A new adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice by UW-Madison Theatre and Drama faculty members Aly Renee Amidei and Ann M. Shanahan serves as a joyous antidote to the current divisiveness of our country — we could take a lesson from the way Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet drop their pride and their prejudices and move to authenticity and forgiveness. The production runs through Nov. 17 at Vilas Hall-Mitchell Theatre.
Austen’s original novel remains a classic of English literature 200 years after publication. The subject is marriage in an era where women’s futures were dependent upon men, improving a family’s socio-economic status was the goal of married union, and failure to succeed due to scandal or spinsterhood could leave a woman destitute. Property passed to male heirs.
Mr. and Mrs. Bennet have raised five daughters to adulthood, and with no male heir, the subject of marriage becomes crucial, with scandal and financial ruin threatening the family. The story stands the test of time — in 21st century America women still have fewer rights than men.
The social critique of marriage in Regency England is the focus of Austen’s work, but this adaptation leans toward sweetness, pageantry, and character study. That may be in part due to the strength of the lead actors. As Elizabeth Bennet, AJ Stoffels leads the cast with a spirited and nuanced performance. Niko Valcin’s Mr. Darcy begins as aloof, but slowly crumbles to reveal a shy, awkward suitor struggling to express his love for Lizzy. Nora Wondra as Mrs. Bennett is delightfully maternal, with wonderful comic timing and a complete lack of restraint in her mission to marry off her daughters. Mick Caldwell’s Reverend Collins is the perfect comic foil.
The adaptation uses ensemble members to narrate the action from the sides of the stage, and sometimes characters comment on their own actions. This was good work on the part of the adaptors to establish weighty roles for a large body of students.
Cloudy blue skies adorn the walls of Jessica Kuehnau Wardell’s set, over a tastefully painted ballroom floor. Lighting designer Marnie Cummings used every opportunity to convey the mood of the scene with the magic of a background scrim. Kristin Roling’s choreography was historically accurate and the interplay between the socially accomplished and the inept at the various balls adds to the sense of authenticity. The Mitchell Theatre stage is small for 27 actors in a ballroom dance progression, yet it works. And the beauty of this production continues in the period costuming of Aly Renee Amidei.
Two staging choices work against this production: a long dining table could easily have been slightly tilted to allow the audience access to all of the actors, and several long speeches given with full back to the audience were lost. Opening the stance of the actors during these speeches slightly toward stage right would enable the audience to hear and see the delivery of lines.
This is a huge production with more than 60 collaborators, many of them students, and it’s an impressive endeavor for UW Theatre and Drama — a sweet love story wrapped in Regency pageantry and splendor.
