Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended
"...The great strength of this show is its score. And in Cox, who is by far the best thing about this "Jekyll & Hyde," the production has a terrific singer and a sexy, perfectly respectable actress offering a character with that feels fresh enough for the post-Beyonce era but also vulnerable. Cox, who brings out Maroulis' best stuff when her body is attached to him, will emerge smelling like a rose on Broadway. So will Teal Wicks, who totally transforms Emma Carew from the old insipid interpretation into a lusty Victorian woman ready to fight for her man; well, for half of him. But boy, do these fine ladies have to step over some twisted shtick."
Chicago Sun Times - Somewhat Recommended
"...There also is a great deal of declamatory singing in this score - a disjointed blend of pop and pseudo-opera by Frank Wildorn (music) and Leslie Bricusse (book and lyrics based on the classic Robert Louis Stevenson novella). And Jeff Calhoun's direction, while inventive at moments, too often verges on the ridiculous. Do we really have to see a dagger going in one side of a body and coming out the other?"
Time Out Chicago - Not Recommended
"..Yet the real high/low comes in the climactic "Confrontation," a duet between Jekyll and Hyde that was in previous incarnations performed by the lead actor as an internal power struggle for dominance. Calhoun has the onstage Maroulis, as Jekyll, facing off against a pre-recorded, flame-backed projection of himself as a demonic Hyde that calls to mind a Rob Zombie music video, but with lower-budget F/X. Even competing Constantines can't drown out the unintended giggles."
ShowBizChicago - Recommended
"...Under the direction of Broadway stalwart Jeff Calhoun, this Jekyll & Hyde is a much tighter production in both scope and meaning than any of its predecessors. Now the show brilliantly uncovers something the other versions (and even the original novel) didn't focus on; that is the underlying notion of addiction and how it manifests itself into causing a dual nature."
Chicago Theatre Addict - Somewhat Recommended
"...Jeff Calhoun's direction is occasionally shaky, as is most evident when the show's two leading ladies belt one of the show's most famous anthems, "In His Eyes." To their credit, Wicks and Cox deliver the vocal pyrotechnics despite staging that has them weirdly wandering around 2/3 of the stage. The big production number, "Bring on the Men," lacks any oomph and, despite being set in a brothel, isn't actually sexy."
Chicago On the Aisle - Somewhat Recommended
"...The re-tooled show is playing its last pre-Broadway tour stop at Chicago's Cadillac Palace before going on to Broadway's Marquis Theatre in April for a widely anticipated revival. And despite nifty high-voltage stagecraft and campy thriller effects that drip with self parody, this show barely survives its dreary first third (Jekyll's betrothal and professional frustrations) or its last third (a wedding crisis no one cares about)."
ChicagoCritic - Somewhat Recommended
"...Jekyll & Hyde tries to be scarey, to convey menace but it just doesn't have enough heart mainly due to us not caring enough about Jekyll nor his fiance Emma (sung nicely by Teal Wicks). This production of J & H has more gimmicks and staging tricks than empathetic heroes. We need to care more about Jekyll's passion to get us to cheer for him. The show could use a few more songs and less singing dialogue. But fans of this show will probably enjoy the Broadway-pop style of the songs. If only there was more frightful moments."
Around The Town Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...Directed and choreographed by Jeff Calhoun with a very talented cast of players, I still found the show one that needs more work. It is very dark, not only in story ( as is the original) but often the stage is far to dark to see that characters faces and while Constantine Maroulis ( yes, the American Idol, Constantine) has a wonderful voice, hitting some rather high notes, his character transformation was never quite as powerful as the story indicates it should be. His Hyde was much stronger than his Jekyll. I also never believed that either of his relationships, one, as Jekyll with fiance Emma ( Teal Wicks) and the other a slut, Lucy ( marvelously played by Deborah Cox) were real- there was never any chemistry, at least on his part."
Chicago Theatre Review - Somewhat Recommended
"...What has become of legit singing? Where is simplicity? Has musical theatre totally morphed into a reflection of what the rest of America has become: a land of excess where, like the cars it drives, the speeds at which everything travels, the prices we pay, and 99% of its music have evolved into more, bigger, faster and louder? This seems to be director/choreographer Jeff Calhoun's modus-operandi for his revival of Frank Wildhorn's reworked magnum opus, which has been around in some form or other since 1990. It ultimately made its Broadway debut in 1997 and, between that production, national and international tours and local productions, it has developed quite a cult following. And like this pre-Broadway tour, that earlier incarnation also played Chicago prior to opening in New York City. Hopefully there will be some adjustments made before this production reaches the Big Apple."
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Recommended
"...Since its birth in 1990 as a concept album, "Jekyll and Hyde" has been a worldwide audience success. Patrons seem to respond to its high decibel musical numbers and its violent and emotional plot, even though it meanders from over-the-top potboiling to love story to a debate on medic ethics. Maroulis and director Jeff Calhoun have solved the knotty problem of how to convincingly present Hyde without turning him a cartoon bad guy. Maroulis deserves high commendation for his stamina, his big voice, and his acting chops at conveying the evil Hyde free of camp. For the comfort of that stellar performance, the audience owes Maroulis much thanks."