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Atlanta, Georgia

"...The other stars fare considerably better. Sharon Brown is a Godsend as 'Lucy.' Her bodice-ripping, campy showstopper "Bring on the Men" delivers one the show's few titillating moments. Miss Brown somehow manages to overcome the show's pervasive lack of characterization and create a genuinely sympathetic and living, breathing character. Andrea Rivette ('Emma Carew') does a fine job, but she can't escape the transparent nature of her role. James Clow ('Utterson') and Dennis Kelley ('Sir Danvers Carew') help to redeem the male portion of the leading cast by giving admirable and refreshingly downplayed performances..."
Baltimore, Maryland
 
Aisle Say Washington/Baltimore
Jekyll & Hyde
Review by Richard Gist
"...In the supporting roles of Emma Carew and John Utterson, Andrea Rivette and James Clow both turn in crisp performances with their particularly strong singing voices that do decent justice to the half dozen numbers they are called upon to render. Dennis Kelly is an avuncular, creditable Sir Danvers..."
Buffalo, New York
 
Theatre Week
Jekyll & Hyde
by Tony Chase

"...That James Clow, a superb actor with an impressive list of credits---including all those performances of Company on Broadway that Boyd Gaines missed---should play the secondary role of Utterson, Jekyll's friend, is a testimony to the excellence of this cast..."
Chicago, Illinois

Jekyll & Hyde
Cadillac Palace Theatre

"...I never thought I would actually praise Frank Wildhorn's music, but it's actually the best part of the show. Some of his melodies are actually quite pretty. Especially those sung by Kelli O'Hara, who plays Dr. Jekyll's fiancée Emma. Interesting fact about Emma: in a previous version of the show, her name was Lisa. But her name was changed to Emma. Probably because it rhymes with "dilemma, " which is the end of the previous lyric line. I would not be surprised if that were the reason. That aside, Ms. O'Hara's beautiful voice flatters the music and for a moment you forget what you're watching. Also turning in a very good performance is James Clow, as Utterson, Dr. Jekyll's friend..."
Los Angeles, California
 
Hollywood Reporter
'Jekyll & Hyde' (9/9/99)
Pantages Theatre, Hollywood
By Ed Kaufman
"...Credit James Clow, Brian Noonan, Robin Hayes, Bertilla Baker and Dennis Kelly with strong support."
LA Daily News
"...James Clow is also solid in the role of Jekyll / Hyde's humanistic lawyer..."
9/16/1999
New Times LA
 
"...The trouble is, there are two other actors (James Clow and David Koch) who have the same soft-rock take on the music and similarly flexible tenor voices..."
Memphis, Tennessee
'Jekyll & Hyde' Too Schizophrenic
June 17, 1999
The Commercial Appeal
By Whitney Smith
"...As Jekyll's longtime friend and attorney John Utterson, James Clow seemed fittingly torn between fear and loyalty to his friend. Dennis Kelly, who some may remember as a fan in the touring production of Damn Yankees that played the Orpheum in 1997, now emerges with pink scrubbed face and gentlemanly attire as Emma's doting father..."
Portland, Oregon

Visuals outshine musical moments "Jekyll & Hyde" score doesn't enhance story
Friday, February 25, 2000
Theatre Review
Jekyll & Hyde: The Broadway Musical
Company: Portland Opera Presents KeyBank Best of Broadway

By Holly Johnson, special to The Oregonian

"...Sharon Brown as Lucy, the prostitute who befriends both the good doctor and his evil alter-ego, is particularly effective in such tender numbers as "Someone Like You," although her cockney accent isn't convincing. Kelli O'Hara shows just the right restraint as Jekyll's long-suffering fiance, Emma Carew. And James Clow as John Utterson, Jekyll's faithful friend, serves the story economically yet powerfully..."
Raleigh , North Carolina

A Tale of Two Faces
The fabulous fever dream of Jekyll & Hyde delighted Raleigh audiences
By Robert W. McDowell
Spectator Online

"...Robin Haynes was also terrific as Lucy's creepy pimp, Spider; and David Elledge contributed a nice cameo as Dr. Jekyll's butler, Poole. James Clow and Abe Reybold were quite good as John Utterson, Dr, Jekyll's attorney friend and Emma's erstwhile fiancé, Simon Stride, respectively; and Jamie Ross was excellent as Sir Danvers Crew, Dr. Jekyll's boss at St. Jude's Hospital and Emma's
deeply concerned father..."
San Francisco, California
"Jekyll & Hyde' new, unimproved
Robert Hurwitt
Examiner Theater Critic
Aug. 6, 1999
©2000 San Francisco Examiner
Ever-evolving show still has generic music, banal lyrics
"JEKKIES TAKE note: Frank Wildhorn and Leslie Bricusse's "Jekyll & Hyde" has finally made its way to San Francisco. For those who've seen the show time and again, the self-styled Jekkies who made it a Broadway hit, the show that opened Thursday at the Orpheum Theater is a chance to see yet another new incarnation...
The principals sing well, even if Wagner and Rivette's voices are not a good match, as does the entire large ensemble. James Clow (Jekyll's best friend), Abe Reybold (his chief rival) and Dennis Kelly (Emma's father) contribute some particularly strong passages, and Geoffrey Blaisdell delivers a striking, gritty rephrasing of the show's over-reprised "Facade" theme. The actors do what they can with the broadly sketched caricatures that pass for the characters. Rivette and Brown work hard to give Emma and Lucy some depth. Wagner (replaced by Brian Noonan at Wednesday and Saturday matinees) speaks in a higher register and stands tall as Jekyll, stoops and growls as Hyde, and looks tormented. To little avail. His climactic quick-change duet with himself is still unintentionally ridiculous - as it is on Broadway..."
Salt Lake City, Utah
The Salt Lake Tribune
Date: 02/04/2000
Wagner Can't Overcome Seamier Side of 'Hyde'
by Celia R. Baker
..."Jekyll and Hyde" is a musical that has a split personality. That's OK -- so does the main character.
The show, playing through Sunday at the Capitol Theatre, is a slick and stylish entertainment with several engaging characters, and it tells a classic story about the human struggle between good and evil. But just like Victorian London, where the action occurs, it has a seamy side. This conception of the story skimps on psychological and musical depth, and draws the crowds by exploiting the guilty glee humans take in experiencing horror from a safe distance.
Henry Jekyll, a brilliant young doctor and researcher, tries to unlock the mysteries of the human psyche by injecting himself with a potion which distills the evil side of his character into a slavering, growling, wild-haired beast of a man -- Edward Hyde. Soon Hyde is exacting murderous vengeance on Jekyll's enemies, and lecherously brutalizing a London strumpet who attracted the doctor's eye.
Still, some of the characters rose above difficulties to find rapport with the audience. Supporting characters Sir Danvers Carew (Jamie Ross) and John Utterson (James Clow) were acted and sung well. As Jekyll's fiancée and guiding light Emma Carew, Kelli O'Hara was sweet but full of spunk, and displayed an attractive voice, though she nearly lost her way during the singing at the engagement party...."
Deseret News
Thursday, February 3, 2000
'Jekyll & Hyde' is blood-curdling fun
But you'll need luck to get tickets

By Ivan M. Lincoln Deseret News theater editor

"In each of us there are two natures," Dr. Henry John Adam Jekyll's best friend, tells the audience in a brief prologue. "If this primitive duality of man -- good and  evil -- can be housed in separate identities, life will be relieved of all that is unbearable. It is the curse of mankind that these polar twins should be constantly struggling."

This sets off a six-week, emotional roller-coaster ride as Dr. Jekyll -- against the desires of the board of governors of St. Jude's Hospital -- embarks on his perilous experiments to "get inside the tortured mind of man."

This traveling version of the hit Broadway musical (with some notable changes for its road tour), features stunning performances by Chuck Wagner as the medicine man-turned madman; Sharon Brown as Lucy Harris, the doomed trollop; and Kelli O'Hara as Jekyll's lovely and refined fiancé, Emma Carew (whose father, Sir Danvers Carew, nicely played by Jamie Ross, is chairman of the hospital's esteemed but pious board).

Composer Frank Wildhorn and lyricist Leslie Bricusse have done a masterful job of turning Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novella, "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" into a remarkable musical. The clever, insightful lyrics carry the show briskly along, as Jekyll makes his way from his beaker-filled lab into the dark, deadly streets of London.

From the time Jekyll makes his pivotal decision ("This is the Moment") to conduct his controversial experiments on himself, to the mesmerizing tension of his battling alter egos in "Confrontation," the audience is caught up in the macabre tale.

Both the "Transformation" scene, as Jekyll attempts to chronicle his innermost feelings after injecting his untested formula, and the "Confrontation" scene are unforgettable theatrical moments.

Remembering how determined Wagner was as Inspector Javert in "Les Miserables" eight years ago, don't be surprised to see the same determination in the foolhardy Dr. Jekyll.

The big showstopper in Act One is Sharon Brown's performance as stripper Lucy Harris in her floorshow at the sleazy Red Rat saloon. The hilarious and seductive "Bring on the Men" is not in the current Broadway edition but was re-inserted in the show for the tour. Broadway's loss is our gain. Unfortunately, Lucy's optimistic dream of "A New Life" is short-lived.

James Clow is well cast as John Utterson, the one person Jekyll feels he can trust. He fetches the badly needed drugs from the apothecary and, toward the end, runs interference even as he fears for Dr. Jekyll's very life.

The show's ensemble numbers are strong as well -- especially in "Facade," a sneering look at London's hypocritical upper-crust society, and Act Two's ongoing "Murder, Murder" montage, as the deranged Edward Hyde picks off the members of   the board of governors one by one in a bloody rampage. (The amplified sound of crackling neck bones was an interesting touch.)

James Noone's scenery -- especially the many scrims etched in stark black and white, which could be metaphors for the two sides of Dr. Jekyll's personality -- is first-rate, as are Ann Curtis' costuming and Beverly Emmons' lighting.(The quick, back-and-forth lighting in the "Confrontation" number was superb.)

Good luck on procuring tickets. There were only four seats empty on opening night, and the rest of the run is nearly sold out.

Sensitivity rating: Probably way too intense for younger children. "Bring on the Men" is slightly naughty but no more so than the "Lovely Ladies" in "Les Miz."
 

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