NOTHING DONE HALFWAY IN 'JEKYLL AND HYDE'.

Byline: Evan Henerson Theater Critic

HELLO, Dr. Van Helsing? We really hate to bother you here - know you're busy - but if you happen to get a break from those bloodsuckers, werewolves and whatnot, we were wondering if you could just take a few minutes to help us with a problem up here in London. Seems we've got this charismatic maniac who is carving up our citizenry at a really alarming rate, and ...

You'll take the job? Brilliant! Sure, he goes by Hyde. Edward Hyde. How to find him? Gosh, he usually just finds us. Let me ask my pal Hank Jekyll for advice. Most sensible bloke I know. If I can just pry him out of his laboratory for a few ticks ...

The Frank Wildhorn/Leslie Bricusse musical about a certain doctor and his fiendish alter ego, the latest production from Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities (CLOSBC), makes ``The Phantom of the Opera'' look like Harold Pinter. Gothic and blood-soaked, nearly operatic in its scope, sweep and aspirations, it's a prancing, preening beast of a show. If you like this kind of a thing, you'll absolutely love what director Paul Hadobas and the CLOSBC company have done with it. Even if over-the-top opulence isn't your cup of oolong, prepare to be sucked in.

My gosh, these actors are working their topcoats and tails off! Whew, is Dwight Richard Odle's set a piece of work. Good heavens, does lighting designer Steven Young earn his paycheck - particularly via a late-act battle for the soul between Jekyll and Hyde conducted by Kevin Bailey (who plays both roles) in a manner that Jim Carrey, a master of on-screen schizophrenic behavior, would applaud.

And can those leads ever sing! The near operatic demands placed on the singers in this show, combined with the fever pitch at which Hadobas directs them, makes you wonder what the trio of leads could possibly have left once the curtain drops.

Bailey, tearing into a dual role of self-torment and bombast, is the obvious example. But the pair 'o heroines, virtuous Emma Carew (Kim Huber) and hopeful prostitute Lucy Harris (Misty Cotton) don't exactly put up their feet either.

Steven Smith is ``Jekyll & Hyde's'' musical director. Lyricist/librettist Bricusse has tweaked Robert Louis Stevenson's plot to add some feminine flesh.

Henry Jekyll wants to explore the duality of man with an aim toward isolating and eliminating his evil tendencies and potentially even curing his mentally ill father. A lofty ambition, but the administrators of his hospital think the good Dr. J. is cracked.

So he conducts the research on himself. Exit Jekyll. Enter Hyde - younger, more robust, his hair freed from a pony tail. His first order of business is to execute the hospital board members who stood in Jekyll's way. Next Hyde sets his eyes on fetching Lucy, belle of the Red Rat tavern.

Shut out from all this is Jekyll's betrothed, Emma, who knows her intended is on the side of the angels and isn't about to ask questions or intrude upon a locked door. When you figure that Lucy loves Jekyll but is sexually captivated by Hyde, it makes for a rather interesting love triangle. Throw in Emma, and you've got a square.

Playing a character that is part Eliza Doolittle, part Nancy from ``Oliver'' and 100 percent hooker with a heart of gold, Cotton weaves in and out of a Cockney accent but still manages to scorch the stage. It's a great vocal role, and Cotton knocks it out of the park.

Clearly there are strong reasons why, in the absence of a ``Producers'' or ``Lion King'' CLOSBC takes so many local musical theater awards each year. The company has an eye for talent, a sense of risk and enough coin to bring it all off. Outside the Music Center downtown, you simply won't see Broadway caliber musicals of this magnitude anywhere nearby. ``Jekyll and Hyde'' is no masterpiece, but the production more than proves this company's considerable mettle.

Evan Henerson, [phone]

evan.henerson(at)dailynews.com

JEKYLL AND HYDE - Three and one half stars

Where: Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, 1935 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Redondo Beach.

When: 8 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays; through May 16.

Tickets: $37.50 to $52.50. Call [phone].

In a nutshell: Opulent, over the top and irresistible, the way musicals of this caliber should be done.

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Misty Cotton and Kevin Bailey star in Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities' sumptuous production of ``Jekyll and Hyde.''