Robert Cuccioli should have won the Tony for his performance (James Naughton was nothing special), but his voice on the CD is strained and whiny, VERY unlike the power he demonstrated both times I saw the show. Anthony Warlow is far superior in his recording because of the power of his voice and the depth of his performance. Though Robert Cuccioli was good onstage, his Hyde on the recording lacks the fascinating animal nature that Warlow demonstrated, and sounds shockingly weak.

Though Warlow is better than Cuccioli, the double CD has several flaws that were attended to by the New York opening. Good songs are surrounded by meaningless ones, including whiny ballads about how horrible it is to be a prostitute or pointless Dickens-like comments on the class struggle. The Broadway CD's "Facade" is no longer about the difference between the rich and the poor, but appropriately the good and the evil. Additionally, though I am a big fan of Carolee Carmello, Christiane Noll's more innocent(and flawless) soprano is more appropriate to the part. I would also like to add that "Emma" is much more appropriate to a woman of Victorian London than "Lisa."

Though my love of Jekyll & Hyde is not as strong as it was when I first saw the show and my feelings are very mixed about both cast recordings, I reccommend this CD for its improvements in its structure, but the double CD for the vocal performance of Anthony Warlow.


Re: Wonderful songs   March 8, 2004
 16 out of 16 found this review helpful

Also don't forget Martin Nievera's performance of Take Me As I Am with Asian singing sensation Regine Velasquez. They sang this as part of their Broadway Medley in their World Concert Tour (I saw the Los Angeles leg). The combination of their emotive and powerful voices was fantastic. I think their concert in now available on DVD.


Supremely disappointing   December 12, 2003
 15 out of 18 found this review helpful

After listening to the original concept CD for Jekyll and Hyde, this finalized Broadway version was an intense disappointment. The music lacked the richness and the haunting quality that made the original recording so memorable. This Broadway soundtrack is a watered-down version of its original, a shadow of the potential it had. It was shallow and, in many cases, boring, and lacked emotion and heart. Many of the best songs were either changed or -- as in the case of the fun-and-saucy "Bring On the Men" -- taken out completely. While Linda Eder is still in top form in this show, the rest of the cast lacked quite a bit, and the songs themselves left much to be desired. I kept the CD for a while, simply for a couple of the Linda Eder songs, but finally just got rid of it, preferring to listen to the other one.

Why do they always have to take a phenomenal show and then completely change it when they move it to Broadway? They've done so for several shows in the past, but with this one, it was almost criminal. The original concept would have made such a good production.


one great show!   January 5, 2004
 13 out of 14 found this review helpful

i think the music in jekyll and hyde fits the show perfect. the songs stay low key and kinda eirie. Roisin said that this is the moment does not fit where it is because dr. jekyll is about to transform himself into hyde. if you know the story the dr. doesnt know that his experiment is going to go that far and turn him into something that evil. so the song really does fit cause dr. jekyll thinks he is acomplishing a his goal. its in a perfect spot. i had the plearsure of being in this show in our local community theatre and it really has some of the best ballads in a show. someone like you is beautiful, in his eyes is one of the shows best songs and is very powerful. linda eder sounds great and so does robert. this is a really good recording and show.