The fictional characters of author Robert Louis Stevenson will find their way to the stage of Southampton Cultural Center when Boots on the Ground Theater presents “Chemical Imbalance: A Jekyll & Hyde Play” by Lauren Wilson. The production will run weekends from October 14 to 30 at SCC and is a frothy mix of brilliant writing, evil characters, fabulous costuming, brooding sets and phenomenal actors.
“We had been looking for something that gave a nod to history, and we wanted something that would be appropriate for October,” explained the show’s director Mark Heidemann. “What better than the Jekyll and Hyde scenario?”
A darkly comic adaptation of Stevenson’s novella “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” the play is set in Victorian England where repressed impulses burst their corsets as Dr. Jekyll’s experiments in the nature of evil threaten to reveal the bloody hands beneath the gloves of the British Empire. Wilson’s fast-paced romp is about men and women tightrope walking the line between aristocracy and depravity, and between the twin specters of good and evil.
“I’m so excited to bring Stevenson’s classic to life on stage at SCC,” says producer and Boots on the Ground Theater founder Bonnie Grice. “It’s his story but with many twists and turns. It’s horror meets farce with some Keystone Kops and a little drag thrown in for good measure. Hilarity will ensue.”
“Chemical Imbalance: A Jekyll & Hyde Play” features actors from both the North and South Forks, including Colin Palmer (Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde_, Bonnie Grice (Euphronia Jekyll), Zoe Richardson (Ambrosia Jekyll), Esmeralda Cabrera (Rosamunda Dewthistle), Christian Lepore (Lady Throckmortonshire), Bela Gogiashvili (Calliope/Penelope), Tom Gregory (Xavier Utterson/Lieutenant), Gerri Wilson (Ivy), Nicholas Auletti (Plodgett) and Frederick Nydegger (Constable). It’s a phenomenal cast from across the East End … the North and South forks come together to make theater magic at the SCC.
“Chemical Imbalance: A Jekyll & Hyde Play” runs October 14 to 30, with shows Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m., and Sundays at 3 p.m. Tickets are $35 ($25 students) at scc-arts.org and will also be available at the door. Southampton Cultural Center is at 25 Pond Lane, Southampton.
Staff Writer on Oct 3, 2022