Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde presented by Idle Muse Theatre Company at Rivendell Theatre

Chicago Reader - Recommended

"...What's remarkable in this version is that the cast includes four Hydes, dispelling the notion that morality can be split between good and evil, and suggesting that Jekyll has a nonallegorical condition like dissociative personality disorder. The invention is compelling and well executed-Hyde's voice may mysteriously issue at any time from any actor on stage, even actors presently playing other characters. Ultimately, this bifurcation contributes to a rich if purely visual effect, as the several Hydes coalesce into a single blood-red symbol of human viciousness."

Time Out Chicago - Somewhat Recommended

"...It doesn't follow, then, that just about everyone gives a similar, inadvertently campy depiction that's out of place with the sober, drab and fog-filled environment. The novelty that sets Hatcher's script apart from the dozens of other adaptations is the multi-casting, so why does it feel so perfunctory here when it's literally handed off through a costume person-to-person? If this is supposed to be a more layered reading of a classic story, it's not really clear what Pease is aiming for in each of the different readings."

Theatre By Numbers - Recommended

"...This show depended a lot on physical acting. It started rough. The first scene establishes that there will be movement work throughout. But it is initially clunky and obscure. But, it improves throughout the play. As the actors inhabit their fluidly constructed world more fully, the world seeps into their bodies more completely. By the time Hyde transforms into Jekyll on stage (something that only happens once during this play) near the end of the piece, the choreographed moment becomes beautiful in its complex simplicity."

The Fourth Walsh - Highly Recommended

"...Hatcher’s script is thought-provoking. There are unexpected chilling confessions. Like when, Cowden, as the maid, admits she should have called the police sooner but she was engrossed in watching the brutal act. The play is riddled with characters subtly conceding their own bad deeds. The very last disclosure of the play (I won’t ruin it) has a profundity that might have marred me for life."