes to take risks and go big, and he has more than
enough talent and experience to pull it off. Forged through
difficulties that had the cast and crew mired in uncertainty
to the last minute, this show is something of a triumph.
It’s not a perfect production — erratic volume was an
issue the night I attended, and the performances proved
somewhat uneven — but any minuscule faults it might
have are erased in the boisterously gloomy swoon on stage.
Cottage Theatre’s Jekyll & Hyde is an entertaining ex-
amination of the good and evil in us all, and in its own way
it provides antidote as well as an answer to the fear that
seems to hold us hostage — and I’m not just talking about
Halloween.
You or a family member may qualify for the
Oregon Health Plan (OHP)
ADDICTIONS COUNSELOR
TRAINING PROGRAM
Serenity Lane, 52-week no cost
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For more info, visit
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click on Employment Opportunities,
then on Serenity Lane’s Counselor Training
Program Opportunities.
A family of four earning up to $2,795 a month may
qualify for adult coverage. Children in a family of four
earning up to $6,075 a month may qualify for Healthy Kids
For FREE OHP application assistance,
call 541-543-5484
541-284-5702.
eugeneweekly.com • October 12, 2017
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