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Jekyll & Hyde - The Musical

Jekyll & Hyde - The Musical

List Price: $19.95
Your Price: $15.96
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: great show but badly cast for video
Review: Having seen J&H 4 times on Broadway I was looking forward to having it on video to watch when I pleased. However, the joy quickly turned to disappointment with the cast that was used for the video/telecast. Robert Cuccioli and Linda Eder were - in a word - superb. Ms Eder has the voice and presence the video lacks. Cuccioli is a splendid actor whose transformation of Jekyll to Hyde was thrilling and far beyond the ability of Mr. Baywatch. Cuccioli, with use of body language and voice, makes two different characters believeable. His dialog between Jekyll and Hyde near the end was remarkable. Not so the video.

Stick with the Broadway recording and let's HOPE someone has the sense to film it with Eder and Cuccioli.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: David Hasselhoff belongs on the beach
Review: I bought this DVD from a friend who coudn't stand it, but I thought I'd give it a try. I'm a big fan of musicals and was excited to see a production of Jekyll and Hyde, Hasselhoff not withstanding. Unfortunatly he dosen't come close to meeting the vocal and acting challenges the dual roles require, and in the most intense scenes only succeeds in looking (and sounding) comical. Hasselhoff only looks more untalented next to the superb cast, namely Andrea Rivette and Collen Sexton. Buy it only if you're a big fan of musicals, or are willing to pay to see two brilliant performances diminished by a big name.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Dr. Hekyll
Review: While I am truly in love with the show, I believe that David Hasslehoff just wasn't cut out for the lead role. He is pretty solid as Edward Hyde, Jekyll's other half, but when it comes to Jekyll, pull out the ear plugs. All of the supporting leads, however, were amazing. And the rest of the cast really set the stage. I would say that the rest of the cast makes up for Hasslehoff's poor performance

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: It does not get much better than this
Review: What a genius,he controlled the 80's ,then the 90's-the new millenium can only get better with the talent on Hasselhoff.I've already seen it 13 times since owning it ,Know half the words to the songs and am going to see it again at the cinema tonight.It is splendid !His evilness as mr Hide beats the presents of the great bad guys such as Hannible lecter and empror Ming,yet his boyish good looks shine as Dr Jekyll.KEEP ON ROCKING BABY !...

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Murder! Murder!
Review: That's what David Hasselhoff did to this fine play. He absolutely butchered it. His singing voice is jerky and has too much inflection. He hasn't got the range for this part, either, or the projection. It reminds me of what might have happened if Captain Kirk had ever gone into musical theater. His portrayal of Jekyll/Hyde lacks any sort of depth. I doubt that he even read the script before this was filmed. He sings as though he is reading off of cue cards. And one last little thing I noticed-his costumes never seem to fit. I think that this is probably because they had someone decent lined up for the role, but the decent actor got sick at the last minute and so they had to give the role to Hasselhoff without having time to alter the costume for him.

What's more, they have cut most of the good songs from this video, and rearranged the few that are left. "Alive" just doesn't have the same chilling effect when it is cut up into half a dozen thirty second spurts of music. And Hasselhoff tears the poor song to shreds. This is the first time I have ever laughed at that song. And what have they done with "I Need to Know?" This new song they've replaced it with just can't hold a candle. It isn't even a good song to begin with, and whe you compare it with its predecessor, it's sort of a let-down. Another thing-the Board of Directors sequence has been almost completely cut out, along with all of "The World Has Gone Insane".

No complaints with the rest of the actors in the show. The actress who plays Lucy is especially good. I am not cruel to all the actors-only David Hasselhoff, but his performance is bad enough to justify it. We want Anthony Warlow and Colm Wilkonson back!

In short, do not waste your hard-earned money on this hunk of junk. It is terrible. I don't even recommend it for Jekkies. They will spend their entire viewing looking for a box to return it in. Buy yourself a hat or something instead.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: I so wanted to like this but....
Review: Ever since I heard the Colm Wilkinson concept album I have really wanted to see this show. As it has never been put on in the UK I have not had a chance.

Although I was a little reserved at Hasselhoff having the lead I still ordered this DVD.

Now, although I am glad to have seen it I was tremendously disappointed. In the UK if a theatrical company sets a show in America they will perform the show with American accents. Unfortunately this particular company does not seem willing to return the favour with the vast majority of principals carrying on with their American twang. The only English accent coming from an English actor and only the two leading ladies made any attempt at the accent (with differing success.). The entire chorus was sung in American. You may think this picky, but it does ruin the atmosphere

On top of this the chorus staging was.....very stagy and the direction very poor.

I think others have covered the inadequacies of Hasselhoff's singing voice and his murdering of "This is the Moment", so I won't dwell on that. His Jekyll is stilted but to be fair he does make a good Hyde (even when his singing voice lets him down). Any UK residents seeing the number "Confrontation" , where the song jumps between Jekyll and Hyde will find it very funny. As Hyde he faces one direction and as Jekyll the other, much as Ronnie Barker and other comedians have done whilst wearing a different costume on each half of their body.

I would have to say that the actress playing Lucy does do a grand job. Good acting and singing. Her English accent was not the most stable, but at least she gave it a damn good attempt with the slips probably only audible to an Englishman.

So, I have to say again - very disappointing.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: TWO FACES OF A FOUR-SIDED LOVE TRIANGLE MUSICAL
Review: There are a number of childhood novels that I've always though would provide ideal material for an epic Broadway musical. And Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale of Good and Evil has always been at the head of the list. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see this musical when it when it played at the Fox here in Saint Louis. And the original cast recording really didn't conjure any images of the story when I listened to it. So when the Broadway production was videotaped, I just had to see it.

After viewing the tape I felt like Jekyll and Hyde myself. The show has both a good side and a decidedly bad side. Any theatrical production preserved for future generations automatically gets bonus points from me. Unfortunately few of the really great shows ever get a good theatrical video recording. And the ones that do usually are lesser works.

That's the case with this production which seems to be told by way of Sweeney Todd and Les Miz. The libretto is really stilted and drawn out, especially in the first act. The show really doesn't start moving until the second act .The opening of which really works. Unfortunately, the finale is extremely weak. After Jekyll/Hyde's dramatic (but cliched) good vs. evil final scene, the end really seems tacked on. I think the last two scenes could have been combined for really dramatic close.

As for the music, Wildhorn's compositions still do nothing for me; though many people think they're really great and clamor for more. For me, it's just not memorable, and I can't understand why every song (EVEN THE BALLADS) have to end like a pop/rock recording with the over-amplified sounds of some drummer trying to drown out the singers. (I'm not even going to get into the tiny microphone bugs glued to everyone's face.)

David Hasselhoff also gets bonus points for having the guts to do a live musical theater when all of Broadway's stars seem to be leaving it for the tube or Hollywood. He gives a very credible performance, and I'm glad to see him use the classic John Barrymore technique for doing the character transformations. Unfortunately, he loses a couple of points for his tacky curtain speech.

My personal tastes and opinions aside, this tape was LIVE theatre delivered by a strong and talented cast, and as such I did enjoy it. You probably will, too

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Hasselhoff the reaason your seeing it!!!
Review: Just to finally end the insanity and get it straight for everyone who keeps wrinting about this copy of Jekyll & Hyde.
Ready everyone if it was'nt for David Hasselhoff (and his ego) there would be no tape(or dvd) Hasslehoff paid for it and made it happen, so when people wine about linda Eder and any other Jekyll and why did'nt they use them. "They" i assume the people are referring to the producer's would never have made this recording. It was totally a hasselhoff venture. So if your glad to have it memorilized at all, be glad hasselhoff did it!!!

I am no fan of David Hasselhoff but i thought even though he was the worst Jekyll that maybe has played the role,He did an respectable job(other than this is the moment which was horrid). The rest of the recording from sound quality to picture quality to ensemble to suporting leads were fabulous!!!

it''s just unfortunate that broadway does'nt learn from this, and have every show with it's original cast recorded in this fashion. So when it closes it can than be sold and the actor's and all involved would also profit from those sales. I would kill for many broadway shows that once there off there gone forever.
except for many of LLoyd webber's plays, he also see's this very lucrative market Broadway for most of us is gone forever.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Don't waste your money.
Review: I admit to not being a David Hasselhoff fan but I bought this video of Jekyll & Hyde because I love the show and figured if he got the part on Broadway, he must not be as untalented a singer as I thought. I am sad to say that this video was awful. I cannot imagine how David Hasselhoff got this part anywhere much less Broadway. I do not mean to be cruel to him, but he just cannot sing and his acting was a close second. I could bearly sit through the entire video because I was actually so embarrassed for him. I think the "live" audience was either his fan club or friends and family. The most intense parts of the show were too forced on his part. It was if he made certain he could sing just as loud at the intense parts of songs as past performers but his voice just does not have the quality of the others. As I said, I do not mean to be mean to him, but I would really advise you not to buy this video unless you really like David Hasselhoff.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Underrated Masterpiece
Review: Don't hate this great musical because you hate Hasselhoff. Most of the people who gave this musical 1 star are obviously jealous over Hasselhoff's success. The music, acting & supporting cast are all excellent. Although Hasselhoff isn't the greatest singer in the world, his performance is quite believable and intense. Give this musical a chance!


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