Teresa Castracane
Jane Austen’s classic second novel, Pride & Prejudice, is more than one hundred years old so most of the world is pretty familiar with the story by this point in time, with the novel being required reading in school, not to mention the myriad adaptations for stage and screen, big and small. The novel of manners tackles themes of marriage, wealth, class status and self-awareness. The story has been adapted in a straightforward manner, and in various other ways that include everything from musicals to zombies to gay men on Fire Island. It has also inspired many other literary works, with quite a few of them focusing on the character of Mr. Darcy.
If you’re not familiar with the story, it goes a little something like this: the Bennet family, consisting of mother, father and five daughters, inhabit their estate with Mrs. Bennet always on the lookout for a man to wed one of her daughters, hoping to see all of the eventually married off … but only to a man of status and wealth. Her greatest fear is that when her husband dies the estate will fall out of the family’s possession as there are no male heirs, leaving her and her daughters homeless, one-too-many notches down that status ladder. Attending a ball, the daughters meet Mr. Bingley and his friend Mr. Darcy. Bingley is smitten with Jane, while Elizabeth is initially repulsed by Darcy … even though her mother keeps trying to impress upon her that he’s twice as wealthy as Bingley. The two form a love-hate relationship over the course of the story. Meanwhile, a Mr. Collins arrives at the estate in search of a wife, under the advice of his patron Lady Catherine de Bourgh, who is also Darcy’s aunt. Collins is actually the heir to the estate, so any daughter who marries him guarantees the Bennets get to stay in their home. A military officer, George Wickham, also enters the story and tells Elizabeth some not very favorable stories about Darcy, which she believes because she’s already prejudiced against him.
At another ball, Collins proposes to Elizabeth, which she rejects as she is steadfast in never marrying, and he moves on to family friend Charlotte Lucas, who does accept which means she and Collins will inherit the estate when Mr. Bennet passes, leaving Mrs. Bennet’s nerves completely frayed. Bingley, his sister and Darcy leave for London with no plans to return, leaving Jane heartbroken and Elizabeth even more certain that Darcy is the cad she believes him to be. But secrets are revealed, hearts are broken and mended, and true love may finally prevail for some, if not all, of the Bennet sisters.
This new production of Pride & Prejudice at Baltimore Center Stage, in association with Arkansas Repertory Theatre, is brimming with creativity and humor. The script by Kate Hamill infuses Austen’s work with a modern sense and sensibility (wink, wink), occasionally allowing the characters to break the fourth wall, and tossing off witty asides while retaining the framework of the story. Director Ken-Matt Martin works some magic on the Head Theatre stage, cleverly employing the stage crew dressed as characters to move set-pieces, props and even huge walls on, off, back and forth across the stage. The effect is quite engaging the first few times it happens but after a while the length of time it takes to move walls back and forth unnecessarily extends the run time of the show, making it feel much longer than it is. It is still, however, a clever way to change scenes and the use of lighting to create windows and shadow, and to change a mood to give a single character their moment, is pretty innovative. Also interesting is the use of Regency-era orchestrations of familiar pop tunes to punctuate the scene changes.
Teresa Castracane
What really makes this a production to run out and see is the astounding cast headed by Lizzy Brooks as Elizabeth Bennet. She is the character through which we see the story, and she is the character most grounded for the audience to easily relate to. She is rarely off-stage and even when she isn’t the focal point of the action, she is always interesting to watch to see how she’s reacting to whatever is transpiring around her. Alanna Hamill Newton is a hoot as Mrs. Bennet, the family gadfly, always in someone’s business, always on the edge of hysteria … until we finally in one brief moment see that that is just how Elizabeth sees her. Newton is energetic and hilarious, doing some stellar work. Malik Childs is appropriately haughty as Mr. Darcy, giving the impression that he thinks the balls and the people attending them are beneath him, not doing himself any favors to convince Elizabeth that he isn’t the cad he’s been made out to be. He does get to lighten up a bit in the second act, finally showing the side of Darcy that is 180 degress away from how he’s been perceived. Really wonderful performances from these three actors in their single roles.
What really makes this an outrageously entertaining piece of theatre are the other actors who assume at least two roles, with one taking on three! Caro Dubberly is delightful as Jane Bennet, sort of the ‘plain Jane’ of the sisters but the one we feel the most heartbroken for when he beau ghosts her. On the other hand, she is a scream as Miss de Bourgh, camping it up with wild faces and monosyllabic dialogue punctuated with various grunts and growns. Lizzy Lewis also gets to show two different characters as the 14-year-old Lizzy Bennet and the much older Lady Catherine. Lizzy is a free-spirited child, while Catherine is a haughty woman who believes her status puts her above the Bennets. Two amazing performances. L’Oreal Lampley might get them most laughs as Mary Bennet, with her absurd habit of coughing wildly, and then she gets to be a bit more refined as Miss Bingley, who has a tongue as sharp as a dagger.
Two actors are real stand-outs. Kathryn Pryor makes her first appearance on the stage as … Mr. Bennet, in all of his regalia complete with a bushy mustache, constantly put-upon by his wife, attempting as best as he can to be the sensible parent and not indulge his wife’s constant hunt for a man. Pryor also plays Charlotte Lucas, and at times it seems like she will exit the stage and be back in a split second as Mr. Bennet. Both characters are completely different, not just in gender but demeanor, and Pryor does a remarkable job. Alexander Matos takes on three roles: Mr. Bingley, Mr. Collins and Mr. Wickham, each different but all connected by a green jacket. Bingley is a puppy dog, literally and figuratively, as it seems the best way to get his attention is by waving a rubber ball in front of his nose. Wickham, a military man, is more straight-laced but there is a sinister current than runs through him, making the audience uneasy when he’s on-stage. Collins is the most outlandish, with Matos playing him as a deranged version of the Lucky Charms leprechaun (and also making us wonder if he isn’t quite a bit gay). The character is completely over-the-top but very funny, and Matos does an amazing job with all three characters.
If you’re a fan of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice in whatever form it may take, or if you’re a fan of Netflix’s Bridgerton (it may be hard not to see some influence of that show in this production), get thyself to Baltimore Center Stage and marvel in the story, the cast, the sets, the lighting, the music and see the familiar story through some new eyes.
Pride & Prejudice runs about 2 hours 15 minutes with one 15 minute intermission. The show runs through November 10, 2024. Appropriate for ages 13 and up. Baltimore Center Stage’s next production is Black Nativity, November 30 – December 22, 2024.
Pride & Prejudice at Baltimore Center Stage
Baltimore Center Stage
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