Of two minds: Adobe Theater takes a modern-day approach to Gothic classic 'Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde'

As the leaves crisp and the pumpkins glow, the Adobe Theater is ushering in Halloween with “Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde.”

Slated for Friday, Oct. 18, through Sunday, Nov. 10, this adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde,” takes a modern-day approach to this Gothic classic.

“The original intention was that only six actors would fill all the parts,” said director Yannig Morin. “I cast a few more.”

Gabriel John Utterson, a reserved and morally upright lawyer, and his cousin Richard Enfield, are on their weekly walk when they reach the door of a mysterious, unkempt house. Enfield says months ago, at three o’clock in the morning, he witnessed a malevolent-looking man named Edward Hyde deliberately trample a young girl after a seemingly minor collision. Enfield forced Hyde to pay her family 100 pounds to avoid a scandal. Hyde brought Enfield to this door and gave him a check signed by a reputable gentleman later revealed to be Dr. Henry Jekyll, Utterson’s friend and client.

“That begins the mystery,” Morin said.

Jekyll claims he created his famous concoction to separate good from evil. He says he has held himself to strict moral standards publicly, but indulged in unstated vices and struggled with shame. He found a way to transform himself and thereby indulge his vices without fear of detection.

“But there’s more nefarious reasons going on,” Morin said. “His claim of wanting to do good for humanity might not be sincere. This new revelation creates problems. We see something of a split personality going on between himself and Hyde.”

The play is “filled with twists and special reveals,” he added. “It’s intended to be a PG-level of disturbing.”

Critics have penned countless essays on the meaning of the original story.

Stevenson “was short on money,” Morin said. He produced this short little horror fiction because they were very popular.

“I don’t think he meant it to be the pop-cultural juggernaut it has become,” Morin continued. “He made a lot of references to Victorian England in the 1860s— Victorian standards, virtues, vices. The lower classes were reflected on poorly; the mid and upper classes were looked upon as virtuous.”

Addiction is also a theme running throughout the story, he added.

“He drinks it and turns into another type of person.”