Producers John Frost and Opera Australia Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini have today announced who will be performing whom in their upcoming Australian production of musical thriller Jekyll & Hyde, which is set to be played from December 8 2015 at the Princess Theatre in Melbourne, followed by a season from March 6 2015 at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney.
The cast will be led by Teddy Tahu Rhodes (Don Giovanni, South Pacific) in the tour de force title role. Jemma Rix ( Wicked) will also portray Lucy, the star of the Red Rat brothel’s burlesque show, who finds herself dangerously involved with both the doctor and his later-ego. Lucy Maunder, nominated for a Helpmann Award for her roles in both Dr Zhivago and Grease, will play Jekyll’s fiancee Emma Carew.
Other lead performers will include Keala Settle as Nellie, Barry Langrishe as Sir Danvers Carew, Jennifer Vuletic as Lady Beaconsfield and Philip Dodd as Spider and Poole. The ensemble includes Annie Aitken, Bianca Baykara, Damien Bermingham, Andrew Broadbent, Tony Farrell, Courtney Glass, Georgina Hopson, Joe Kosky, Andrew Kroenert, Adam Lyon, Noni McCallum, Adele Parkinson, Chris Scalzo, Karla Tonkich, Dean Vince and Sophie Wright.
In terms of crew, this new production is being directed by Christopher Renshaw and is designed by Gabriela Tylesova.
Based on the novella The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, Jekyll & Hyde was originally conceived for the stage by Frank Wildhorn and Steve Cuden, and features music by Wildhorn, a book by Leslie Bricusse and lyrics by Wildhorn, Bricusse and Cuden.
Leslie Bricusse and Frank Wildhorn had this to say…
After a meeting with John Frost and sparked by his enthusiasm for a reimagined Jekyll & Hyde, we agreed to take another look at our work. John introduced us to the international director Christopher Renshaw and also to Lyndon Terracini from Opera Australia, and together we arrived at a new piece that got a private showing at a Broadway reading in January. On the strength of that showing we are thrilled that John and Lyndon are going to produce our new Jekyll & Hyde in Australia for the first time.
John Frost | Producer
I am very excited to finally bring this wonderful musical to Australia for its first professional production. This re-imagined version proved to be a powerful and moving experience for everyone present, and I know audiences are going to be enthralled by the classic story and the magnificent music.
Lyndon Terracini | Producer and Opera Australia Artistic Director
The cast we have assembled is truly impressive, led by the remarkable Teddy Tahu Rhodes. I love the epic sweep of this musical and am genuinely excited to share it with our audience. I really enjoy our collaboration with John Frost, and together we are producing musicals with the highest of values in production, stagecraft and performance.
Official Synopsis for Jekyll & Hyde
Jekyll & Hyde is the gripping tale of a brilliant mind gone horrifically awry. In an attempt to cure his ailing father’s mental illness by separating ‘good’ from ‘evil’ in the human personality, talented physician Dr Jekyll inadvertently creates an alternate personality of pure evil dubbed Mr Hyde who wreaks murderous havoc on the city of London. Struggling to control Hyde before he takes over for good, Jekyll must race to find a cure for the demon he has created in his own mind.