Forbidden love, drama, humor and intrigue – the Theatre Department’s production of “Pride and Prejudice” had it all.
I will begin by disclosing that I have not read or watched any version of “Pride and Prejudice” before seeing this show, despite it being one of Jane Austen’s classics. Whether that makes me a worse critic of this production due to my lack of prior knowledge on the storyline, or a better one from the clean-slate mind I had going into it, is up to your discretion.
The Theatre Department never ceases to amaze me with the production of their student plays. I am personally not one for “modernizing” time period stories – it often comes across tacky or reaching to appease a younger audience. While I love University of Rhode Island theatre, I have been to previous shows that I thought overdid the “modern day” humor aspect. Beforehand I was nervous that this production would follow suit; however, I found it mostly stuck quite true to the early 1800s setting and language in a way that I enjoyed.
A modern take that it could have done without was the music. The score of a theatre production changes how the play is interpreted and it is typically one of my favorite aspects of a show. This adaptation, however, consisted of “classical” violinist versions of modern music. I didn’t enjoy this style in Netflix’s “Bridgerton” and I found it distracted from the otherwise immersive time period here.
Surprisingly, I quite enjoyed the mid-scene change “dance breaks.” At various periods in the production, actors would take turns at center stage performing individual dances for their characters.
Although it is a university production, I did find some of the innuendos to be a bit overdone. I appreciated the humor they brought to the show, but as it went on, I felt they became a bit unnecessary and not always suitable to the characters involved.
The costumes and set of the production, however, were very suitable – each character, particularly the four sisters, had a unique costume and key colour matching to their character’s personality. The character of Mary Bennet, portrayed by Gabriella Stein, stood out in particular, not only for her coughing fits and comedic stage presence, but also for her mismatched red and white patterned skirt and bright blue top, contrasting perfectly with her much more put-together sisters.
The character of Mrs. Bennet, played by Princess Johnson, was one of my favorite performers. There are typically a few standout actors that are notable in URI shows and she was one of them. She seemed to embody her character wholeheartedly.
Continuing in the casting vein, there were no characters that I felt were miscast, despite my lack of knowledge in previous adaptations. Mr. Darcy was stiff and stubborn, Lizzy Bennet was strong-willed and showed it, and Jane Bennet was poised and proper (and one of my favorite portrayals within the show).
The English class lover in me noted particularly the symbolism of the yellow ball and the bells within the performance. The ball was constantly being thrown between family members and to different characters in the entire production, often used for comedic effect as an item for the eager dog-like portrayal of Mr. Bingley. Additionally, the ringing of the bells left me feeling as haunted as the characters themselves – constantly apprehensive of the passing of time.
Overall I would rate this play an 8/10, and a very enjoyable production at that!
