Classic story still chills, challenges

Everyone knows the strange tale of “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” as its themes of morality and good versus evil have been explored and repurposed countless times since Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella was first published in 1886. “Jekyll and Hyde,” a touring musical version of the story that makes a stop in Spokane on Monday, is another in a long line of adaptations that looks for new wrinkles in Stevenson’s classic tale.

“I think it challenges the audience to reflect on their own lives at times where they’ve struggled with that good and evil,” said touring cast member Erin LeCroy. “When our director, Paul Stancato, talked to us about his ideas for the show, he said he really wanted the show to focus specifically on the inner turmoil of good versus evil in all the characters, not just Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. We’re constantly challenged by those little voices in our minds that pressure us on where to draw the line in our own personal situations.”

The show, which premiered in 1990, follows all the familiar beats. Brilliant scientist Henry Jekyll discovers a serum that transforms him into Mr. Hyde, a lecherous, violent brute who wanders London’s back streets at night and terrorizes anyone he encounters.

LeCroy plays Dr. Jekyll’s fiancee, Emma Carew, who, as the show goes on, desperately tries to justify her love for a man with a dark secret. (Emma is a character created specifically for this show, but her father, Sir Danvers Carew, is Hyde’s first victim in Stevenson’s story.)

“(Emma’s) inner struggle throughout the show is influenced a lot by expectations placed upon her by society – duty to her father and her family and her love for Dr. Jekyll,” LeCroy said. “In act two, she’s torn between her love for Jekyll and her responsibility to family.”

LeCroy says her impressions of Emma have evolved since first taking on the role. Whereas she initially considered her a victim, she now sees Emma as a headstrong character trying to break free from a complicated moral dilemma.

“I relate to her better (now), because I see her as a stronger woman than I thought she was in the beginning,” LeCroy said. “When Dr. Jekyll is doing all of his experiments, he won’t see Emma for weeks. Putting myself in her shoes and thinking about how I would react in that situation, Emma holds it together and still wants to support him and be there for him. At the same time, she has enough self-respect … to almost walk away from that.”

LeCroy, a recent graduate of Oklahoma City University, has never toured with a show before. She says working with this cast has been revelatory, and that their interplay has flourished over the past few months.

“They’re all really positive people, and we all watch out for each other and work together onstage,” she said. “It’s given us all an opportunity to dig deeper into our characters. Because we’ve been doing the show so much and it’s built into our muscle memories, it challenges me to really listen to my fellow actors when I’m onstage and to listen to their characters.”