DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE, the classic tale of good and evil by Robert Louis Stevenson, is the final production of the 15th Anniversary Season at Eastpointe's Broadway Onstage Live Theatre. Opening on Friday, April 3 and running Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm at Select Sundays at 2pm through Saturday, May 9, the legendary tale introduces us to Dr. Henry Jekyll and his experiments to separate the good and evil sides of man's nature for the benefit of all mankind.
There will be no performances of DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE during Easter Weekend, April 10-12. Select Sunday Matinees are only performed at Broadway Onstage when a prearranged group of 30 or more is scheduled to attend. Broadway Onstage Live Theatre is located at 21517 Kelly Rd. at Toepfer (8 ˝ Mile Rd.) in Eastpointe. It is the home of the patented TeeVeeStage™ Presentation system, which employs cameras above the audience and monitors above the stage to provide audience members with different viewing perspectives of the live stage performance. Broadway Onstage Live Theatre is also the home of Dennis Wickline Productions, Inc., which began producing Non-Equity professional live theatre on the Eastside of Detroit in February of 1980. |  |
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DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE, from a novella written by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1886, has been dramatized, filmed, and musicalized on numerous occasions. The Broadway Onstage version of the story has been freely adapted from the original Stevenson novella and is a new and exciting retelling of the story. We are introduced to Dr. Henry Jekyll and his evil alter ego, Mr. Edward Hyde, from the very beginning of the production. His dear friend, Mr. Utterson, is concerned about Jekyll's will, which bequeaths everything that belongs to Dr. Jekyll to the mysterious Mr. Hyde on the event of Jekyll's disappearance. The production takes place in the drawing room and surrounding area of Dr. Jekyll's home. Richard Enfield, Utterson's nephew and a rival of Dr. Jekyll's, appears at the door looking for Mr. Utterson. Richard has seen Edward Hyde attack a street girl and the experience has unnerved him. Also appearing are Sir Danvers Carew, a noble gentleman, and Diana Carew, his daughter and Henry Jekyll's fiancé. As Richard becomes uncomfortable and leaves, Edward Hyde sneaks into the attached laboratory and transforms before the audience into Henry Jekyll. Henry then enters his drawing room to the surprise of all of his guests. As the story unfolds, Henry's transformations and Hyde's evil actions become uncontrollable until in the end we are taken to an exciting conclusion.
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There is a fine cast of local professionals performing DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE at Broadway Onstage. Broadway Onstage veteran and a favorite of audiences, John Arden McClure, takes on the dual role of Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde. Mr. McClure has been in a number of productions at Broadway Onstage, including last fall's MOONLIGHT AND MAGNOLIAS as legendary author Ben Hecht. Professional actress Jennifer Hirsch will portray Diana Carew. Former Grosse Pointe Theatre president Sal DeMercurio takes on the role of Sir Danvers Carew. Broadway Onstage newcomer Donald Couture will be seen as Mr. Utterson, and Bill Davis will portray Richard Enfield. Also in the cast are Stan Newman, a regular in the local version of TONY N' TINA'S WEDDING, as Inspector Newcomen of Scotland Yard, Elizabeth Rager as Pauline, Jekyll's housekeeper and Jann Hight, as Bridget, Jekyll's nosey Irish cook. The production is under the direction of Broadway Onstage producer Dennis Wickline. |  |
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Tickets for Opening Night Friday, April 3 are $14. Tickets for all other performances are $16. Group Rates and Performances are available. Again, Broadway Onstage is located at 21517 Kelly Rd. at
Toepfer (8 1/2 Mile Rd.) in Eastpointe, Michigan. Ticket Reservations are recommended by calling (586) 771-6333.
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JOHN ARDEN MCCLURE (Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde) - John was seen as Remnar in last season's closer ESCANABA IN DA MOONLIGHT and last fall in HARVEY as Mr. Wilson. He was just seen as CHUCK, one of the moving men, in MIXED EMOTIONS here. John was seen last season as Inspector Davies in SOMETHING TO HIDE, and also in A THOUSAND CLOWNS. John's first appearance on our stage was in 2005 as Charley in THE BOOK OF MURDER. Since then he has been in numerous productions here, including Charles Wellington York in 2007's SHERLOCK'S VEILED SECRET and Dr. Zubritsky in FOOLS. He has also appeared as Benny in EPIC PROPORTIONS, Reverend Chasuble in THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, Donnie in THE FOURSOME, Charlie Dugan in APRIL, MAE AND JUNE, and Mellersh Wilton in ENCHANTED APRIL. John is a theatrical veteran, having portrayed Ranger Tom in ESCANABA IN DA MOONLIGHT, Bozidar in DEAR SANTA, and Trent in THE LAST RESORT for Starbrite Dinner Theatre. He is also a member of Grosse Pointe Theatre, having portrayed Anthony Marston in TEN LITTLE INDIANS and Kenny Norman in PROPOSALS. We welcome him back to our stage. |  |
JENNIFER HIRSCH (Diana Carew) - This is Jennifer's second appearance on our stage, and she is a theatrical veteran. She was seen as Annie Brooks in our January/February mystery thriller ART OF MURDER. She recently appeared as Sandy in ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST for the Matrix Theatre in Detroit, as well as being seen at the Planet Ant Theatre as the waitress in IN IT FOR THE LONG HAUL. She was also seen in GOODBYE CHARLIE, as Charlie, for the Rainbow Dinner Theatre in Pennsylvania as well as appearing as Francis in NO SEX PLEASE, WE'RE BRITISH there. She has taken on a number of varied and exciting roles, including Dorothy in OZ, the Witch/Lucy in THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE, Puck in A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM and Celia in AS YOU LIKE IT. We're thrilled to have her in our cast this evening. Welcome back, Jennifer! |
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SAL DEMERCURIO (Sir Danvers Carew) - Sal directed our ESCANABA IN DA MOONLIGHT to close our 2007-2008 Season. He was seen as Trevor Foyle in our fall 2006 production of OVER MY DEAD BODY to everyone's delight. He is a theatrical veteran on many levels. He appeared as Lou in the comedy BREAKING LEGS here several seasons ago. Sal taught Drama and English in the Detroit Public School system for 36 years. He was seen professionally in CHAPTER TWO at the Great Lakes Dinner Theatre, and has been active with Grosse Pointe Theatre since 1982. He is a Past President of the group. He has taken on a number of varied and exciting roles for GPT, including Arron Levinsky in NUTS, the Reverend in ARSENIC AND OLD LACE, and Big Julie in GUYS AND DOLLS. His role in FILUMENA garnered Sal a Best Actor Award. We're honored to have him back with us. |  |
DONALD COUTURE (Mr. Utterson) - Don comes to us with a true love for the theatre as his talents can attest. This is his first performance onstage after an absence of several years. He performed a number of varied roles in his younger days and now returns to the stage for his role as Mr. Utterson in DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE. We hope his performance tonight is the first of many for our company. It is a pleaure to have worked with him and we hope to do so again in the very near future. Thanks and welcome, Don! |  |
BILL DAVIS (Richard Enfield) - Bill has done several productions for our company. He was just seen as Ralph, one of the moving men, in MIXED EMOTIONS here. He was seen several seasons ago as Terry, the professor and playright in BREAKING LEGS. He first appeared for us as the orderly in our 1985 production of HARVEY at the Golden Lion Dinner Theatre. He was seen here at Broadway Onstage as Ray in our 1997 production of LONE STAR & LAUNDRY AND BOURBON, and he is also very active with other groups. For Stagecrafters, he was recently seen as Howie in OUR TOWN and also portrayed McMurphy in their production of ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST. For Richmond Community Theatre he portrayed the King in THE KING AND I. Welcome back, Bill! |  |
JANN HIGHT (Bridget) - Jann appeared as Claudia in our summer 2007 production RED HOT MAMAS. She also portrayed Anne, the mother, in THE COCKTAIL HOUR here at Broadway Onstage several seasons ago. She recreated her role as Clairee in STEEL MAGNOLIAS in 2002, which she first performed for Wickline Productions at the Golden Lion in 1991. She has been in many productions here at Broadway Onstage. She is also from the original production of THE NUTCRACKERS NUTS, appearing for the eighth time as Alberta this past December. Jann was also seen in 2001's I HATE HAMLET, and 2000's YOU KNOW I CAN'T HEAR YOU WHEN THE WATER'S RUNNING, in which she portrayed three very different and complicated ladies. We're honored to have her back again. Thanks, Jann.
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ELIZABETH RAGER (Pauline) - Elizabeth was just seen as Leah in our summer 2008 production of LADIES OF HARMONY. She was also seen in last season's closer, ESCANABA IN DA MOONLIGHT, as "Wolf Moon Dance" in ESCANABA IN DA MOONLIGHT. Elizabeth also portrayed Mrs. McGee in CORPSE! in January 2008 here at Broadway Onstage. She was also Stage Manager for ESCANABA IN DA MOONLIGHT and our fall 2007 production of A THOUSAND CLOWNS. She made her acting debut with her performance as Stella in our September/October 2007 production of SOMETHING TO HIDE. She is no stranger to the stage, peforming parody songs as part of a singing group as well as performing skits in theatre-in-the-round. She is also an able pianist, playing in a variety of venues including accompaniment for soloists and musicals. She believes her occupation as a trainer helped prepare her for the stage: "In training others, you design and present everything for learning with a little entertainment spread throughout; with theatre, you design and present everything for entertainment with a little learning spread throughout." We welcome you back, Elizabeth. |  |
STAN NEWMAN (Inspector Newcomen) - Stan was seen last spring in ESCANABA IN DA MOONLIGHT as Ranger Tom. He was also seen in the summer of 2007 as Russ in RED HOT MAMAS and has Hawkins in CORPSE! in January and February of 2008. He was seen as Mishkin in our spring 2007 production of NEIL SIMON'S FOOLS. He appeared as Jonas in our summer 2005 production of MY DAUGHTER'S RATED "X." He was the original Malcolm in THE NUTCRACKER'S NUTS during its first two productions in 2001 and 2002. He has been involved with our company since the days of Dinner Theatre at the Golden Lion. He portrayed Doctor Zubritsky in our original production of Neil Simon's FOOLS at the Golden Lion and also appeared in our production of THE THEATRE MURDERS here at Broadway Onstage several seasons ago. He has been very involved in a number of professional venues throughout the area. He has a role in the recurring local production of TONY 'N TINA'S WEDDING, and has been seen a number of times in the Mystery Productions at Dave 'n Busters. We welcome him back to our stage. |  |
DENNIS WICKLINE (Director, Set Design) - Dennis just portrayed David O Selznick in MOONLIGHT AND MAGNOLIAS and Elwood P. Dowd in HARVEY. He was seen as Major Powell in CORPSE and Frank in WEEKEND COMEDY here last season. He directed JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT for Grosse Pointe Theatre to close their 2007-2008 Season. Dennis portrayed Marc in ART and Weller Martin in THE GIN GAME here at Broadway Onstage three seasons ago. He was seen as Henry in THE BOOK OF MURDER in the winter of 2005, as Bradley in THE COCKTAIL HOUR in the fall of 2004. He is the producer of all shows at Broadway Onstage. He began producing theatre in February of 1980 at Stouffer's Eastland. This season is his twenty-eighth of producing non-Equity professional theatre in the Detroit Metropolitan area. He is the author of a number of plays and musicals, including THE NUTCRACKER'S NUTS. Dennis portrayed Vernon in THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG in the spring of 2000 here, and portrayed Herbert Bracewell in THE RETURN OF HERBERT BRACEWELL in 2001. He also appeared as Fagin in Grosse Pointe Theatre's 2001 production of OLIVER! and was seen as Joe Keller in their production of ALL MY SONS in March of 2005. Dennis was also seen here in the thriller THE WOMAN IN BLACK in the fall of 2002, portraying 5 separate characters. He also directed GPT's 2005 SHOWBOAT. |  |
