Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Play (2008)
Adapted by Jeffery Hatcher
From the novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
by Robert Louis Stevenson
Directed by Jenny Lavery
Merrimack Repertory Theatre
Lowell, MA
October 14 – November 1, 2026

Scenic Design: Michael Hoover; Costume Design: Yao Chen; Lighting Design: Brian J. Lilienthal; Sound Design: David Remedios; Props: Emily Allinson; Associate Props: Eric Zapata; Stage Manager: Jenna Worden; Dialect Coach: Sara Valentine

With André Martin (Dr. Henry Jekyll); Sarah Danko (Elizabeth Jelkes); Herman Gambhir (Dr. Lanyon / Hyde / Others); Ed Swidey (Utterson / Hyde / Others); Brent Charles (Enfield / Sir Danvers Carew / Hyde / Others); Amber Quick (Poole / Hyde / Others)

The basic plot of Stevenson’s novella is as follows: Utterson (Ed Swidey) and Enfield (Brent Charles) discuss the odd goings-on near the residence of Dr. Henry Jekyll (André Martin) and have taken note of some of the brutal behavior of a Mr. Hyde who frequents the locale. Some odd financial doings appear on Utterson’s radar as Jekyll’s financial person. Some time later, a witness sees Hyde beat Sir Danvers Carew (Brent Charles) to death, leaving a broken cane as evidence. Suspiciously, it appears that the cane is one that Utterson had given to his friend Jekyll some time beforehand. Jekyll’s butler, Poole (Amber Quick), subsequently, reports to Utterson that Jekyll has secluded himself in his laboratory for weeks. When Utterson and Poole investigate, they find Hyde’s dead body within Jekyll’s clothes. Lanyon (Herman Gambhir), a mutual friend of Jekyll’s and Utterson’s, has died but has left a letter to be opened after Jekyll’s disappearance. Utterson reads it and learns that Lanyon saw Hyde drink a transformative potion that converted him into Jekyll. Jekyll also has left a letter which confesses his shame at having deep psychological troubles and seeking, through his potions, a way of escaping them.

In Jeffery Hatcher’s stage interpretation, there is a lot going on, with each of the six actors playing multiple roles. In addition to the main characters of the novella, Hatcher gives more central placement to Elizabeth Jelkes (Sarah Danko), as a love interest of Jekyll’s. Hatcher’s mode of depicting Hyde is curious, by having multiple – four of the six – actors (Herman Gambhir, Ed Swidey, Brent Charles, Amber Quick), at various points, depicting Hyde. The suggestion seems to be that Hyde lives in all of us, that what rides under the surface in any of us could likely be a manifestation of the suppressed, and frequently violent and evil, impulses that prevail in and around us.

This multiplication of the Hyde personifications is an interesting idea, but it does make for some fairly difficult decoding when seeing it take place on stage. Each of the Hyde actors also represents the other major characters – Lanyon, Utterson, Enfield, Carew, and Poole – and, though the result delivers a distinct sense of the macabre totality, the details of the plot get somewhat lost in the shuffle. All of the actors do a decent job, but they are caught in a dramatic maelstrom that is best undertaken as a whole rather than taken apart in detail.

Truly superior about this production is the staging, particularly the lighting design by Brian J. Lilienthal and the sound design by David Remedios. Those effects are mesmerizing, and the articulation and subtlety in which they are employed is distinctive.

Indeed, this show, though difficult in some ways to follow, has the overall intended effect of offering a sense of how creepily the unconscious can hide beneath our skins. As Jekyll, André Martin gives a good performance as the seemingly normal doctor who has a universe of obsessions within, and the supporting cast of Hydes and others very capably tells the tragic story of discovering that misery within an apparently sane exterior.

Overall: A decent adaptation of the novella, and though a little difficult to follow with the many cast overlays, staged dramatically and vividly.

– BADMan (aka Charles Munitz)