NJ Latina Jessica Steele to Perform in Production of Jekyll & Hyde at Mercer County’s Kelsey Theatre

Kelsey Theatre will kick off the Halloween season with a production of Jeykyll & Hyde: The Musical October 18-27 on the West Windsor Campus of Mercer County Community College (MCCC).

Jessica Steele, a Latina from NJ, who studies at Juilliard, is playing Lady Savage & Poole, according to the theatre, whose home is at the main campus of Mercer County Community College. 

The musical is based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s Victorian-era novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, one of the most famous pieces of English literature. It is being produced and put on by local theatre company, Off-Centre Stages. 

The musical follows the story of Dr. Henry Jekyll, a devoted man of science driven to find a chemical breakthrough that can solve some of mankind’s most challenging medical dilemmas. Rebuffed by the powers that be, he decides to make himself the subject of his own experimental treatments, accidentally unleashing his inner demons along with the man that the world would come to know as Mr. Hyde.

With a stunning score of pop-rock hits crafted by Frank Wildhorn and Leslie Bricusse, the Broadway production of Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical premiered in 1997 and ran for nearly four years. With 1,543 performances, it became the longest running show in the history of Plymouth Theatre.

The cast features William Kamps of Burlington, N.J., as Henry Jekyll/Edward Hyde and Karaline Rosen of Robbinsville, N.J., as Lucy Harris. Other cast members include Angel Harrison Aucker of Bristol, Pa.; J. Ryan Harmer, Gabriel John Utterson; Edward Forsthoffer, Matt Keelan, Belle Salvatore and Joseph Schachter, all of Hamilton, N.J.; John Dwyer of New Hope, Pa.; T.J. Walton of Doylestown, Pa.; Leah Panuccio of Princeton, N.J.; Jessica Steele of Florence, N.J.; Mary Sudol of Rockaway, N.J.; and Allana Harrell of Hamilton. Members of the ensemble include Sean Gavin of Allentown, N.J.; Travis Weaver of Hamilton; Megan Moyers of Stratford, N.J.; Julia Beckmann of Amityville, N.Y.; Micah “Rocky” Addison of Burlington Township, N.J.; and Kit Weeden of Cookstown, N.J.

Performances take place Friday, October 18 and October 25, and Saturday, October 19 and October 26 at 8:00pm; Saturday, October 26 at 2:00pm; and Sunday, October 20 and October 27 at 2:00pm at the Kelsey Theatre on MCCC’s West Windsor Campus, 1200 Old Trenton Road. Tickets are $26 for adults and $24 for children and students. Tickets are available for purchase online or by calling the Kelsey Box Office Monday through Thursday, 9:00am – noon at (609) 570-3333.

A child actor, Steele began her career as an actress under the tutelage of esteemed director & playwright/teacher Robert Pridham (founder, StageWorks NJ) while attending Kent Place School and proceeded to performing professionally at 15. She studied voice with the late Phil Campanella (musical director, Roundabout Theater Co. NYC) and later at Juilliard. Previous roles include: Magenta (The Rocky Horror Picture Show), Penelope Pennywise (UrineTown), Nellie (Jekyll & Hyde), Dionne (HAIR), Meg (Little Women), Mary Warren (The Crucible), The Angel (Angels in America), Rona Peretti (25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), in addition to The Vagina Monologues, Spring Awakening and many others. Most recently, she appeared as Marilyn in the Somerset Valley Player’s production of Ripcord.