The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde at SMC Theater Arts
The transformation of Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde took not just a combination of images from the screen projections, dimming lights, and changes on dramatic music and sounds, but the charismatic performance of 19 year old AJ Sohrabi that took the Mr. Hyde character to the right extreme.
“The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” had its opening night on Friday, April 1 at the Theater Arts venue on the Santa Monica College (SMC) main campus. The 19-year-old SMC student A.J. Sohrabi delivers a tour-de-force performance impersonating Mr. Hyde who changes from a well-mannered and well-spoken Dr. Jekyll. The play, as well as the novella it is based on, explores the duality of human nature and the inner struggle between good and evil. Sohrabi, a native of the Bay Area, takes all into account while using his skills to change his facial expressions, posture, voice, and look to create a complete different character, Mr. Hyde.
Scottish novelist Robert Louis Stevenson’s book was adapted by playwright Noah Smith and it was first performed in 1999. The play is in two acts, the first introduces Dr. Jekyll and his best friends Lanyon, played by Justin Lescoulie, and Utterson, played by Cooper McAdoo. In the act, Dr. Jekyll develops his serum to transform into Hyde, but he then struggles to regain control as Hyde becomes violent and murderous. The second act focuses on Jekyll's friend Utterson who investigates the mysterious being and tries to make sense of Hyde’s connection with Dr. Jekyll. The play culminates with a showdown inside Jekyll’s laboratory. In the SMC production, maids and butlers served as members of “The Strange Case” stage crew, and they also narrated the play from left and right down stage.
The transformation of Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde took not only a combination of images from the screen projections, dimming lights, and changes on dramatic music and sounds, but mainly the charismatic performance of Sohrabi. His acting took the Mr. Hyde character to the right extreme. “This is my first show at Santa Monica College,” Sohrabi said. “Since high school, I’ve never had a professional theater experience before. I’m just so happy to be part of it.”
“It is amazing how much energy he puts out on the show,” Dr. Adrianne Harrop, the play’s director, said about Sohrabi. “It is really like basketball players going for five times what they usually go and leaving it all on the floor.”
Dr. Harrop, who is a faculty member in the SMC Theater department, talks about the challenges of her first in-person play after the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Harrop molded the adaptation to fit the requirements of the school by adding more supporting characters who are maids and butlers. “The college requires to have 18 students in the cast. That’s tough. That’s difficult. What can I do?” she said. “The play had one maid and one butler. If I add three maids and three butlers, I make my magic number 18!”
Dr. Harrop praised the play’s cast. “Utterly amazing, this is one of the best casts I’ve ever had acting wise, and personality wise,” she said. This was Dr. Harrop's first in-person play after a series of Zoom plays due to social distancing and is Sorahbi's first performance out of high school.
