Spring Break
Theater Review: Pride and Prejudice excels in URI run
Justin Pacheco
Issue date: 4/24/07 Section: Entertainment
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04/24/07 - Pride and Prejudice is a classic Jane Austen novel, and it is considered to be one of the first romantic comedies.
"Romantic comedy" is one phrase I've come to loathe.
The phrase conjures up images of Hugh Grant accidentally meeting a beautiful woman, falling in love, losing the girl and gaining her back in a cliché-filled 90 minutes.
However, after my first reading of the book last semester and this performance, I may have to hold back on my dismissal of romantic comedies. Pride and Prejudice is the story of the Bennet family and the search of the daughters for husbands.
Having five daughters and no sons means that there is no one to inherit Mr. Bennet's estate, since women can not collect inheritances in the 1800s. This causes Mrs. Bennet to aggressively seek out men for her daughters to marry.
When Mr. Bingley and his friend, Mr. Darcy, arrive in the neighborhood, Mrs. Bennet sees an opportunity to get her daughters to marry wealthy men. The plot revolves around the interactions of the elder Bennet daughters, Jane and Elizabeth, and Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy.
There are also two other men who attract the daughters' attentions: Mr. Collins and Mr. Wickham.
Collins is the closest male relative to the Bennets and would inherit the estate if the girls are not married before Mr. Bennet's death. Wickham is a charming young soldier who was very close to Mr. Darcy's late father, but is now an enemy of Darcy.
In fact, I may have enjoyed the play more than the book. This interpretation of Pride and Prejudice is faster-paced and just as funny. There were very few times that the performance seemed to drag, yet nothing seemed to be let out from the novel.
The cast filled the roles of each character very capably. As the most important character to the plot, it would be essential to get Elizabeth right.
Thankfully, Kristen Casey's performance was spot on. Elizabeth was here as she should be: witty, sarcastic and headstrong, but always endearing.
All the other characters were portrayed just as accurately, but I feel the performance of Ahmed Bharoocha as Mr. Collins deserves special praise. I considered Mr. Collins one of the more minor characters in Pride and Prejudice, but Bharocha made the most of his character.
He routinely stole scenes with his hilarious portrayal. I do not remember Collins being such comic relief in the novel, but in this performance he induced laughs from the entire audience nearly every appearance.
The snappy dialogue and interesting characters are what make Pride and Prejudice a classic story. The wonderful performances here ensure that those features remain intact, making for an enjoyable show.
"Romantic comedy" is one phrase I've come to loathe.
The phrase conjures up images of Hugh Grant accidentally meeting a beautiful woman, falling in love, losing the girl and gaining her back in a cliché-filled 90 minutes.
However, after my first reading of the book last semester and this performance, I may have to hold back on my dismissal of romantic comedies. Pride and Prejudice is the story of the Bennet family and the search of the daughters for husbands.
Having five daughters and no sons means that there is no one to inherit Mr. Bennet's estate, since women can not collect inheritances in the 1800s. This causes Mrs. Bennet to aggressively seek out men for her daughters to marry.
When Mr. Bingley and his friend, Mr. Darcy, arrive in the neighborhood, Mrs. Bennet sees an opportunity to get her daughters to marry wealthy men. The plot revolves around the interactions of the elder Bennet daughters, Jane and Elizabeth, and Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy.
There are also two other men who attract the daughters' attentions: Mr. Collins and Mr. Wickham.
Collins is the closest male relative to the Bennets and would inherit the estate if the girls are not married before Mr. Bennet's death. Wickham is a charming young soldier who was very close to Mr. Darcy's late father, but is now an enemy of Darcy.
In fact, I may have enjoyed the play more than the book. This interpretation of Pride and Prejudice is faster-paced and just as funny. There were very few times that the performance seemed to drag, yet nothing seemed to be let out from the novel.
The cast filled the roles of each character very capably. As the most important character to the plot, it would be essential to get Elizabeth right.
Thankfully, Kristen Casey's performance was spot on. Elizabeth was here as she should be: witty, sarcastic and headstrong, but always endearing.
All the other characters were portrayed just as accurately, but I feel the performance of Ahmed Bharoocha as Mr. Collins deserves special praise. I considered Mr. Collins one of the more minor characters in Pride and Prejudice, but Bharocha made the most of his character.
He routinely stole scenes with his hilarious portrayal. I do not remember Collins being such comic relief in the novel, but in this performance he induced laughs from the entire audience nearly every appearance.
The snappy dialogue and interesting characters are what make Pride and Prejudice a classic story. The wonderful performances here ensure that those features remain intact, making for an enjoyable show.
