Student Study Guide
ABOUT ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON
Robert Lewis (later ‘Louis’) Balfour Stevenson (1850 – 1894) was a Scottish novelist,
poet, essayist and travel writer. Among his most notable works are Treasure Island, A
Child’s Garden of Verses, Kidnapped and Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
As a child, he was often plagued by coughs and fevers, made worse by damp and cold
weather in Scotland. Such illnesses also occurred in his adult life and he was often bedridden.
Stevenson entered the University of Edinburgh, intending to follow in his father and
grandfather’s footsteps and become an engineer; however, he was not well suited
physically to the occupation. He next studied law but decided ultimately to become a
writer, having written many stories as a child.
Throughout his life, Stevenson often traveled to warm climates due to his ill-health. He
wrote many novels, stories, and collections of essays based on his travels to such places as the south
of France or the South Seas. During one trip to France, he met an American artist, Fanny
Vandergrift Osbourne and fell in love with her. The relationship was complicated because she was
married at the time; however, after divorcing her husband, she and Stevenson were wed.
Fanny had two children and they adored their new step-father. While on holiday in
Scotland in the summer of 1881, the cold, damp weather forced the family to stay
indoors. One day, Stevenson and his twelve-year-old stepson, Lloyd, drew, colored and annotated
the map of an imaginary treasure island. This map piqued Stevenson’s imagination and he wrote a
story based on it as entertainment for his family. Treasure Island was published in book form in
1883, marking Stevenson’s popularity and career as a profitable writer.
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was the original title of a novella Stevenson
wrote that was first published in 1886. It was an immediate success and one of his bestselling
works. Stage adaptations began in Boston and London within a year of its
publication, and it has gone on to inspire countless major film, television and stage
adaptations.
In 1890, Stevenson purchased land on Upolu, one of the Samoan islands. In addition to
clearing the land, building his house and helping the Samoan people, he also did a lot of
writing. When he died there at the age of 44, the Samoans insisted on surrounding his
body with a watch-guard during the night and bearing him on their shoulders to nearby
Mount Vaea, where they buried him on a place overlooking the ocean. Stevenson had
always wanted his poem, ‘Requiem’ inscribed on his tomb.
Under the wide and starry sky,
Dig the grave and let me lie.
Glad did I live and gladly die,
And I laid me down with a will.
This be the verse you grave for me:
Here he lies where he longed to be;
Home is the sailor, home from the sea,
And the hunter home from the hill.
ABOUT THE NOVELLA,
STRANGE CASE OF DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was written by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1886.
The novella about a dual personality much depicted in plays and films was also
influential in the growth of understanding of the subconscious mind through its treatment
of a kind, intelligent doctor who turns into a psychopathic monster after taking a drug
intended to separate good from evil in a personality.
The book follows the investigations of a London lawyer, Gabriel Utterson, into the
strange relationship between his old friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll and his evil, immoral
doppelganger, Edward Hyde. Robert Louis Stevenson had been fascinated by the idea
of how to combine the coaction of good and evil into a story. Strange Case of Dr Jekyll
and Mr Hyde represents the inner conflict of humanity’s sense of good and evil. The
story examines the duality of human nature that good and evil exists in everyone. In
some schools of psychology, thoughts and desires pushed back into the unconscious
mind may motivate the behaviour of the conscious mind. Further to that, in the story, the
more Dr. Jekyll struggles to banish all evil to his unconscious mind in an attempt to be
good and pure, the more cruel and immoral his Mr. Hyde becomes.
There have been countless film, television, radio and stage adaptations based on
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde as well as many spoofs, such as ‘Dr. Pyckle and
Mr. Pryde’, a 1925 silent, black-and-white comedy film starring Stan Laurel, ‘Jekyll and
Heidi’, a book in the Goosebumps series, and ‘Mrs. Hyde’, a 2005 song by the Italian
band Belladonna. The story has also been the influence for The Hulk, the fictional comic
book, Two-Face, and the superhero genre for the story’s ties to a double life.
ABOUT THE Playwright
Source: http://lesliebricusse.com/bio/bio.php
Double Oscar and Grammy winner Leslie Bricusse is a writer-composer-lyricist who has contributed to many musical
films and plays during his career. He was born in London, and educated at University College School and Gonville
and Caius College, Cambridge. At Cambridge, he was President of the Footlights Revue Club and founded the
Musical Comedy Club. There, he co-authored, directed and performed in his first two musical shows, “OUT OF THE
BLUE” and “LADY AT THE WHEEL”, both of which made their way to London’s West End. He also found time in the
gaps to acquire a Master of Arts Degree.
The late, great Beatrice Lillie plucked him out of the Footlights Revue at the Phoenix
Theatre, and made him her leading man in “AN EVENING WITH BEATRICE LILLIE”
at the Globe Theatre, where he spent the first year of his professional life writing
another musical, “THE BOY ON THE CORNER", and the screenplay and score of his
first motion picture, “CHARLEY MOON”, which won him his
first Ivor Novello Award. That year he decided to drop the
possibilities of directing and performing, and concentrate his
career on becoming a full-time writer-composer-Iyricist.
His subsequent stage musicals include “STOP THE WORLD I WANT TO GET OFF"; “THE ROAR OF THE GREASEPAINT - THE SMELL OF THE
CROWD”; “PICKWICK”; “HARVEY”; “THE GOOD OLD BAD OLD DAYS”; “GOODBYE, MR.
CHIPS”; “HENRY'S WIVES"; “SCROOGE”; “SHERLOCK HOLMES”; “JEKYLL AND HYDE”;
“NOAH’S ARK”; “SAMMY”; “CYRANO DE BERGERAC”; “KENNEDY”; “VICTOR/VICTORIA”
and “IT’S A DOG’S LIFE!” He has written songs and/or screenplays for such films as
"DOCTOR DOLITTLE"; “SCROOGE”; "WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY"; “GOODBYE, MR.
CHIPS”; “SUPERMAN”; “VICTOR/VICTORIA”; “SANTA CLAUS - THE MOVIE"; “HOME ALONE I & II”; “HOOK”;
“TOM & JERRY — THE MOVIE”; “GOLDFINGER”; “YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE”; "THE LAST EMPEROR”; various
“PINK PANTHERS” and “THE GREAT MUSIC CHASE”.
Bricusse has written more than forty musical shows and films, and over the years has had the good fortune to enjoy
fruitful collaborations with a wonderful array of musical talents, includlng Anthony Newley, Henry Mancini, John
Williams, John Barry, Jerry Goldsmith, Jule Styne, Quincy Jones, Andre Previn, Frank Wildhorn and Peter Illyich
Tchaikovsky (whose “NUTCRACKERSUITE” he adapted into a song score).
Bricusse is one of very few people in the world of stage and screen musicals who contribute all three creative
elements — book, music and lyrics - to a show or film, a feat he has achieved some 25 times. He has also written
words and music (but not the book) or book and Iyrics (but not the music) to a further dozen projects in his various
collaborations.
His better-known songs include “WHAT KIND OF FOOL AM I?”‚ “ONCE IN A
LIFETIME", “GONNA BUILD A MOUNTAIN”, “WHO CAN I TURN TO?”‚ “THE JOKER”,
“YOU AND I", “FEELING GOOD", “MY OLD MAN’S A DUSTMAN”, “WHEN l LOOK IN
YOUR EYES”, “GOLDFINGER”, “CAN YOU READ MY MIND?" (The love theme from
Superman), “YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE”, "LE JAZZ HOT", “ON A WONDERFUL DAY
LIKE TODAY", “TWO FOR THE ROAD", “THE CANDY MAN", "THIS IS THE
MOMENT", "THANK YOU VERY MUCH", “CRAZY WORLD", “PURE IMAGINATION"
and “OOMPA-LOOMPA-DOOMPA-DEE-DOO".
He has been nominated for ten Oscars, nine Grammys and four Tonys, and has won
two Oscars, a Grammy and eight Ivor Novello Awards, the premiere British Music
Award. Hundreds of Bricusse’s songs have been recorded by major artists, including
Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Judy Garland, Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, Sammy
Davis, Jr. (who recorded 60 Bricusse songs), Tony Bennett, Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, Petula Clark, Julie Andrews,
Liza Minnelli, Andy Williams, Bobby Darin, Rex Harrison, Kate Smith, Elaine Paige, Anthony Newley, Michael
Feinstein, Bette Midler, The Moody Blues, Nancy Sinatra, Lena Horne, Sergio Mendes, Nina Simone, Dionne
Warwick‚ Robert Goulet, Matt Monro, Ray Charles, Ethel Merman, Placido Domingo, Jennifer Holliday, Danny Kaye,
George Burns, Robbie Williams, Mariah Carey, Linda Eder, Diana Krall, Maroon 5, Michael Buble’, The Black-Eyed
Peas, Muse, and Jennifer Hudson.
In 1989 he received the Kennedy Award for consistent excellence in British songwriting,
bestowed by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors, and was
inducted into the American Songwriters’ Hall of Fame - only the fourth Englishman to be
so honoured — after Noel Coward, John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
“JEKYLL & HYDE”, written with Frank Wildhorn, ran for four years at the Plymouth
Theatre in New York, and has had many international productions around the world, the
most recent in Japan, Brazil, Spain, Germany, South Korea and the
U. K.
The stage version of “VICTOR/VICTORIA”, written with Blake Edwards and Henry
Mancini, which successively starred Julie Andrews, Liza Minnelli and Raquel Welch at
the Marquis Theatre on Broadway, and has since been seen worldwide in many
international productions.
Bricusse’s stage musical version of Raold Dahl’s “WILLY WONKA” opened at the
Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts in Washington DC in November, 2004, after a
prestigious world premiere in the East Room of the White House attended by President
George W. and Laura Bush and an invited audience. The show has since enjoyed
thousands of productions across the United States.
Another Bricusse perennial, his musical version of “SCROOGE”, in which
Anthony Newley starred at the Dominion Theatre in London’s West End, is
also seen each year in many productions around the world. The title role
was played by Richard Chamberlain in the U. S., Keith Michellin Australia,
Ichimura in Tokyo, and currently stars Tommy Steele in his tenth season in
the role in the United Kingdom, including two at the London Palladium in
2005/6 and 2012/13. A new Japanese production opened in Tokyo in
2013/14.
For “DOCTOR DOLITTLE”, which played for four years in the U. K.‚ starring
Phillip Schofield and almost one hundred animatronic animals created by
Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, Bricusse served as librettist, composer, Iyricist and co-producer. A major U. S.
production followed in 2003, eventually starring Tommy Tune as Dolittle in 2006.
“CYRANO DE BERGERAC”, Bricusse’s second collaboration with Frank Wildhorn, opened triumphantly in Tokyo
2009, and again in 2012/13. Further productions are scheduled to open in London and South Korea in 2015.
“SAMMY”, Bricusse’s biographical musical about his friend Sammy Davis Junior, broke every box office record when
it opened at San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre in 2009, and is now preparing both a Broadway production and a major
motion picture.
“THE GREAT MUSIC CHASE”, Bricusse's “NUTCRACKER” collaboration with Tchaikovsky, with screenplay and
lyrics by Bricusse, is currently in productionas an animated motion picture in the U.S. and Canada.
Current projects include “PURE IMAGINATION”. Bricusse’s songbook show containing 60 songs from 60 years of
stage & screen songwriting, as well as the most ambitious project of his career, now completed, a Iyrical adaptation
of the instrumental works of George Gershwin (“RHAPSODY IN BLUE", “AN AMERICAN IN PARIS”, “CUBAN
OVERTURE” and “CONCERTO IN F") entitled “A FEW WORDS WITH GEORGE". Bricusse plans to combine a world
premiere concert in London with an all-star recording of the work.
About the Composer:
Source: http://www.frankwildhorn.com/Biography.php
Multi-Grammy and Tony Award nominated composer/producer Frank Wildhorn's
works span the worlds of popular, theatrical, and classical music.
In 1999, Wildhorn became the first American composer in 22 years to have three
shows running simultaneously on Broadway: Jekyll & Hyde (written with Leslie
Bricusse), which received four Tony nominations; The Scarlet Pimpernel (written
with Nan Knighton), which received three Tony nominations; and The Civil
War (written with Jack Murphy and Gregory Boyd), which received two Tony
nominations.
He
also
wrote
additional
songs
for
Broadway's Victor/Victoria (written with Leslie Bricusse) and was represented on
Broadway by Dracula: The Musical (written with Don Black and Christopher
Hampton) and Wonderland (written with Jack Murphy and Gregory Boyd). Wildhorn
was also a producer and co-creator for Harlem Song, the first open-ended
theatrical run at the famed Apollo Theater in New York City.
Jekyll & Hyde holds the distinction of being the first new American musical to have
two internationally released concept recordings of the score: Highlights From Jekyll & Hyde and Jekyll & Hyde: The
Complete Work. Songs from the show such as " Someone Like You," " A New Life" and " This Is the Moment" have
been performed worldwide and have been featured at the Olympics, the Super Bowl, the World Series, the World Cup
international soccer championships, Miss America Pageants, the 1996 Democratic National Convention and the
inauguration of President Clinton (sung by Jennifer Holliday). The Broadway cast recording was released in July of
1997 and received a Grammy nomination that year. The Broadway production of Jekyll & Hyde is the longest running
show in the history of the Plymouth Theater. The show has seen three major tours and over 500 regional productions
in the United States and Canada. More than 100 international productions also have been seen in such countries as
Germany, Austria, Spain, Hungary, Japan, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, the United Kingdon, Japan,
and Australia. There have been 32 international recordings of Jekyll & Hyde in 28 different languages. A new recording
entitled Jekyll & Hyde: Resurrection was released in 2006 on the GlobalVision Records label.
The Scarlet Pimpernel played at both the Minskoff Theatre and the Neil Simon Theatre on Broadway. The show has
been seen on two tours of the United States and Canada, and in such countries as Finland, Mexico, the United
Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Malta. The show's score yielded
a Top 40 Adult Contemporary hit with the song " You Are My Home," a duet recorded by Peabo Bryson and Linda
Eder. The Broadway cast recording was released in February of 1998, and a new album entitled The Scarlet
Pimpernel: Encore! was released in November 1999. A German-language recording was released in 2003. The Scarlet
Pimpernel also has the distinction of winning Best Musical in Japan in 2007, performed by the famed Takarazuka
Revue.
Wildhorn has produced two star-studded concept albums of The Civil War: The Nashville Sessionsand The Complete
Work (a two-disc album). These feature such artists as Hootie & The Blowfish, Blues Traveler, Trisha Yearwood, Travis
Tritt, Dr. John, and Patti LaBelle, among others. The show had its world premiere in 1998 at the Alley Theatre in
Houston, TX, and played its pre-Broadway engagement at the Shubert Theatre in New Have, CT. Following its
Broadway production in 1999, the show was seen on a two-year national tour that featured John Schneider, Larry
Gatlin and BeBe Winans. Under the title For the Glory, the show had a run at the newly restored Majestic Theatre in
Gettysburg, PA in 2006. In 2008, The Civil War was performed at the National Theatre in Washington DC for President
George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush, and featured a star-studded cast that included Trisha Yearwood, Clay
Aiken, BeBe Winans, Larry Gaitlin, Hal Holbrook, Avery Brooks, Dr. Maya Angelou, and an ensemble of Broadway’s
best.
International projects include: Carmen (written with Jack Murphy and Norman Allen) in
Prague, Czech Republic in 2008 (cast recording on EMI Czech Republic); The Count of
Monte Cristo (written with Jack Murphy) in St. Gallen, Switzerland in 2009 (cast recording
on MWB/HitSquad) and Seoul, South Korea in 2010 (cast recording from EMK Musical
Company);Never Say Goodbye (written with Shuichiro Koike), performed by Takarazuka
Revue in Takarazuka and Tokyo, Japan in 2006 (Wildhorn was the first non-Japanese artist to be commissioned to
write an original musical for the company), the success of which resulted in their follow up with The Scarlet
Pimpernel in 2010 (cast recordings for both productions from Takarazuka Revue Co.); Rudolf: The Last Kiss (written
with Jack Murphy and Nan Knighton) in Budapest, Hungary in 2006, Tokyo, Japan in 2008, and Vienna, Austria in
2009 (cast recording on MWB/HitSquad); Cyrano de Bergerac (written with Leslie Bricusse) in Tokyo, Japan in
2009; Dracula in St. Gallen, Switzerland in 2005 and Graz, Austria in 2007 (cast recording on
MWB/HitSquad); Mitsuko (written with Jack Murphy and Shuichiro Koike) as a musical concert in Vienna in 2005, and
performed in a combined concert with Frank Wildhorn & Friends in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan in 2011; Tears of
Heaven (written with Robin Lerner and Phoebe Hwang) opens in Seoul, South Korea in 2011 and has yielded a concept
recording in English; Jekyll & Hyde everywhere!
U.S. projects include: Bonnie & Clyde (written with Don Black and Ivan Menchell) played at the La Jolla Playhouse in
La Jolla, CA in November 2009, had a second production at the Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, FL in November
2010, and opens on Broadway in Fall 2011; Zelda (written with Jack Murphy), based on the lives of F. Scott and Zelda
Fitzgerald, had its world premiere at the Lenape Regional Performing Arts Center in Marlton, NJ in 2005; Camille
Claudel(written with Nan Knighton) played at Goodspeed Opera's Norma Terris Theatre in 2003 and yielded the song
" Gold," heard at the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Upcoming projects include: Havana, Casanova, Excalibur, Mata Hari, Ali, and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
In 1998, Wildhorn wrote all original music and served as music director for the Goodwill Games in New York City. In
2005, Wildhorn was commissioned by NYC & Co. (New York City's tourism board) to write a new theme song for the
city, "New York: The Time of Your Life”.
He has written original material for Linda Eder's concerts at the Gershwin Theatre on Broadway, her two Carnegie
Hall solo concerts and her recent holiday concert at the Palace Theatre on Broadway. He also co-produced and wrote
original material for Eder's albums: Linda Eder, And So Much More, It's Time, It's No Secret Anymore, Christmas Stays
the Same, Gold, Broadway My Way and Storybook. He has also produced Eder's Christmas concert special for the
Bravo television network, as well as Broadway's Best on Bravo, for which he also served as creative director.
Artists who have recorded and performed his music include Whitney Houston (with the international number one hit
" Where Do Broken Hearts Go?" ), Natalie Cole, Kenny Rogers, Sammy Davis Jr., Liza Minnelli, Julie Andrews, Freddie
Jackson, Deana Carter, Tracy Lawrence, John Berry, Trisha Yearwood, Trace Adkins, Patti LaBelle, Bryan White, Amy
Grant, Ben Vereen, Regina Belle, The Moody Blues, Jeffrey Osborne, Stacy Lattisaw, Dennis DeYoung, Molly Hatchet,
Brenda Russell, John Raitt, Anthony Warlow, Stanley Turrentine, Johnny Mathis, and Colm Wilkinson, to name a few.
Wildhorn is an associate artist in musical theatre with an endowed chair at the Alley Theatre in Houston, TX, where
he launched Jekyll & Hyde (1990), Svengali (1991), and The Civil War (1998). He also wrote music for Arthur Kopit's
play The Road to Nirvana and scored the play Cyrano de Bergerac.
Wildhorn is the recipient of the Charles Dickens Award from USC, where there is also a
scholarship under his name. He was honored by USC in 2010 with the prestigious Tommy
Award.
As a record executive, Wildhorn created and ran Atlantic Theatre, a division of Atlantic
Records/Time Warner Music from 1994 to 2004. He currently has his own label deal (Soul
Bear Records) with Sony Masterworks (a division of Sony Music). The first release of this
new venture was the concept recording of the Broadway musical Wonderland. He also has
an international recording partnership, MWB (Music Without Borders), with his partner
Martin Bohm's company MG-Sound/HitSquad Records in Vienna. Recent releases from that
partnership include The Count of Monte Cristo (the first concept recording in English of a
German production and a cast recording in German), Dracula (cast recording), Rudolf(cast
recording, DVD, and double-CD live recording), and Wonderland (concept recording).
Father to Justin Samuel and Jake Ryan.
Elements of Gothic Literature:
(Source: http://www.virtualsalt.com/gothic.htm)
Gothic elements include the following:
1. Setting in a castle. The action takes place in and around an old castle, sometimes
seemingly abandoned, sometimes occupied. The castle often contains secret passages,
trap doors, secret rooms,trick panels with hidden levers, dark or hidden staircases, and
possibly ruined sections.
The castle may be near or connected to caves, which lend their own haunting flavor
with their darkness, uneven floors, branchings, claustrophobia, and mystery. And in
horror-gothic, caves are often seem home to terrifying creatures such as monsters, or
deviant forms of humans: vampires, zombies, wolfmen.
Translated into modern filmmaking, the setting might be in an old house or mansion-or even a new house--where unusual camera angles, sustained close ups during
movement, and darkness or shadows create the same sense of claustrophobia and
entrapment. The house might be already dark, perhaps because it was abandoned, or it
might begin light and airy, but either night comes and people turn off the lights to go
to bed, or at some dramatic point the lights will fail (often because of a raging storm).
The goal of the dark and mysterious setting is to create a sense of unease and
foreboding, contributing toward the atmosphere element.
2. An atmosphere of mystery and suspense. The work is pervaded by a threatening
feeling, a fear enhanced by the unknown. This atmosphere is sometimes advanced
when characters see only a glimpse of something--was that a person rushing out the
window or only the wind blowing a curtain? Is that creaking sound coming from
someone's step on the squeaky floor, or only the normal sounds of the night? Often
the plot itself is built around a mystery, such as unknown parentage, a disappearance,
or some other inexplicable event. People disappear or show up dead inexplicably.
Elements 3, 4, and 5 below contribute to this atmosphere.
In modern novels and filmmaking, the inexplicable events are often murders. The
bodies are sometimes mutilated in ways that defy explanation--"What kind of monster
could do this?" or "Here's the body, but there's no blood." When the corpses start to
mount, suspense is raised as to who will get killed next. (In filmmaking, the
atmosphere can be created largely by the music. Anyone who has watched a horror
movie with the sound off or very low knows this.)
3. An ancient prophecy is connected with the castle or its inhabitants (either former
or present). The prophecy is usually obscure, partial, or confusing. "What could it
mean?" In more watered down modern examples, this may amount to merely a
legend: "It's said that the ghost of old man Krebs still wanders these halls."
4. Omens, portents, visions. A character may have a disturbing dream vision, or
some phenomenon may be seen as a portent of coming events. For example, if the
statue of the lord of the manor falls over, it may portend his death. In modern fiction,
a character might see something (a shadowy figure stabbing another shadowy figure)
and think that it was a dream. This might be thought of as an "imitation vision."
Sometimes an omen will be used for foreshadowing, while other writers will tweak
the reader by denying expectation--what we thought was foreshadowing wasn't.
5. Supernatural or otherwise inexplicable events. Dramatic, amazing events occur,
such as ghosts or giants walking, or inanimate objects (such as a suit of armor or
painting) coming to life. In some works, the events are ultimately given a natural
explanation, while in others the events are truly supernatural.
6. High, even overwrought emotion. The narration may be highly sentimental, and
the characters are often overcome by anger, sorrow, surprise, and especially, terror.
Characters suffer from raw nerves and a feeling of impending doom. Crying and
emotional speeches are frequent. Breathlessness and panic are common. In the filmed
gothic, screaming is common.
7. Women in distress. As an appeal to the pathos and sympathy of the reader, the
female characters often face events that leave them fainting, terrified, screaming,
and/or sobbing. A lonely, pensive, and oppressed heroine is often the central figure of
the novel, so her sufferings are even more pronounced and the focus of attention. The
women suffer all the more because they are often abandoned, left alone (either on
purpose or by accident), and have no protector at times. (In budget horror-gothic,
when the guy tells the girl, "Stay here; I'll be right back," you pretty much know that
one of them will soon be dead.)
8. Women threatened by a powerful, impulsive, tyrannical male. One or more
male characters has the power, as king, lord of the manor, father, or guardian, to
demand that one or more of the female characters do something intolerable. The
woman may be commanded to marry someone she does not love (it may even be the
powerful male himself), or commit a crime.
9. The metonymy of gloom and horror. Metonymy is a subtype of metaphor, in
which something (like rain) is used to stand for something else (like sorrow). For
example, the film industry likes to use metonymy as a quick shorthand, so we often
notice that it is raining in funeral scenes. Note that the following metonymies for
"doom and gloom" all suggest some element of mystery, danger, or the supernatural.
Elements of Romance
In addition to the standard gothic machinery above, many gothic novels contain
elements of romance as well. Elements of romance include these:
1. Powerful love. Heart stirring, often sudden, emotions create a life or death
commitment. Many times this love is the first the character has felt with this
overwhelming power.
2. Uncertainty of reciprocation. What is the beloved thinking? Is the lover's love
returned or not?
3. Unreturned love. Someone loves in vain (at least temporarily). Later, the love may
be returned.
4. Tension between true love and father's control, disapproval, or choice. Most
often, the father of the woman disapproves of the man she loves.
5. Lovers parted. Some obstacle arises and separates the lovers, geographically or in
some other way. One of the lovers is banished, arrested, forced to flee, locked in a
dungeon, or sometimes, disappears without explanation. Or, an explanation may be
given (by the person opposing the lovers' being together) that later turns out to be
false.
6. Illicit love or lust threatens the virtuous one. The young woman becomes a target
of some evil man's desires and schemes.
7. Rival lovers or multiple suitors. One of the lovers (or even both) can have more
than one person vying for affection.
Post Viewing Assignment
Using the elements of Gothic Literature listed above answer the following questions.
How well did this adaptation use its technical (Lights, sets, sound) elements to give a Victorian
gothic feeling throughout the show?
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How well did the music contribute to overall tone of the play?
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It is frequently said that it is hard to depict horror, or suspense in a musical. Based on this
depiction of the classic horror novella, what is your position? Explain your answer.
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