'Experiment gone sour' packs Keith-Albee Theatre

"Why shouldn't students come?" Doug P. Hildeman, a Pittsburgh junior theater design major, said.

"It is free, a good show coming through the area and supports the arts," Hildeman said.

"Jekyll &Hyde" packed the Keith-Albee Theatre Monday night.

Tickets were sold out for the second performance of the Marshall Artists Series' (MAS) fall semester.

The good Dr. Henry Jekyll, played by Guy LeMonnier, veteran stage actor, turned himself into the evil Edward Hyde as part of an experiment to get rid of all evil in the world.

When the experiment went sour, Hyde killed many including his lover, Lucy, played by Canadian singer Annie Berthiaume. Jekyll killed himself on his wedding day, and his bride-to-be, Emma, played by television actress and former Miss Indiana Shani Lynn Nielsen, held him dying in her arms.

Greg R. Gant, Parkersburg senior psychology major, said this was his first performance he attended through the MAS. "At first, I didn't figure it would be anything I would like, but I enjoyed it," he said. "I like both perspectives of 'Jekyll & Hyde.' "

Matt B. Weimer, senior chemistry major from Toledo, Ohio, said, "It was a little more romantic than what I expected. It had good visual effects and lighting."

The crowd moaned and groaned with the graphic views of death throughout the play.

Heather A. Ratliff, junior cytology major from Charleston, said, "This is something more than going to the movies. It is a lot more cultural."

Heather's younger sister, Bethany D. Ratliff, freshman business major, came with her to see the musical. "It wouldn't have been the play it was, without the powerful music," Bethany said.

The first word out of Hyde's mouth was "free" and the play ended with his soon-to-be wife telling him that in his death he would be free at last. Jekyll said that everyone has a good and evil side.