‘Jekyll & Hyde’ Preview: Seductive, Thrilling, Complex

A mention of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde usually brings to mind Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 novella, but between Nov. 8 and Nov. 11, the Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club will bring the classic story to the Loeb Proscenium. Directed by Nikhil O. Kamat ’25, the musical theater adaptation offers more than classicized pop-rock and humor. The production’s team aims to present a nuanced take on the show, venturing beyond the figures of Jekyll and Hyde, embracing character depth, and giving justice to the musical’s technical complexity.

Set in the streets of Victorian London, the musical follows the brilliant but tormented doctor Henry Jekyll. Experimenting on the human psyche and trying to isolate the good from the evil within the human soul, he creates a serum that gives birth to his malicious alter ego, Mr. Hyde.

The story is highly entertaining, and its production history — which includes eight tours and more than 1500 performances in its original Broadway run — is a testament to it. But as co-music director Fahim Ahmed ’25 said, there’s a more serious side to it as well, one that the Harvard production tries to emphasize.

“I think one of the challenges with the show in general is — particularly with the role of Jekyll and Hyde — that it's really easy for it to look really goofy and silly,” he said. “There are many versions of it, even the original Broadway version, [where] it doesn't really read as dramatic as much as it reads as kind of silly, funny kind of show.”

The show, despite being set more than 100 years into the past and following an upper-class Englishman, can be surprisingly relatable for a Harvard audience.

“We can see in the show how Jekyll prioritizes ambition and personal goals over his relationships with people that care about him, and starts to lose sight of what is most important to him,” Ahmed said. “And I feel like that can be a very common occurrence in college, particularly here, where it becomes a lot about just trying to be the best version of yourself … and in the process losing sight of the journey that you have along the way.”

Although “Jekyll & Hyde” is a well-established musical, the team behind the HRDC’s production was not afraid to put their own spin on it, emphasizing the role of characters other than Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and the agency of the oft-overlooked female characters.

“The plot of the show traditionally very much … disregards the role of women,” said co-music director Carolyn Y. Hao ’26. “And so a part of what we're trying to do in this show, in our rendition, is giving them more power and … being really intentional about giving each character autonomy.”

This kind of nuanced portrayal is exactly what Isa E. Peña ’23-’24 was going for, unsatisfied to limit her character, Lucy Harris, to nothing more than Jekyll’s love interest.

“I wanted to attack this role from a more feminist perspective, where she knows what choices she's making and she wants to grow, wants to be a good person … [who’s] dealt a bad hand,” Peña said. “Playing her with that in mind I think is really important to me.”

Although the plot might have it all, from a relatable story to multifaceted characters, the classicizing music — somewhat unorthodox for a musical — might still be its greatest strength.

“We don't traditionally do stuff that's super classical oriented here,” Ahmed said. “That's a style that a lot of people are not super familiar with or don't actively get involved with that much.”

A unique style is not the only strength of “Jekyll & Hyde”’s instrumentals — the sheer scale of its orchestra, with 17 instrumentalists, is truly impressive.

“It’s a massive pit, and I think that the size is really unprecedented for orchestras here,” Ahmed said. “It's hard to fit all of us here.”

Indeed, it’s hard to understate the scale and complexity of the show. As Kamat notes, it is, after all, a Broadway show that would normally be performed on a largely automated set — which is not the case at Loeb.

One example of the moving elements on the technical side is lighting.

“I think a lot of people don't realize that we have to individually focus every single light fixture that’s in the theater, which can be well over 100,” said Em N. Barnes ’25, the show’s tech producer and assistant stage manager.

“It's such a grand show,” Kamat said. “It had a lot of really grand elements. Scenic wise, costume wise.”

Thanks to the team’s hard work, “Jekyll & Hyde” should have a chance to prove its depth and grandiosity to Harvard audiences.

—Staff writer Zachary J. Lech can be reached at zachary.lech@thecrimson.com.