Zane Williams
Lacking social standing, the Bennet sisters need husbands.
There is something about the plucky, independent-minded heroine Elizabeth Bennet and her taciturn, awkward love Mr. Darcy that has fascinated the public for more than 200 years. Jane Austen’s 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice has been the subject of several films, BBC miniseries and stage adaptations (not to mention Bridget Jones’s Diary). American Players Theatre delivers a beautiful production of the celebrated English classic, adapted by Joseph Hanreddy and J.R. Sullivan, proving once again how much the beloved story resonates with audiences.
Pride and Prejudice centers on the romantic and economic fates of the five Bennet daughters in early 19th-century England. Without any inheritance or significant social standing, the girls must marry well to have a future — and a place for rest of the family to go when Mr. Bennet dies. This dire circumstance drives Mrs. Bennet to distraction: She is constantly scheming to position her girls in front of eligible, moneyed bachelors.
As the matriarch and matchmaker, Sarah Day is delightful, part busybody, part histrionic mother hen. Mr. Bennet, played by a wise and affable James Ridge, is her steady, good-natured foil. He champions the girls’ right to marry for love, and particularly values Elizabeth’s sensible nature, her wit and her interest in conversations that do not revolve around bonnets. This sets her apart from her two flighty sisters: the bratty Lydia, played with energy and abandon by Melisa Pereyra, and the whiny Kitty, a tearful Aidaa Peerzada.
The two eldest girls, Jane (an earnest Laura Rook) and Elizabeth (a pitch-perfect Kelsey Brennan), meet their eventual matches when two men arrive from the city — Mr. Bingley (the suave and handsome Nate Burger), who has recently rented an estate nearby, and his brooding, unsocial companion, Mr. Darcy (played with subtlety and suppressed anguish by Marcus Truschinski). The emotional relationships of both couples ebb and flow, while judgmental sisters, patrons and the larger society evaluate the suitability of the alliances that cross class and income lines.
Directed by Tyne Rafaeli, the action of the play is frequently stylized to compress time, combine dialogue, draw focus to one couple in a stage full of partygoers or maintain the momentum. This relief from strict realism complements the script, which seems to have cherry-picked only the best lines for each character while remaining true to the structure of the novel.
Kudos to Truschinski and Brennan for their exceptional performances as the unlikely lovers Elizabeth and Darcy. Their stilted encounters, barbed conversations and initial loathing for one another melt slowly, beautifully, into affection, admiration and eventually love. It feels like a triumph when both cast off social expectations in favor of choosing a partner they adore. And never has a single kiss been so anticipated by an audience.
