By Marion Elbow, Special to the Cap Times
Highlights from the story…
Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Jekyll & Hyde,” which explores human complexity and man’s capacity for evil, isn’t for the faint of heart. Fortunately for those averse to horror, Madison Ballet’s adaptation of the story features less blood and more dancing.
Madison Ballet artistic director Ja’ Malik, who co-choreographed the ballet along with rehearsal director Richard Walters, said that since the theater space had an open slot in October, the company decided to produce a seasonally appropriate ballet. Ja’ Malik mentioned a list of other contenders, including “Frankenstein” and “Dracula.”
“We also had options of our classical ballets like ‘Giselle,’ with chills and death and a graveyard,” he said, referring to a ballet in which a young woman dies of a broken heart and returns as a vengeful ghost. “A lot of companies tend to do that one during Halloween weekend.”
Ja’ Malik said that he wanted Madison Ballet to take on a more unconventional production, one that would also introduce a world premiere.
“So many companies in America are doing ‘Frankenstein’ and ‘Dracula,’” he said. “I thought, what could we do that sets us apart and gives us a new challenge to create something new? Why not produce a new story ballet about Jekyll and Hyde? It's something great that we could bring to Madison.”
The ballet is set to music by composer Michael Nyman, a score he originally wrote for the 2018 documentary “McQueen.” Janessa Cornell Urwin designed the costumes, and Julie E. Ballard will direct lighting and production design.
“The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” lends itself well to the Halloween season. The novella’s plot centers around a scientist named Dr. Henry Jekyll who changes his appearance to act out his worst impulses undetected. He takes a potion to turn into Edward Hyde, his evil alter ego.
Madison Ballet’s production makes Dr. Jekyll’s goal to isolate good from evil in the human psyche rather than to perpetrate unsavory deeds, testing experiments on himself and becoming progressively more unhinged.
Although the original story is set in London in the 1880s, Ja’ Malik said this production has made the historical setting ambiguous to emphasize the timelessness of the plot.
“There's certain elements that are almost Victorian in essence, but the costuming and the lighting will give a timeless look to it,” he said. “It's where your imagination can take you. Where do you see these people? Are they modern? Are they historic? I'm leaving that up to the audience.”
The original novella is violent, with Stevenson’s Mr. Hyde committing a barrage of grisly attacks and murders. Ja’ Malik said Madison Ballet’s production is less of a slasher story and more of a psychological thriller.
“Jekyll is starting to lose control, and the audience doesn’t always know what’s reality versus what’s made up in his mind,” he said. “In this version, it's more psychological. It's more of his alternate side, but it's definitely his more sinister side.”
Ja’ Malik said the production planning has been in progress since January and that rehearsals began in September. The production has a 31-person cast, which includes both the company’s professional dancers and students from the School of Madison Ballet’s training program.