A Very Clever Ride with Jekyll and Hyde, but only * *

It's very funny and it's got fake blood and two old English ladies in drag. What's not to like? Very little, actually. Lauren Wilson's 'Chemical Imbalance,' at the Exit Theatre Mainstage, is a retelling of Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,' but this one is for the funnybone. In fact, the silly slapstick shenanigans seem even funnier because there are nine actors occupying a very small stage, all of whom manage to appear oblivious to the chaos occuring all around them.

Doctor Henry Jekyll has apparently discovered the exact chemical combination that can create perfect evil, and, as a Victorian scientist, feels obliged to try it out on himself. He's still got a bit of work to do on the antidote, however, and that's where the hysterical twins Calliope and Penelope, one a good little girl and the other a perfect little monster, come in.

The acting is great, the story is great, the production is great. Note to Exit Theater Publicity Department: You Might Want to Stop Reading Here. This is a blog, not a review. My official review will include none of the following.

We've got to talk about the neighborhood.

Christ! Wasn't Care Not Cash supposed to do something about this mess? The neighborhood surrounding Eddy and Mason Streets looks as grim as Dickensian London. Walking along Ellis St. to get to the theater, Plot and Duck saw junkies shooting up on the street and bodies littering the sidewalks. Trying Eddy St. to get back to the car after the show, the scenery included a small homeless camp where two really miserable old men held out filthy cooking pots, a wall of twenty or thirty men and women laughing, staggering and vomiting, and, in every breath, that unmistakable aroma of fresh urine.

What the hell? Two blocks from the main theater district of Union Square? What is going on here? Somebody tell Plotnik what the HELL is going on here?

It's too bad. 'Chemical Imbalance' is terrific. But the chemical imbalance outside the theater is beyond horrid. It is 100% unacceptable.

Oh, yeah, ratings. The Great Plotnik Theater Awards Division gives 'Chemical Imbalance' Three and a Half Stars, because it's that good, but has to subtract a minimum of one and a half for the misery surrounding the theater. No, it's not fair.

But think about it. Plottie is no prude. He is no stranger to hideous urban conditions in cities around the world, where national wealth is a fraction of our own. But, friends, this is his city. He takes umbrage when an old man with no teeth pisses on the side of his car. These conditions continue, unabated, every year, every election cycle, failed promise after failed promise. It's time we wake up.

The theater should not be penalized. Tough. Two Stars. --Doug Konecky