Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
CRITIQUE | QUOTES | THE TEXT | AT THE MOVIES
1920, 1931, 1941, 1960, 1990, 1996, 2001, 2008
First editionFirst publication
1886
Literature form
Novella
Genres
Literary, science fiction, horror
Writing language
English
Author's country
Scotland
Length
Approx. 24,500 words
David Hasselhoff's singing and earnest acting cannot save the stage musical turned into a television film.
Singing, dancing Hyde
Jekyll and Hyde: Direct from Broadway (2001): Director Don Roy King; writer Leslie Bricusse, Steve Cuden; featuring David Hasselhoff, Coleen Sexton, Andrea Rivette, George Merritt
In 2001 a filmed version of the long-running Broadway play Jekyll and Hyde was unleashed on the pay-per-view, television-watching public.
The hook was probably intended to be TV star and pop singer David Hasselhoff as the title character, a role he had assayed briefly in the theatre.
David Hasselhoff sings his way from
Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde.
But it's quite stagy, with unremarkable numbers sung with great gusto by all involved, and with live audience response
Jekyll is revealed now to be haunted by the death of his father, whom he could not save. After his requests for research subjects are turned down by a local institution, he turns to experimenting on himself.
The storyline—or book as they call it in musical theatre—is otherwise similar to that of the usual movie productions, except with crowds of people taking the stage occasionally for song and dance numbers.
Hasselhoff is actually not bad—a good singer, an earnest actor—but the production sucks badly on TV.
I've heard about a theatrical movie based on the musical, but with a new cast, being in the works since 2007.
Don't hold your breath.
— Eric
