This week's stage offerings in Seattle: the monsters inside our soul and a bunny

April 6, 10:38 PMSeattle Theater ExaminerRosemary Jones

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Three new shows open this week on Seattle’s biggest stages.  Two deal with the monsters within and the third revisits a beloved bedtime classic.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
ACT, 700 Union Street
April 9 through May 10
Jeffrey Hatcher’s 2008 retelling of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was recently nominated for an Edgar, the Mystery Writers of America’s equivalent of an Oscar.  ACT opens their 45th season with Victorian gaslight thriller of a man seeking to remove the monster within through a special chemical cocktail.  The experiment goes awry (as these things so often do!) and murder, mayhem, and lots of fog result.  The fantastically talented R. Hamilton Wright manipulates the drama behind the scenes, for once taking the director’s chair instead of being the leading man.  Pictured right:  Sylvie Davidson as Miss Elizabeth Jelkes and David Anthony Lewis as Mr. Edward Hyde in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher from the novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. Photo by Chris Bennion.

Wishful Drinking
Seattle Repertory Theatre, 155 Mercer Street
Now through May 3
Originally famous for an outrageously bad hairdo and a brass bikini, Carrie Fisher turned her acid wit into an asset when dealing with both the pressures of being a former Princess and the daughter of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher.  From addictions to electroshock therapy for depression, Fisher performs a bawdy and for-adults-only one woman show about the perils of being Carrie Fisher and depending way too much on certain chemicals to ease the pain. Numerous articles around town have highlighted the Seattle media's excitement with having Ms. Fisher on stage here and means ticket availability should be checked early. Don't wait until the end of the run to buy your seat.

Goodnight Moon
Seattle Children’s Theatre, 201 Thomas Street
Now through June 7
Little Bunny knows that he doesn’t need anything to fall asleep except a little imagination. This sweetly innocent show makes its second appearance at SCT to sooth the savage toddler within us all.  All the members of the 2007 production were able to find their way back to Bunny’s bedroom.  “The joy of everything on the pages of this beloved book stepping out onto the stage and playing with us is something the kid in all of us should get to experience,” says director Linda Hartzell.  Script, songs, and lyrics are by Seattle’s answer to Irving Berlin, the multifaceted Chad Henry. Shown here:  Jayne Muirhead, Matt Wolfe, Auston James and Sharva Maynard in the  2007 world premiere of Goodnight Moon. Photo: Chris Bennion.