'Jekyll and Hyde' Opens Friday

The production of the season, Jekyll and Hyde, opens tonight with a champagne gala following the show.

The musical, based on The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, tells the story story about a brilliant doctor whose experiments with human personality create a murderous counterpart.

Directed by Dean and Jolyn Johnson and produced by the center’s general manager, Ken Razor, this production welcomes back to the High Street stage Phil Wieck, as Jekyll/Hyde, Sarah Bulger, as Emma Carew and Shelden Sherman, as Lord Savage—all of whom had major roles in the theater’s season opener, Evita—and John Tedrick, as Simon Stride, who played attorney Fred Gailey in Miracle on 34th Street. The cast is rounded out by Larry Craig, as John Utterson, and Ken Johnson, as Sir Danvers Carew.

Friday’s opening show begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are $5 more than the rest of the play’s run and cost $23 for adults, $19 for seniors, students and military members and $15 for children. The champagne gala, which will take place at The Secret Garden, is included in the price of the ticket.

Regular performances continue at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through June 26. The theater is located at 45 E. High St. Call

Remaining shows at the theater for this season are as follow: Improv-A-Sutra on June 12; High Street Broadcast on May 29; and High School Musical, Jr., July 29-31.

Also, the 2011-2012 season schedule has been announced as follows: A Few Good Men runs Aug. 19-Sept. 18; Little Shop of Horrors runs Oct. 7-Nov. 13; A Christmas Story runs Dec. 2-18; Harvey runs April 6-May 6 and The Music Man runs May 25-June 1. An additional musical, which the Center is not able to advertise yet, will run Feb. 3-March 11. Rumor has it, it will be a hair-larious comedy.

Membership to the Moorpark Foundation for the Arts, which supports the theater and other arts in the city, is available. Check out the foundation’s website for more information.