EASTON, Pa.(www.lafayette.edu), February 18, 2008 — College Theater will present Pride and Prejudice, adapted by Jon Jory from the Jane Austen novel, on March 5-8 at 8 p.m. each evening in the Williams Center for the Arts.
Tickets are $2 for students, $3 for faculty and staff, and $6 for the public and can be purchased by calling the Williams Center box office at (610) 330-5009.
A brown bag preview will be held at noon on Monday, March 3, on the main stage of the Williams Center. Lunch will be available for $3.
The production is being directed by Mary Jo Lodge, assistant professor of English. It will feature original music by professional composer Peter Eckstrom, the costume designs of Polly Kendrick, the set designs of Vicki Neal, and the lighting designs of Richard Kendrick, technical director of the Williams Center for the Arts. Bianca Falbo, associate professor of English, is serving as literary consultant for the production and Philadelphia theatre professional Neill Hartley is dialect coach.
First published in 1813, Pride and Prejudice is Austen’s most popular novel. It portrays life in the genteel rural society of the day. The comic and romantic work tells of the initial misunderstandings and later mutual enlightenment between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, as well as the joys and woes of the Bennet family in their search to find suitable husbands for their daughters.
Lodge has always enjoyed Austen’s novels and is looking forward to bringing the work to the stage.
“Pride and Prejudice is a timeless story that is greatly beloved by Jane Austen fans like me. It has not had a successful adaptation for the stage, in part because most attempts lose Austen's narration,” says Lodge. “Jon Jory's new one is the adaptation I've been waiting for - it is true to the story, retains the narration, is romantic and comic, and plays in a reasonable amount of time.”
“The audience can expect to experience the same romance, comedy, and readily recognizable characters from Austen's novels brought to life on stage.”
Lodge thinks Pride and Prejudice has been a good experience for the students.
“I am especially pleased to give our students a chance to bring some of the greatest characters from literature from the page to the stage.”
Cast
- Mrs. Bennet – Carolyn Zawislak ’10 (Clarks Summit, Pa.), biology
- Jane – Keara McCarthy ’10 (Montclair, N.J.), English
- Elizabeth – Jackie Macri ’09 (Malvern, Pa.), psychology
- Mary – Kate Finlay ’11 (Merrimack, N.H.), mathematics
- Kitty/Georgiana Darcy – Elizabeth Witmer ’10 (Santa Barbara, Calif.)
- Lydia – Katherine Whitman ’11 (New Hope, Pa.)
- Charlotte Lucas – Rachel Ports ’10 (Baltimore, Md.), psychology
- Miss Bingley – Hillary Feller ’10 (Tenafly, N.J.)
- Mrs. Gardiner/Ball Guest – Stephanie Morillo ’08 (Bronx, N.Y.), creative media and social justice
- Lady Catherine/Ball Guest – Kelly Hess ’08 (Prospect Park, N.J.), psychology
- Housekeeper/Ball Guest – Sara Peterson ’10 (Hampton, N.J.), economics and business
- Mr. Bennet – Christopher Duru ’10 (New York, N.Y.), history
- Mr. Darcy – Tim Macbeth ’11 (Short Hills, N.J.)
- Mr. Bingley – Conner James Woods ’11 (Stockton, N.J.)
- Mr. Collins/Ball Guest – Brett Lambie ’09 (Upper Montclair, N.J.), art and geology
- Mr. Wickham – Paul E. Sommers ’09 (Wenonah, N.J.), history
- Officer/Colonel Fitzwilliam/Ball Guest – Treyvon Jackson ’10 (Germantown, Md.), economics and business
- Mr. Gardiner/Ball Guest – Justin Bruce ’09 (Rochester, N.Y.), neuroscience
- Sir William Lucas/Officer/Ball Guest – David Bucholtz ’11 (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
