Review: ‘Model Behavior’ at 24th Street Theatre

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Some horror classics just keep on giving. The well-trod story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde gets its umpteenth dramatic makeover, this time from Theatre Movement Bazaar, which has re-imagined the Robert Louis Stevenson novel as a quasi-dance, quasi-melodramatic performance piece.

Titled “Model Behavior,” this production at the 24th Street Theatre is a visual marvel, featuring 11 ensemble members enacting a highly choreographed interpretation of Stevenson’s grisly tale. In terms of plain storytelling, however, the show is cursed with two left feet, unable to convey plot and character in an elegant way.

Dr. Jekyll (Jacob Sidney) is a respected London physician who holes up in his laboratory, where he unleashes his murderous alter-ego, Mr. Hyde. His erratic behavior frightens his army of maids while his friends slowly begin to suspect that all is not well with him psychologically.

Director-choreographer Tina Kronis arranges her performers in shifting symmetrical formations to underscore the story’s theme of duality. Her staging is hypnotic and frequently transcendent, making excellent use of the theater’s cavernous proscenium.

But the show fails in the larger respect of narrative coherence. The plot -- admittedly one that most viewers are already familiar with -- often feels secondary to the visuals, and the character development lags at crucial junctures.

The text (adapted by Richard Alger) serves mostly as a platform for the show’s impressive dance sequences. A more equal footing between style and substance would have steadied this ambitious attempt at literary reinvention.

-- David Ng

“Model Behavior,” 24th Street Theatre, 1117 W. 24th St., Los Angeles. Visit www.24thstreet.org for show times. Ends Feb. 22. $24. (213) 745-6516. Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes.

Caption: Shannan Rodriguez, David LM McIntyre, Jonathan Green, Jacob Sidney, Jake Eberle and Mark Skeens in ‘Model Behavior.’ Credit: Shannan Rodriguez