Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1888 play)

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a four-act play written by John McKinney in collaboration with the actor Daniel E. Bandmann.

It is an adaptation of Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, an 1886 novella written by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson.

The story focuses on Henry Jekyll, a respected London doctor, and his involvement with Edward Hyde, a loathsome criminal.

In August, Bandmann took the play to London, where it was in direct competition with an authorized adaptation, also using the title Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, written by Thomas Russell Sullivan and starring Richard Mansfield.

Both plays opened in London in August 1888, but Bandmann's production was quickly closed due to legal action by Stevenson's publisher.

In the second act, Inspector Newcomen shows Utterson part of the walking stick that Hyde used to club Howell.

In return for money, Viley tells them that she has never met Jekyll, but has heard Hyde threaten repeatedly to kill him.

In the study, Jekyll gives a monologue explaining that he can no longer find the ingredients for his potion, and therefore will soon revert to Hyde without the ability to transform back.

The Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson wrote Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in 1885.

[4] Despite the opportunity to adapt without authorization, the actor Richard Mansfield secured permission for both the American and British stage rights in early 1887.

[5][6] While the Mansfield production was touring the US, the German-American actor Daniel E. Bandmann developed an unauthorized adaptation, working with writer John McKinney.

However, Bandmann's adaptation included more women characters and gave them a larger role in the story, and also added scenes of comic relief.

[11] Bandmann's production motivated a letter from Stevenson to the New York Sun, stating that only the Mansfield version was authorized and paying him royalties.

Bandmann tried to get his own production to London ahead of Mansfield and reserved the Opera Comique theater starting on August 6.

Bandmann's production opened as scheduled on August 6, but after just two performances it was closed due to legal action by Longmans.