“Young Dr. Jekyll” a new musical comes to Proctors, June 8–16

SCHENECTADY—New York Stage Originals, the producing team behind “Tap Kids,” “Scrooge in Concert,” “Sing! The Power of the Human Voice,” and “Dream, the Musical,” has joined forces with Proctors to stage a workshop production of a new musical, “Young Dr. Jekyll,” which is in development for off-Broadway.

The show, loosely inspired by the classic Robert Louis Stevenson tale Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, begins on the mystical isle of Bu Bu, where the precocious young Dr. Harry Jekyll discovers what he believes to be the secret to intelligence.

His father is in an asylum, but Jekyll puts that in the back of his mind, along with anything else that might get in the way of his chances of being the youngest person ever admitted to The Royal Society of Scientific Minds.

However, science is not the only discovery made as the cast of characters learn what it truly means to be in the right place at the right time.

“Young Dr. Jekyll has developed from being a light and breezy comedy into a heartfelt piece about how we choose to frame our lives,” says NYSO Producing Creative Director Lisa Hopkins. “Working towards a run at Proctors has offered us the opportunity and resources to develop and workshop new visual elements including set design by Steven Medina.”

Hopkins also directs and choreographs Young Dr. Jekyll, which has been in development since the show’s concert reading at Feinstein’s/54 Below in October 2016.Concept, music and lyrics are by NYSO Executive Director Philip Stern, with book by Stern, Hopkins and Tim Wells.
James Hunsaker, who has a long history with the show, will play Harry Jekyll at Proctors, as he has in previous workshops, and says that above all, the show is about family.

“For me, the show is not about discovering a ‘secret to intelligence,’” Hunsaker says, “but in realizing that what’s truly important is around you, in the people that love you. And that true success is meant to be shared, not a solitary task to be sought out alone, but something to be found together.”
Joining Hunsaker in the cast are: Cameron Nies, as brother Arthur Jekyll; Berkley Jones as Charlie, the Jekylls’ curiously furtive new London flatmate; Chris Isolano as Mr. Folsom, the Jekylls’ landlord; and Meghan Deeley as jaded French songstress Brigitte; with Alex G. Kunz and Clair Rachel Howell as swings.

In addition to being the first professional theatrical presentation in The Addy at Proctors, Young Dr. Jekyll will also have its production elements managed by the School of the Performing Arts at Proctors TheatreTECH program, with Schenectady High School students touching all aspects of costume/set design and construction, props and lighting.

“This is a great step for both Proctors and the School of the Performing Arts at Proctors,” says Proctors CEO Philip Morris. “We’ve been teching Broadway shows for the road for years. Teching a show bound for New York is something different altogether. We’re looking forward to a great relationship with New York Stage Originals.”

Tickets for “Young Dr. Jekyll,” $30, for performances June 8–16 (8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday; 2 p.m. Saturday, June 9, 16; and Sunday, June 10) are available at the Box Office at Proctors, 432 State Street, Schenectady; by phone at (518) 346-6204; and online at proctors.org.

Matinees will feature post-performance talkbacks. “Young Dr. Jekyll” is appropriate for all ages.