MovieChat Forums > Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical (2001) Discussion > Great Musical By Frank Wildhorn.......VE...

Great Musical By Frank Wildhorn.......VERY WRONG CAST TO RECORD!!!!!!!!!

posted 21 years ago by optims129
24 replies | jump to latest

if your reading this and never seen Jekyll & Hyde: The musical.......and are concidering checking out this musical

* PLEASE DO NOT JUDGE THIS PLAY BY THIS THIRD RATE NASTY AS HELL SCREWED UP CAST AND CREW!!!!!!*

the play is very exciteing and very suspenceful given the right cast and crew and set design....

i have seen the national touring and local musical theater version of this play and to me if performed as it was invisoned and correctly it rates up there with Phantom, Cats and RENT...

what david hasslehoff and his cast of lackies did to this great musical is god awful.... david has no reason what so ever take on this role for nor is he torn between right and wrong and good and evil....he is just him a guy who can drive a talking car and run half naked on a beach......... he has no buisness singing anything other then his OWN songs.... and the crew on't get me wrong but your supposed to dispise he board of governers in this play but the board of governers, Henery Jekylls best friend john and lisa his fiance are just no talent hacks... i cant believe (barrie ingham aka basil of the great mouse detective actually decided to tried to portray sir danvers carew)in my opinion only the lady playing lucy and sir danvers kept this musical a float as the whole damn ship sunk around them....

makes matters worse the set design was obismal.... and don't even get me started on the ending... (how does henery go from being shot by john at his wedding reception begging john to keep his promise kill him if something ever goes wrong.... to henry running up to lisa's ex boyfriend and grabing his arm that brandishes a sword and stabs himself with it.......)also in another scene where a song called *confrontation* where henry jekyll confronts edward hyde....go from a really cool FX set up where behind henerys lab tabel is a mirror that rises up back stage into the air and a projector turns on the mirror giving the projected face of edward hyde and the 2 then go about fighting with each other via an agruement over who shall last longer and stay foever ending with henery drinking a liquid that is supposed to be the cure to end edward hyde for good!...to haveing beach boy tossing his body left and down and right and up trying to pretend hes 2 people at once........

so in all with the low budgetness and crapy direction, crapy sets, ad crapy actors im wndering how long this abismal musical by this cast ran on broadway or for that mater if this play is still on broadway whos starting in it now and whats the rest of the show like???? i can only pray they fixed it and turned the show back into what its supposed to be.....

[–] piano_girl05 21 years ago

Yes I agree with you that David Hasselhoff was the worst person on there! The lighting was terrible, but the musical wasn't all bad! What about Andrea Rivette (Emma) or Coleen Sexton (Lucy)? Those two were incredible singers. What about George Merritt (John)? He was the best guy out there. George was also the one who originated John. Yes some of the acting was aweful, but I enjoyed the music, only when David Hasselhoff wasn't singing. Don't be too hard on the musical!!!! Oh and by the way, who is Lisa??? The woman who is going to marry Jekyll is named Emma not Lisa. If you bad mouth a musical you may as well get the names right!
piano_girl05

[–] emily_bronte2000 20 years ago

The person was refering to the complete version of Jekyll and Hyde. They changed her name from Lisa to Emma. Actually, I prefer that version myself.

"Her father promised her that he would send her the Angel of Music."

[–] tranzform 20 years ago

optims,

I'll try not to hold your bad spelling and grammar against you in your review. Although, you seem to be holding "Baywatch" and "Knight Rider" against David Hasslehoff.

You seem to be fixated on comparing. Shouldn't you be taking this for what it is? I'm no Hasslehoff fan, nor am I anti-Hasslehoff.

I happened to be flicking channels one night when I came across this. When I saw David Hasslehoff trying a dramatic broadway role, well, I didn't know what to think. I'm no broadway expert. I've only been to a handful of plays and/or musicals in my life. When I came across this, I gotta say, I was pleasantly surprised.

As far as the acting being hacked, it was a fine job. Heck, since you like to use "beach boy's" (as you labeled him) past acting performances against him, then why, don't you use them as comparison in this role. I would think you could at the least in your long negative review, acknowledge that his acting in this role surpasses his acting in his mainstream hit roles.

Now his singing. He's got a pretty powerful voice, very good for stage performances I think.

All in all, it seemed to be a fine performance. If ya wanna use his past roles as a measuring stick for the rest of his career, fine. Me, I like to take each performers roles one by one. I'm not gonna measure Jack Nicholson by his participation in "Mars Attacks", so just let it be judged for what it is.

[–] mista005 20 years ago

I disagree with the last post on here. To judge this by what it is, is to label it CRAP! And I know better because I saw it on Broadway with its original cast and it was phenomenal. Hasselhoff ruins it!!! I can't believe the state of Broadway these days. With all the incredibly talented musical theatre actors and actresses available, producers constantly run to the nearest available second-rate TV has-been in an attempt to fill theatres. In the process they kill good shows which could have run for years. Why don't the producers of these videotaped versions have the foresight to record the show while it's in its prime instead of waiting to film it with the replacement cast? Sometimes they do it right...Victor/Victoria, Putting it Together (though that show sucked even WITH Carol Burnett), sometimes wrong...J&H, Kiss Me Kate (still good on video, but better on Broadway with Marin Mazzie.) More Broadway shows should be recorded for posterity, but i digress...it's for bucks not posterity.

[–] whatever_lola_wants 20 years ago

I am going to personally throttle whoever thought it would be a good idea to cast Hasselhoff in this show.

[–] paisley1 20 years ago

It is my belief that those who seemed to dislike the version with David Hasselhoff obviously had their minds made up long before actually watching the performance. Personally, I have seen it more than a dozen times as I bought the DVD for myself, my mother, and my daughter's chorus teacher - the chorus teacher wants to show it to the class.

David Hasselhoff even announces at the end of the program that he has "come a long way from the beach and the talking car." I believe that whole-heartedly. He did a magnificant job portraying Jekyll and Hyde, especially during the scene where he did this simultaneously toward the end of the play.

As for the other cast members, they were superb in their performances as well and David Hasselhoff only added to the complete sensational cast. It is my hope and desire that Hasselhoff continues to work in theater and continue to make these theatrical debutes available to the public via DVD. I was very impressed with his performance as an actor, singer, and even as a comedian in certain places. He did his job and did it very well. Kudos to him for taking a chance on a lifetime dream. BTW, the music, all of the music, was terrific and it brought out strong emotions during each scene.

Paisley

[–] Gisifer1020 19 years ago

this is reallly kinda off topic but im a sophmore in hs and my school is doing jekyll and hyde and i have to say it is AMAZING. the whole cast saw the david hasselhoff version and we thought we were never going to pull it off. we are doing a different verson, the bring on the men version. we also added "girls of the night" which is in the international version. they added it for me bc im nellie, a friend of lucy. i just wanted to let all yall know that this is an amazing musical!

[–] LittleSwallow 19 years ago

I agree with you Paisley1, 100%. It wasn't a perfect performance, but when is anything ever perfect? All in all a very enjoyable musical.

[–] operathug 19 years ago

First of all, don't tell me or anyone else that if we didn't like this production, clearly we had our minds made up before hand. There have been plenty of times in my life that I have watched a movie expecting the lead to be awful, and been pleasantly surprised (Madonna in Evita, and Zeta-Jones in Chicago,for example). This was not at all one of those experiences...

Some of the performers in this are up to Broadway standards, Hasselhoff isn't even close. His acting lacks dimension, there is hardly a difference between his Jeckyll and his Hyde, and his voice has a tremolo to it that any standard Broadway professional has fixed by this stage.

I agree that he probably gave this role his best shot, and if it were a community theater production, it would be quite good. The problem is that Broadway is supposed to be the pinnacle of American theater. It makes me mad when I know so many people who are scraping by in New York, all of whom are exponentially more talented than Hasselhoff. I think it is quite clear that Hasselhoff got this role because of his agent and celebrity status. The same thing happened when Vanessa Williams got to play the Witch in "Into the Woods" a few years ago.

If you lack the initial talent, it doesn't matter how hard you try, you still won't be good enough. What annoys me is that there are so many people who have the talent and the work ethic, but still get ignored.

[–] paisley1 19 years ago

OperaThug:

You sound to me as if you are angry, not because Hasselhoff did the production, but rather because some unknown didn't get to do it. He did have amazing depth in personalities especially, as someone else mentioned, in the second act where it appeared he became more at ease with the role.

Personally, I didn't care for Chicago, the Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere performances and I am a fan of Gere. I had no idea Chicago was even playing until I ran across it one night on a pay channel on television. However, despite my not liking it, I have to give each actor/actress credit for going for broke, taking the chance, and getting out there in the world to do something they wanted to do.

The one reason I admire David Hasselhoff so is due to his lack of fear of trying new things. He always wanted to perform in the theater and he took the chance. He did a great job. Surely, it wasn't a perfect performance every night but unfortunately when you perform live in front of an audience stopping to restart or redo a particular section is impossible. The point is, he had the courage to try. It was his dream and he found the point in his life to make it come true and did a wonderful job considering he is a film and television performer and not theatrical performer.

I know a little bit about dreams and wanting them to come true but having to work hard to make it happen. Anyone who ever steps onto a stage goes through this each time. My oldest daughter has spent the better part of her 18 years performing live on stage in various school and county productions. Some went well while others - well others did not. She had fun and enjoyed herself through them all and that is what counts. She was doing what she wanted to do and enjoyed it too. What can possibly be better than that in life?

This past year I realized my own lifetime dream. As far back as I can remember I've always dreamed of becoming a writer. The thing that stopped me in my tracks was the lack of a steady income especially considering I have children. Well, this past year, April 2005, my first novel came out in paperback. Will it do well? I don't know the answer; only time will tell. However, it must be pretty good because not only is the publishing asking when the next manuscript will be ready, the readers I gained from the first book are asking the same question. I did the work, found the courage, and submitted my work. Now I have requests for more. It's worth that leap of faith whether you win or lose.

The fact that Hasselhoff has continued to get work and went on to do another theatrical play says something. It says that obviously there is a viewing public who enjoys his work. As I said before, I personally hope he continues doing theater work but by the same token I hope it is continued to be put on video so the rest of the world can enjoy it.

Paisley1

[–] imsexymyshirt69 18 years ago

i liked david

[–] starlyte2232 20 years ago

Your critique of this musical is very unfair. First off, Mr. Hasslehoff has obviously tried his best with this role. Listening to him sing it is apparent that while he has some potential, with more stage vocal training he could do better. But considering this was a very physical role, I would have to say he did a very good job. The other singers, particularly the women who played Emma and Lucy were superb. For being so young, Colleen Sexton had the grace and ease of a seasoned Broadway performer. You need to give this play a break! I thought it was very good, given I haven't seen the original, which I am sure would only make me appreciate it more! As for you, maybe a class in spelling and grammar would do wonders for you!

[–] 20 years ago

[deleted]

[–] ggopen 20 years ago

My opinion is that Hasselhoff was okay, but i think they should have filmed opening night with Rob instead of closing. By the way the orignal show with robert had the same confrontation, but not as fast, i think dave was rushing the music. Other then that it was great! Barrie was also the origanal Danvers! Now i think they should have filmed the Chuck Wagner Cast in Houston or had Anthony Warlowe star in the show and film him like he should have.

[–] StrongRex 13 years ago

Rob Evans rushed the music more than Hasselhoff did. And honestly, I don't think Evans was that great.

[–] TheMasterMind201 19 years ago

I thought David Hasslehoff did well in the second act, because it seems he had some emotional control before In His Eyes. His voice is sub par, but to be fair: Jekyll & Hyde is not a very well written musical, and the music itself, while alright, is not terribly great. Very Andrew Loyd Webberish, and that's not a compliment.

"Don't take life so seriously, nobody makes it out alive anyways!"

[–] true-covenant 16 years ago

"...but to be fair: Jekyll & Hyde is not a very well written musical, and the music itself, while alright, is not terribly great. Very Andrew Loyd Webberish, and that's not a compliment. "

Sorry man, but I have to disagree with you 100% on that point.

I've listened to quite a few examples of Frank Wildhorn's music now, and while it's true that many of his songs evoke memories of Andrew Lloyd Webber - in that they are very melodious - many of his songs are something completely different; some of his songs remind me of Sondheim ("Your Work - And Nothing More" = "Kiss Me/Ladies in Their Sensitivities"), others of Schwartz ("Façade" = "No One Mourns the Wicked"), and other songs of his tug at my heartstrings like nothing that I have ever listened to.

Wildhorn's musicals are often rich melting pots of contemporary and classical compositions, the likes of which I've never been disappointed by.

One man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist

[–] killerontheroad 19 years ago

eh the cast they recorded wasnt really the best. i say the original with Linda Eder was the one they should have on tape.

[–] Mike131310 19 years ago

Gisifer, where do you live? My High School also performed Jekyll & Hyde this year and changed the Girls of the Night song for Nellie, and had Bring on the Men in it. I believe that David Hasselhoff wasn't good in this role at all. To whoever it was who said that people who disliked this version came into it with their mind made up, I completely disagree. I watched my high school perform this musical and was in awe, I bought the DVD because I loved the version I saw so much (The kid who played Jekyll & Hyde was phenomenal.) I was disappointed in Hasselhoff but impressed with Lucy and Emma. I thought Hasselhoff would be better than he was but he all but destroyed the role. In many of the songs he rushed them and did weird things with his voice, it just didn't sound good. And killerontheroad, the Linda Eder version is definitely the best one, I agree that should have been the one they put on tape.

[–] LittleSwallow 19 years ago

Listen to the Bremen (German) cast recording with Ethan Freeman as Dr.Jekyll. It's really, really good.

Are you in God's grace?
Joan of Arc: If not, God put me there, and if so, God keep me there!

[–] Gisifer1020 19 years ago

haha i live in burlington mass

[–] Mel204 16 years ago

They should have recorded the original Broadway cast... but then again, I do like Coleen's portrayal of Lucy.

[–] rkruczynski 16 years ago

You take what you can get. I enjoyed it.

There's a beast at the door and he's wild and free...