After seeing an advert in our local newspaper that Pride and Prejudice was going to be on stage at one of our favorite performing venues, my mother literally leaped to the computer to buy the tickets (she is without a doubt completely obsessed with P&P! I mean it... all the P&P fanfics, continuations... she reads them all!). So last night we headed out to the South Coast Repertory to see Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, as adapted for stage by Joseph Hanreddy and J.R. Sullivan... and I have to say, we both absolutely loved it!
The play starts out a little differently than expected. At the beginning, we see a 'typical' modern teenager (complete with pink hair and skinny jeans) forced to read Pride and Prejudice. She starts out reading on an e-reader, which glitches and fizzles out. But then a mysterious figure comes along (Elizabeth Bennet) and hands her the real, hard-cover novel of P&P, and that's where the excitement begins.
Throughout the play the teenager remains somewhere on stage, reading, as the story unfolds before her. Though I liked the theme that P&P is so timeless that it even touches today's readers, I could have done without the teenager. She had no speaking part whatsoever, and just kind of hung out in the background throughout the play.
The actors/actresses were all fantastic in their roles. The actress who played Mrs. Bennet was absolutely amazing! She had her down so well, and she was hilarious. The same goes for Mr. Collins! Absolutely side-splitting at times! Elizabeth was really fantastic. I swear, she looked and sounded exactly like Anne Hathaway! It was scary! But she did a wonderful job of portraying Lizzy's vivaciousness and enthusiasm. Mr. Darcy did very well in his role as well (plus he was tall... and handsome!)
The dialogue of the play remained very true to the novel. There were a few changes here and there, a couple of funny quips, but it did not hurt the play whatsoever. For those of you who are "purists," so to speak, I think you will definitely enjoy it.
This play was really fantastic. All the actors played their characters so very well. If you are in the general LA area of California, it is definitely worth your while to go see!
My Rating: 5*****
Tickets and Info Here: http://www.scr.org/calendar/view.aspx?id=4207
2 comments:
Oh, I envy you so much right now! I completely love the idea of this stage adaptation and it's so cool you got to see the play!
Thanks so much! I truly wish you could see it, it was such a treat. :)
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