Posted on: Monday, July 30, 2001

DHT casts its 'Jekyll & Hyde'

Advertiser Staff

Laurence Paxton, a University of Hawai'i voice professor and veteran of Island musicals including the recent "Cinderella," will play the dual title role in Diamond Head Theatre's fall season opener, "Jekyll and Hyde," premiering Sept. 14 at DHT.

Jade Stice guest-directs the musical, featuring book and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and music by Frank Wildhorn. The story is based on the Robert Louis Stevenson horror tale about a brilliant doctor whose experiments with the human personality create a murderous counterpart.

Isabelle Decauwert, a Honolulu-born performer who has been in New York seven years playing a variety of musical roles, will perform the part of Lucy, created by Wildhorn's wife, Linda Eder.

Emma, Dr. Jekyll's love interest, will be played by Stefanie Smart, who was just in "Cinderella" with Paxton.

Others in the cast include: Brett Hudson, Doug Scheer, Ryan Lumpus, Catherine Fong, Joshua Harris, Alex Santiago, Jim Seibel and Gordon Ing.

Donald Yap is music director.

The show will be staged Thursdays through Sundays, through Sept. 30, with curtain time at 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 4 p.m. Sundays. Tickets: $10 to $40. Reservations: 733-0277.