Jekyll and Hyde represent two of the most often referred to characters in literary history.

But did you know there was a musical about them?

The Farmville Community Arts Council will present the musical version of "Jekyll & Hyde" at 8 p.m. Thursday with shows through April 1.

Mary Morrison Dixon is the musical director and Jordan Barwick, who is performing the starring role, also is directing.

Both are long-standing contributors to the Farmville Arts Council, which was founded in 1977. Each year, the council stages two musicals, as well as dinner and dessert theater performances.

Set in 1800s London, "Jekyll & Hyde" is based on the novel "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson, which was first published in 1886. Stevenson also wrote the classic "Treasure Island."

As in Stevenson's novel, the musical deals with the duality of good and evil within one man.

"Jekyll & Hyde" was hatched in 1980 by musical writing team Steve Cuden and Frank Wildhorn. In the late 1980s, Leslie Bricusse wrote the lyrics to the songs that Wildhorn created to accompany the story.

Prior to appearing on Broadway in 1996, the show was staged in 1990 at the Alley Theatre in Houston.

Chuck Wagner played the Jekyll/Hyde role and Linda Eder portrayed Lucy.

In early 1995, the show was revised and restaged, playing again in Houston and in Seattle. Following that run, "Jekyll & Hyde" toured throughout the United States, making stops in 28 cities and undergoing further changes.

Following the tour, the show made preparations to open before Broadway audiences. Prior to its official opening at the Plymouth Theatre in New York, "Jekyll & Hyde" and undergone 17 years of development.

The Broadway production ran for 1,543 performances, which is the longest-running show in the history of the Plymouth Theatre.

If you Go!

What: Jekyll & Hyde

When: 8 p.m. Thursday through March 31 and 3 p.m. April 1

Where: Paramount Theatre, 3723 N. Main St., Farmville

Cost: $12 for members and $16 others

Call: 753-3832