Ballet West's Jekyll and Hyde

Last night I went to Ballet West's amazing production of Jekyll and Hyde and I loved everything about it.  Robert Louis Stevenson (Jake Preece), who is ill and in a drug-fueled haze, has a dream about a respected man who secretly wrestles with his inner demons and this brings the character of Dr. Jekyll (Dominic Ballard) to life.  Jekyll attempts to treat a patient's mental illness with one of his potions in an insane asylum but it is a failure so, when he returns with Stevenson to his laboratory, he experiments on himself.  Stevenson glimpses the character Mr. Hyde (Adrian Fry), who represents the evil inside Jekyll, in the shadows waiting to be revealed.  Jekyll attends a party at the home of Sir Danvers Carew (Jeffrey Rogers), the father of his fiancee Nellie (Amy Potter), but he is distracted and joins the men at a tavern where he meets the prostitute Rowena (Nicole Fanney).  When he becomes aggressive with Rowena, he realizes that his potion has been successful and flees to his laboratory where Hyde finally emerges.  He ventures out on the streets of London, with violent results, and has interactions with both Nellie and Rowena before an epic confrontation with Jekyll for control.  Hyde is victorious but he is finally repressed when Stevenson succumbs to his illness.  The integration of Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, into the narrative is absolutely brilliant because his hallucinogenic interactions with the characters he created mirror their conflict with each other.  The staging is incredibly innovative and I really loved the use of reflective black surfaces and strips of LED lights that are raised and lowered for effect and turn from white to red to indicate the presence of Hyde.  I also loved the dynamic choreography because the emotions are conveyed by movement rather than by text and it is captivating, especially the frenetic sequences inside the insane asylum, the passionate Pas de Deux between Hyde and Nellie followed by a more restrained and lyrical one between Jekyll and Nellie, and the dramatic confrontation between Jekyll and Hyde in which they push and pull against each other.  I enjoyed having the focus on the men in the company and it was really impressive to see Preece, Ballard, and Fry so perfectly in synch as their movements mirror each other.  I always enjoy seeing Fry because he is amazing but I was really blown away by Ballard's expressive performance because I felt his every emotion.  The Victorian costumes are beautiful (I loved seeing the tails of the frock coats twirling) and the subtle integration of red in the scenes with Hyde is very effective as are the masks used during the transitions between Jekyll and Hyde.  Finally, the music is powerful and I particularly loved hearing a portion of Prelude Op. 28 No. 15 by Frederic Chopin (it is a favorite of mine because it is so melancholy) during the final scene.  This is now my favorite Ballet West production and I highly encourage getting a ticket to one of the four remaining performances (go here).