Novel version brings characters from classic book to life on stage
Shakespeare, move over. Actors’ Theatre of Columbus, which frequently performs classic works by the great English playwright, is ready to put its focus on a classic by Jane Austen, a great English novelist.
“Pride & Prejudice,” adapted by playwright Jon Jory from Austen’s 1813 novel, will open tonight in the Schiller Park amphitheater.
“It’s as charming a comedy as a comedy of manners can be,” director Mark Mann said.
“Almost everyone makes a wrong first impression or gets a wrong idea about someone through pride or their prejudice. The story is about second chances.”
Mann has directed or appeared in quite a few outdoor productions for Actors’ Theatre, most recently staging “King Lear” in 2007 and playing Athos in “The Three Musketeers” in 2009.
“What makes ‘Pride & Prejudice’ an excellent choice for Schiller Park is that it’s full of romance, humor, music and dancing,” Mann said.
The two-act play revolves around Elizabeth Bennet, an independent woman striving to find a husband amid family struggles, social pressures, class differences and romantic misunderstandings.
“People say Elizabeth Bennet was the first feminist,” Mann said.
“Austen has a lot to say about a woman’s role in a society where only men could inherit estates. … Elizabeth chafes at that and at every step of having to wait for a man to woo her.”
Enter Mr. Darcy, played by Justin King.
“He sets high expectations for himself, as his wealthy family has set for him his entire life, but his dramatic arc is a humbling one,” said King, who at 26 is about the same age as his character.
“Darcy is very detached at first — unemotional, and doesn’t know how to speak with tact, coming across as harsh or abrasive. … But Elizabeth challenges him to see good in more people.”
Both the novel and play offer a humorous but ultimately inspiring vision of people overcoming pride, prejudices and other flaws, King said.
“Ultimately, Darcy and Elizabeth come together as equal minds, human beings of equal feelings.”
Elizabeth Harelik plays Elizabeth Bennet — who happens to be her favorite literary character.
“She’s amazing … so smart, so intent on her goals,” Harelik said.
Bennet has to navigate in a family with four sisters: the older Jane and the younger Mary, Kitty and Lydia.
“As the second-oldest sister, about 20 or 21, Elizabeth needs to get married sooner rather than later,” Harelik said.
“But even though she’s in a somewhat-vulnerable position, she’s never going to settle for anyone who can’t match her intellectually.”
At first, Bennet dismisses Darcy.
“She sees him as a terribly proud and haughty man,” Harelik said.
“Elizabeth knows her own mind, but she is not nearly as self-aware as she likes to think she is. As she goes on, she realizes that some of her snap judgments are not accurate and learns to know herself a little better.”
Mann, meanwhile, suggested Jory’s play to the troupe last fall after reading several stage versions of Austen’s novel.
Jory’s adaptation — which reduces the cast to 14 actors, with four playing multiple roles — premiered in 2005 and was staged in 2008 by the Actors Theatre of Louisville, Kentucky, which Jory led for decades.
“Some people think anything by Austen is a museum piece because we all had to study the novels in English class,” Mann said.
“But Jory takes it out of class and puts it onstage in a breezy, fast-paced version that’s also a comment on the position of women in British society.”