Robert Evan to Take Over NY Jekyll & Hyde; Chuck Wagner To Do Tour

By Robert Simonson and David Lefkowitz
November 24, 1998

On Jan. 3, 1999, the Broadway musical Jekyll & Hyde will lose its original Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Robert Cuccioli will depart the production after nearly 900 performances. The show opened on April 28, 1997, but Cuccioli has been playing the role on and off since 1994, when he played the part in Houston.

On Jan. 3, 1999, the Broadway musical Jekyll & Hyde will lose its original Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Robert Cuccioli will depart the production after nearly 900 performances. The show opened on April 28, 1997, but Cuccioli has been playing the role on and off since 1994, when he played the part in Houston.

Rob Evan will take over the title role Jan. 5. Thanks to the show's matinees, Evan has already played the role more than 300 times.

Evan has also appeared on Broadway in Les Miz. On the road, he has toured with Les Miz, Jekyll & Hyde, Hot Mikado, and Hello, Dolly!.

Evan was originally supposed to take on the national tour, but instead that role (those roles(?)) will go to Chuck Wagner, of Beauty and the Beast fame.

Cuccioli's co-star Christiane Noll will also leave the NY production Jan. 3, 1999. No replacement has been announced. Original star Linda Eder screamed her last scream in the Frank Wildhorn musical Aug. 30; Luba Mason now stars.

No further casting for the tour has yet been announced. According to the Richard Kornberg press office (Nov. 24), the national tour begins at Seattle's Paramount Theatre in March 1999. Here are the official tour dates for J&H so far:
March 14, 1999: Seattle, WA, Paramount Theatre.
March 30, 1999: Grand Rapids, MI, Devos Hall
April 6, 1999: Boston, MA, Wang Center
April 13, 1999: Wallingford, CT, Oakdale Theatre
April 20, 1999: Detroit, MI, Fisher Theatre
May 11, 1999: Minneapolis, MN, Orpheum Theatre
May 18, 1999: Dallas, TX, Music Hall
June 1, 1999: Tulsa Performing Arts Center
June 15, 1999: Memphis, TN, Orpheum Theatre
June 22, 1999: Toronto, Canada, Ford Center
July 20, 1999: Vancouver, Canada, Ford Center
Aug. 3, 1999: San Francisco, CA, Golden Gate Theatre
Aug. 31, 1999: San Diego, CA, Civic Center
Sept. 7, 1999: Los Angeles, CA, TBA
Sept. 28, 1999: St. Louis, CA, Fox Theatre
Oct. 5, 1999: Charlotte, NC, Blumenthal PAC
Oct. 12, 1999: Providence, RI, PAC
Oct. 19, 1999: Philadelphia, PA, Merriam Theatre
Oct. 26, 1999: Baltimore, MD, Mechanic Theatre
Nov. 2, 1999: Indianapolis, IN, Murat PAC
Nov. 9, 1999: Chicago, IL Palace Theatre
Nov. 23, 1999: Des Moines, IA, Civic Center
Nov. 30, 1999: Louisville, KY, Kentucky Center
Dec. 7, 1999: Cincinnati, OH, Aranoff Theatre
More dates will likely be announced for the year 2000.