About the work
Jekyll & Hyde is a musical by Frank Wildhorn (music) and Leslie Bricusse (lyrics and book) that first reached the stage in 1990 after a concept album and arrived on Broadway in 1997. Based on Robert Louis Stevenson's novella The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, it is especially popular in the German-speaking world.
Plot
The idealistic London physician Dr Henry Jekyll seeks to study the evil side of human nature and separate it from the good. Denied permission to experiment on patients, he experiments on himself and transforms into the brutal alter ego Edward Hyde. While Jekyll pursues a bourgeois happiness with his fiancée Emma, Hyde commits a series of murders—among them the prostitute Lucy, who had fallen in love with Jekyll. The two personalities struggle for control until, at his wedding, Jekyll finds the only escape in his own death.
Cultural significance
Jekyll & Hyde became widely known through the dramatic ballad This Is the Moment, which became a popular concert and gala piece. The work is regarded as one of the most successful examples of Frank Wildhorn's pop-romantic style and is a perennial favourite in Germany, Austria, and Korea. The dual lead role, which demands an abrupt switch between two personalities in voice and body, is considered a showcase part for musical performers.