A Sneak Peek: on stage at rehersals for Jekyll & Hyde

Rose Center Theater's production of Jekyll & Hyde runs June 12–28, 2026 in Westminster, CA

Opening night is Friday, the lights are being programmed, the costumes are being pressed, and somewhere in the middle of a Saturday rehearsal at the Rose Center Theater, Matthew Bartosch walked to center stage under work lights, sang, and reminded everyone in the room exactly what kind of show this is going to be.

We caught 30 seconds of it on camera. We think you should see it.

No costumes, no theatrical lighting. Just Matt, a set in progress, and a backing orchestral track that fills the room the way this score was always meant to. "No One Must Ever Know / The Way Back" is one of the more internal moments in Jekyll & Hyde. It arrives at a point in the story where Dr. Jekyll is no longer able to pretend that what he has unleashed can be contained. The experiment he believed he could control has taken on a life of its own, and the man who prided himself on his intellect, his discipline, his moral certainty, now faces the full weight of what he has done.

This will be Matt's first time back on stage in a musical in over a decade. He trained here, at the Rose Center Theater, under director Tim Nelson, the same director leading this production. He has spent years building a life outside of performing, and he chose to return to it by taking on one of the most demanding roles in musical theater. The dual portrayal of Jekyll and Hyde requires an actor to inhabit two completely opposite human beings, often within the same scene, and to make both feel fully real. Thirty seconds under work lights on a Saturday afternoon, and you already understand why the buzz around this show is building.

Jekyll & Hyde opens Friday, June 12, at 7:30 PM at the Rose Center Theater, 14140 All American Way, Westminster, CA. Performances run through Sunday, June 28. Evening performances Friday and Saturday at 7:30 PM, matinees Sunday at 2:00 PM. Tickets from $20–$28, recommended for ages 15 and up.

If this 30-second clip does what we think it will, you'll want a seat before they're gone.

Tickets are available now at rosecentertheater.com/jekyll-and-hyde.