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Theater Review: Pride and Prejudice rises above source material with good performances
Stephen Greenwell
Issue date: 4/24/07 Section: Entertainment
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04/24/07 - Strong performances by Kristen Casey, Joseph Kidawski, Leah Kolb and Nick Foehr brighten an otherwise wordy adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice Saturday night at Will Theatre.
The problem when evaluating Pride and Prejudice is its 19th century setting and lack of action. As a conventional and somewhat stereotypical college student, I am used to fast-paced television shows and flashy, exploding things in movies.
Unfortunately for me, Pride and Prejudice is dominated by speaking parts. Portions of these parts are interesting, even to my TV-riddled mind, but they are equally tedious. In a two and a half hour play, it is impossible to keep the entire thing interesting when it is all speaking parts.
I blame Austen. Yes, she might have been a classic author, and I'm just some lowly reviewer at a campus newspaper, but my journalistic mind screams that a good portion of the novel could have been condensed for the play. A modernization (i.e. what Ten Things I Hate About You was to Taming of the Shrew) or spoof would have also been more compelling for a college-aged audience than a traditional adaptation.
But I'm going to be the bigger person right now and put these unpleasantries behind me. If you're unfamiliar with the basics of the play going in, as I was, Pride and Prejudice is a romantic comedy (more emphasis on the romance) about the courtship of Elizabeth Bennet (Casey).
Elizabeth is an attractive, intelligent young woman who must deal with the various suitors after her. They range from the incorrigible Mr. Darcy (Patrick Cullen) to the sleazy preacher and cousin Mr. Collins (Ahmed Bharoocha) to a noble military man, Mr. Wickham (Kyle Blanchette). During the play, Elizabeth must learn the true intentions of each man.
The other theme of the play deals with the effect of gossip in Victorian times. While this seems a boring topic, the supporting cast keeps these scenes appropriately light or serious. There is also a side story about the courtship between Elizabeth's sister Jane (Elyssa Baldassarri) and the rich Mr. Bingley (Kidawski).
The problem when evaluating Pride and Prejudice is its 19th century setting and lack of action. As a conventional and somewhat stereotypical college student, I am used to fast-paced television shows and flashy, exploding things in movies.
Unfortunately for me, Pride and Prejudice is dominated by speaking parts. Portions of these parts are interesting, even to my TV-riddled mind, but they are equally tedious. In a two and a half hour play, it is impossible to keep the entire thing interesting when it is all speaking parts.
I blame Austen. Yes, she might have been a classic author, and I'm just some lowly reviewer at a campus newspaper, but my journalistic mind screams that a good portion of the novel could have been condensed for the play. A modernization (i.e. what Ten Things I Hate About You was to Taming of the Shrew) or spoof would have also been more compelling for a college-aged audience than a traditional adaptation.
But I'm going to be the bigger person right now and put these unpleasantries behind me. If you're unfamiliar with the basics of the play going in, as I was, Pride and Prejudice is a romantic comedy (more emphasis on the romance) about the courtship of Elizabeth Bennet (Casey).
Elizabeth is an attractive, intelligent young woman who must deal with the various suitors after her. They range from the incorrigible Mr. Darcy (Patrick Cullen) to the sleazy preacher and cousin Mr. Collins (Ahmed Bharoocha) to a noble military man, Mr. Wickham (Kyle Blanchette). During the play, Elizabeth must learn the true intentions of each man.
The other theme of the play deals with the effect of gossip in Victorian times. While this seems a boring topic, the supporting cast keeps these scenes appropriately light or serious. There is also a side story about the courtship between Elizabeth's sister Jane (Elyssa Baldassarri) and the rich Mr. Bingley (Kidawski).
