Theater Review – 'Jekyll & Hyde’ The Musical'

Theater Review – ‘Jekyll & Hyde’ The Musical’

 Produced by: Theatre Three – Port Jefferson Reviewed by: Jeb Ladouceur

 

Half the English speaking world is at least familiar with the existence of Robert Louis Stevenson’s horror story, ‘The Strange case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde.’ Indeed, along with ‘Treasure Island’ and ‘Kidnapped,’ the novella is one of the most widely read of the Victorian writer’s dozens of works. So esteemed is Stevenson internationally in fact, that he still ranks as the 26^th most translated author in history.

It is hardly surprising, therefore, that in 1997 New York’s theatergoing public was eventually treated to a musical version of ‘Jekyll & Hyde’ when the show of the same name opened at Broadway’s Plymouth Theatre and ultimately completed an almost-four-year run there. The hit thus became the longest-running production in the history of the renowned Plymouth at the time, and closed in January, 2001, after an impressive 1,543 regular performances. 

Co-produced by Jerry Frankel and Jeffrey Richards, and directed by Robin Phillips, the original cast featured the Tony winning Robert Cuccioli in the dual roles of Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde, Linda Eder as Lucy Harris, and Christiane Noll as Emma Carew. When all was said and done, the hit musical was rewarded with no fewer than thirteen Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle nominations.

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Long Islanders have come to expect a number of exquisite period pieces from Theatre Three and its guiding light, Director Jeffrey Sanzel (‘A Christmas Carol’ for example, will likely remain permanently synonymous with the vintage 160-year-old Port Jefferson playhouse) and the addition of ‘Jekyll & Hyde’ to such recent productions as ‘Sweeney Todd’ and ‘Les Miserables’ won’t disappoint even the most ardent history purists.

In Stevenson’s gripping tale wherein the brilliant Dr. Jekyll’s medical experiment backfires and spawns Edward Hyde, his evil counterpart, Alan Stentiford amazingly takes on the divergent roles as if the assignment were a simple one. Furthermore, Stentiford adds a clear, well-polished singing voice to the lyrical proceedings. He is skillfully supported in that assignment by Douglas Quattrock (playing Sir Danvers Carew) and Steven Uihlein (Simon Stride).

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Among the distaff players, incomparable veterans Linda May and Tracylynn Conner are featured in the roles of Lady Beaconsfield and Lucy Harris respectively. That duo alone is well worth the time and price of admission we have wisely invested in attending this remarkable event. When one adds Tamralynn Dorsa’s sweet soprano to the mix in the role of Emma Carew, the trio becomes truly unforgettable.

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Chakira Doherty’s Costumes and Randy Parsons’ Scenic Design are impressive as always … as are Jeffrey Hoffman’s Musical Direction and Robert W. Henderson, Jr.’s Lighting (so important in a dark story like this one). As for the show’s overall Direction, let it be said that the name ‘Jeffrey Sanzel’ on a playbill is akin to the word ‘Sterling’ on silver. Largely because of Sanzel’s leadership it is small wonder that Theatre Three on Port Jefferson’s Main Street has become the chief drawing card in a town so replete with charming attractions.

This musical version of ‘Jekyll & Hyde’ runs thru October 26^th … and, because it is faithful to the Broadway production, management advises that the show contains adult themes and situations. 

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Award-winning writer, Jeb Ladouceur is the author of a dozen novels, and his theater and book reviews appear in several major L.I. publications. His recent hit, THE GHOSTWRITERS, explores the bizarre relationship between the late Harper Lee and Truman Capote. Ladouceur’s topical thriller, THE SOUTHWICK INCIDENT (introduced at the Smithtown Library recently) involves a radicalized Yale student and his CIA pursuers. Mr. Ladouceur’s revealing website is www.JebsBooks.com

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP - Was Hurricane Dorian Just The Beginning?

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

Global warming is producing atom bomb versions of hurricanes.

That was the case with Hurricane Dorian and other Category 5 (winds at 157 miles per hour or higher which is the most destructive level on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale) and Category 4 hurricanes (winds of 130 to 156 miles per hour) that have been developing with frequency in recent years. 

Long Island avoided a Dorian direct hit. But as U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer declared last week at a press conference in Island Park in Nassau County, major hurricanes are in the offing. He held up in one hand a photo from space of Dorian and in his other one of Sandy, a hurricane which switched to being a “super-storm” when it struck Long Island with 80 miles per hour winds in 2012 and still did enormous damage. The senator declared: “This was Sandy…This is Dorian. We’re not saying Dorian will hit but in the next few years there will be more hurricanes like this. We got to make sure that if, God forbid, they come our way, we’re protected.” He advocated an extension of an Army Corps of Engineers “Back Bay Study” in Nassau on which $3 million has already been spent looking into bulkheading, tidal gates and other measures.

Long Island needs to “be protected” but, to be realistic, “protection” from a Category 5 or 4 hurricane is illusory. Consider the video out of the Bahamas last week—wreckage, mile after mile, houses and businesses torn apart. It was complete devastation. Could the folks of the Bahamas have been “protected” from Dorian with its sustained winds of 185 miles per hour (and gusts up to 220)? 

Regarded as the worst hurricane to hit Long Island is what subsequently was called the Long Island Express and also Great New England Hurricane of 1938. Hurricanes then were not given human names. And there was no Saffir-Simpson Scale then, but it has since been considered as a Category 3 (winds between 111 and 129 miles per hour). 

We need to put our full energy into strongly reducing the causes of global warming and climate change which have heated the waters on which hurricanes feed thus producing super-hurricanes.

As The Atlantic magazine said in a headline last week: “Hurricane Dorian Is Not A Freak Storm. Its record-breaking power is in line with recent, worrisome trends.” The article noted that “since records began in 1851, only one storm in the Atlantic had more powerful winds.”

As the headline in The Guardian newspaper stated: “Global heating made Hurricane Dorian bigger, wetter—and more deadly.” The sub-head: “We know that warm waters fuel hurricanes, and Dorian was strengthened by waters well above average temperatures.” 

This article related how the Bahamas is seen as “a dream vacation spot. But Hurricane Dorian turned that dream into a nightmare. And the worst part is this is only the beginning. Because unless we confront the climate crisis, warming will turn more and more of our fantastic landscapes, cities we call paradise and other dream destinations into nightmarish hellscapes.”

The Army Corps of Engineers has believed that sea walls, rock groins, revetments, bulkheads and other “hard structures” will “fortify” the shore and fend off hurricanes.

A major Army Corps scheme I first started writing about when I began as a journalist on Long Island in 1962 was its then new plan to provide for “hurricane and storm damage reduction” for 83 miles of the south shore from Fire Island Inlet to Montauk Point. The plan is still on the books, more than a half-century later, with today a price tag of more than $1 billion.

Seeing the terrible impacts of Dorian—the way it left Hope Town in the Bahamas in shambles—is personal. Years ago, fellow journalist Andrew Botsford, who had captained a fishing boat down there, recommended Hope Town as a marvelous vacation destination. Hope Town is skirted by coral reefs—snorkeling is sublime—and there are beautiful beaches. There’s the red-and-white candy-striped Elbow Reef lighthouse. And a remarkable history. English loyalists migrated to Hope Town after the American Revolution bringing with them colonial architecture—and in Hope Town these buildings are painted in bright Bahamian pastel colors. The royalists mixed with the black inhabitants to create an integrated society. 

Last week, there were photos on the Internet of where we stayed, Hope Town Harbour Lodge—before and after Dorian. The damage is severe. 

For Hope Town and so much of the rest of the Bahamas, it is paradise lost, at least for a time. And, as Senator Schumer said, more bad hurricanes can be expected. We could be hit next. I’ll conclude this series of columns on climate change next week on how we can and must challenge the causes of climate change and global warming. 

Karl Grossman is a veteran investigative reporter and columnist, the winner of numerous awards for his work and a member of the L.I. Journalism Hall of Fame. He is a professor of journalism at SUNY/College at Old Westbury and the author of six books.   

Have You Met Jan Singer? She Wants To Be Your Legislator

By Pat Biancaniello

Jan Singer is a Kings Park resident who is running for Suffolk County Legislator in the 13th L. D. She is a Democrat running against Rob Trotta who will be completing his third term in December. Winning an election against an incumbent is challenging; and winning against a Republican incumbent in L.D. 13 is akin to David striking down Goliath.  Jan is more than willing to take on the challenge. Ask her why and she will tell you that Rob Trotta is not addressing the issues that are so important to residents in the district. She points to water quality both drinking and coastal, opioid abuse and taxes as issues residents are concerned about and she is passionate about.

Jan Singer taking a break from campaigning at Commack Dunkin’ DonutsMs. Singer is extremely confident in her ability to represent the interests of residents in the 13th LD. She points to her decades of work as an attorney and her responsiblity for putting the interests of clients before all other interests as evidence of her ability and willingness to get the job done. And she believes that there is much in the county that needs to be done.

She plans to bring together environmental groups, labor advocates and energy industry experts to protect the Suffolk County’s coastline, promote sustainable energy sources and to protect drinking water.  Water is her passion. She believes that increasing filtration in Suffolk County’s sewer system and increasing sewer availability will help protect drinking water keeping families healthy. She is committed to reducing water pollution from chemical contamination and will work to bring new business and create new jobs.  She is intends to focus on identifying funding sources to make increased efficiency and expansion of our sewer system affordable and achievable.

Before she does all of the above Jan knows she needs to get elected; and so she works, doing everything she can do to get the public to understand what’s at stake. She goes door-to-door meeting residents and jokes that sometimes the “Ring” homeowners have on doorbells is her greatest asset. She gets to leave a message which is so much more powerful than a piece of literature. Jan says the reception she receives from the surprised resident has been very positive. “I like it, I didn’t think I would but it has been very rewarding.”

Why now? Jan Singer is really bothered by Rob Trotta’s agenda. She claims he doesn’t want the job and points to his plan to run for County Executive, his talk about replacing Mike Fitzpatrick in the NYS Assembly if John Flanagan left and Mike moved to NYS Senate.  Anything she says, but being a Suffolk County Legislator. She says he’s a hypocrite for complaining about county contracts at the same time he is collecting a taxpayer funded pension and his county salary. She also questions the rationale for Trotta’s suggesting that the $20 million revenue generated by red lights be refunded. This, she says is not feasible and would put the County’s budget in a hole and would put taxpayers on the hook for the millions in refunds. 

Jan believes that the people in the district need tax relief not wasteful spending. She believes that residents want to know that their legislator is looking for answers to the opioid crisis and environmental concerns and she plans to do her best to address their concerns.

Jan Singer is running for Suffolk County legislator she wants you to know that “When elected, I will represent and work for all of the people in the 13th L.D..”

The Andy Foundation To Help Build Playground For Pal-O-Mine Equestrian

Pal-O-Mine Equestrian, Inc. (www.pal-o-mine.org, Islandia, NY), a private, not for profit organization providing a comprehensive therapeutic equine program using horses to facilitate growth, learning and healing for children and adults with disabilities, announced that on Saturday, September 28^th, The Andy Foundation, a fifteen year-long supporter, will be lending its support once again by leading a project to build a new accessible, sensory playground at Pal-O-Mine. According to The Andy Foundation, over 100 volunteers will be on hand for the playground project representing its largest volunteer venture to date.

Several significant partners and sponsorships for the playground project have already been secured including The Junior League of Long Island as well as Amy and Neil McGoldrick; Chris and Greg Burke-Lane Office; Dan Donnelly, Barbara and Tom Sullivan, Jeremy Cotty- HomeCraft Contracting; Regina Imperio, Liam, Frank, Caleigh and Kieran McGoldrick, Deb and Bob Hussey, Bagel Café of Nesconset, Giorgio’s Pizza of Nesconset and Starbucks of Islandia. All of these sponsors will be recognized on a permanent sign placed at the entrance of the new playground.

Pal-O-Mine CEO and Founder, Lisa A. Gatti said, “We are so excited about this new sensory playground for children of all abilities. As we continue to advance our expansion campaign, it becomes clearer to us that with organizations like The Andy Foundation, our playground sponsors and our team of compassionate volunteers, this will be A Race We Will Win.”

The Andy Foundation has distributed over $1 million to assist children in need. In 2010, the organization’s charitable work and volunteerism was recognized with its induction into the Long Island Volunteer Hall of Fame.

About Pal-O-Mine

Founded in 1995 by Lisa Gatti, Pal-O-Mine is a private, not for profit organization providing a comprehensive therapeutic equine program using horses to facilitate growth, learning and healing for children and adults with disabilities, as well as those who have been abused or neglected, veterans and the economically compromised.  Pal-O-Mine offers a broad range of programs many of which involve the organization’s herd of therapy horses and livestock. Pal-O-Mine relies on grants and contributions from private citizens, foundations and businesses to help raise funds. For more information on Pal-O-Mine, visit:www.pal-o-mine.org or call: 631-348-1389.

Suffolk County Red Light Cameras Are Here For Another Five Years

By P. Biancaniello

Red-light cameras (RLC) in Suffolk County are here to stay - at least for the next five years. After hours of discussion with almost thirty members of the public stating their opposition to the program, legislators voted 11-7 to renew the contract with modifications. Legislators voted along party lines. Democrats citing safety supported the extension. Republican legislators citing safety and calling it a money grab opposed the renewal. 

Legislator Rob Trotta Sept. 4 discussion about red light camerasAccording to Hector Gavilla, an opponent of the RLC program and candidate for legislator in the 16th L.D.,the breakdown of camera placement is Brookhaven 38, Islip 24, Babylon 19, Huntington 15 and Smithtown 4.

Martin Buchman a member of NYS Bicyclist Coalition spoke in favor of the program saying that bicylists have a deadly fear of someone running a red light.  He urged legislators to keep the program and to ensure equity in distribution of cameras. 

Smithtown legislators Kennedy 12 L.D. and Trotta 13 L.D. voted against renewing the program. Legislator Trotta has been in the forefront of the movement to rid the county of the cameras, he claims the program is about revenue and has accused the Bellone administration of initiating the program to cover budget short falls. Red-light cameras have generated more than $25 million in revenue for the county. 

At a 2017 press event in Miller Place, at a site where two teens died in separate incidents, Trotta accused the county of improperly reporting statistics at intersections with cameras. The county through a spokesperson denied the allegation stating that the engineering firm Nelson and Pope was not instructed to exclude pedestrian and bicycle data and includes information not required by law.  

Suffolk County Committee Chairman Jesse Garcia in a statement issued to the press said, “Make no mistake - this is about shoring up the county’s failing finances. They should be called red-ink cameras because their real purpose is to prevent debt, not deaths.” 

Many of the speakers opposed the disproportionate number of cameras placed in poorer districts where fines and fees create economic hardship. Currently there is a $15 administrative fee in addition to a $50 fine late fees are added if fee is not paid on time. The approval of the contract renewal came with a commitment to look at the placement of the cameras as well as a payment plan.

Jason Elon, spokesperson for the Bellone administration referring to a proposed resolution supported by Republican legislators issued the following statement, “The same Minority Caucus that complained about red light camera fees is now introducing legislation to impose fees and ticket motorists with cameras on school buses.  Two-faced Rob Trotta and his band of conspiracy theorists should pick a side – and ours is on the side of public safety.”