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Regional Reviews: Minneapolis/St. Paul Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Henry V and The Gruffalo
With that in hand, a strong cast and solid production bring Hatcher's Edgar Award-nominated script to full life. Steve Hendrickson digs into the many faces of Jekyll, crafting a character full of the flaws that would bring out a Mr. Hyde. Emily Gunyou Halaas also makes a good mark as Elizabeth, the woman that both Hyde and Jekyll covet. The balance of the cast—Stephen D'Ambrose, Peter Christian Hansen, Jean Salo and Alan Sorenson—split up Mr. Hyde. This not only keeps the audience off balance (you never know which actor will transform next) but also adds to the whole notion of multiple personalities. This is especially striking in the moments where multiple Hydes interact with Jekyll. Director David Mann handles all of this action with clarity, keeping a story that can get both confusing and preposterous on track and engaging. The entire production, from script through performances to design, brings out the truths that Robert Louis Stevenson wrote in the original—truths that have kept the story alive through the past century and a half, and ones that move the story far beyond its penny dreadful roots. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde runs through February 8 at he Park Square Theatre, 20 W. Seventh Place, St. Paul. Tickets are $15 to $39. For information, call 651-291-7005 or visit www.parksquaretheatre.org. Photo: Petronella Ytsma
It takes a deft hand to bring Henry V to the stage, and that missing touch makes the Acting Company/Guthrie Theater production so maddening. The elements are there—from actors to staging to interpretation—but it never jells into a cohesive whole. Instead, we get a host of discreet moments that jumble together uncomfortably, all in search of narrative drive. The Guthrie production is only the first stop of a long tour, so perhaps they'll find their muse somewhere on the road. I don't think they'll find it the few short weeks at the Joe Dowling Studio. Shakespeare's history play delves into the decisive battles in France that took Henry from being "Prince Hal" to a fully fledged monarch. As portrayed by Matthew Amendt, Henry is driven by matters of glory and honor, rarely pausing to contemplate his course. Amendt does well with Henry's big speeches, and also shows a great playfulness in the character's more human moments, but he doesn't always link those two aspects together. It's as if he's crafted two completely different characters under one name. The other 11 actors take on an array of roles and share the Chorus character. With so much action and characters to define, the actors often go for broad strokes—from the effete French to thick-accented British—without always pausing to add depth. When you add in director Davis MacCallum's middle-of-the-road approach, you have a show lacking in focus. Every moment seems to have the same importance, which magnifies the small, human moments and reduces the larger-than-life drama to the level of a Lifetime original movie. Henry V runs through February 1 at the Joe Dowling Studio at the Guthrie Theater, 818 S. 2nd St., Minneapolis. Tickets are $22 to $30. For information, call 12.377.2224 or visit http://www.guthrietheater.org
With a clever take on a classic tale, The Gruffalo can be equally enjoyed by the wee tykes and their companion adults. The show, developed in 2001 by the Tall Stories Theatre in Britain and brought to the Twin Cities in a joint production with the Children's Theatre Company, uses imagination as much as fancy settings and costumes to weave its spell. That's fitting, as Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's original book focused on using imagination and thought to get out of sticky situations. The story is simple: A tiny brown mouse heads into a dark forest in search of nuts. Along the way, she finds a host of predators ready to make her a nice snack. She is able to defeat them by weaving a story about an even more terrible creation, the Gruffalo. But all of her work is put to the test when the fantasy creature makes his appearance on stage. All of the action is brought to life by three actors: Karina Garnett (decked out in a brown outfit with pink gloves and high-top Chuck Taylors) is the mouse, Alex Scott Fairley plays the various predators, and Alan Park brings the Gruffalo to life. Fairley probably has the most fun, as he gets to shift from Cockney fox to stiff R.A.F. officer to a Ricky Martin-inspired snake. The others get their moments, and they all work together like a well-oiled children's-theater-producing machine. It's a jolly romp, with lots of jokes, songs and audience participation, and it's the perfect length to keep everyone entertained throughout. The Gruffalo runs through February 22 at the Children's Theatre Company, 2400 Third Ave. N., Minneapolis. Tickets are $14 to $35. For information and tickets, call 612.874.0400 or visit www.childrenstheatre.org
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