Pride and Prejudice

By Jane Austen

Adapted by James Maxwell

Directed by Peter Amster

Northlight Theatre

North Shore Center for the Performing Arts

9501 Skokie Blvd, Skokie

Call (847) 673-6300, tickets $34-56

Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:30p.m.

Wednesdays at 1 and 7: 30 p.m.

Fridays at 8 p.m.

Saturdays at 3 and 8 p.m.

Sunday at 2:30 and 7 p.m.

Through Nov. 20, 2005

Review by Beverly Friend

If ever an actor were perfect for a role, it is Carey Cannon as ElizabethBennet. How beautifully she portrays the wisest and most winsome of the five marriageable Bennet daughters, ultimately captured -- after the requisite inner struggle -- by handsome, romantic, quintessential Byronic hero: Mr.Darcy -- played with pursed lips and smoldering significance by Nick Sandys.

Kudos to casting director Reetu Gowdar for these choices. They are matched by the outstanding depictions of Guy Adkins as the rake Wickham, Karen Woditsch as acerbic Lady Catherine, Nigel Patterson for bald and simpering Mr. Collins, and -- most especially -- for  Cindy Gold as dithering, over-emotional, scheming Mrs. Bennet. In fact, high praise for the whole cast as they step directly from the pages of Jane Austen's brilliant 1813 novel, so well adapted by James Maxwell and skillfully directed by Peter Amster.

The staging is as clever as the adaptation, with a wonderful rotating floor (actually a "donut") moving the scenes, and providing the necessary walkway for courting couples strolling through the countryside.

 Purists will be delighted with the faithful rendition of the novel; innovators will be tickled by the way Elizabeth is utilized as narrator as well as heroine, and everyone will be pleased with the wonderful chemistry displayed by the courting couples.

For those who don't know the story (hard to believe especially now that it is Mayor Daley's fine choice for city reading), Mrs. Bennet is desperate to find husbands for her daughters, as they have no other means of financial support. In British law the inheritance is "entailed," meaning that a male (not a female) descendent must inherit. That person will be the unctuous minister Mr. Collins. When Mr. Bennet dies, his daughters will be out in the cold! What can be done? To answer that question, you must read the book, and/or see the play. (I recommend doing both!)The book opens with one of the most famous ironic lines in literature: "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."

Of course, it is no such thing. The need is for women to marry men with fortunes to assure their futures, and if Mrs. Bennet has anything to say about it (and she has plenty), the new neighbor would be perfect for one of her daughters. After all, his income is 4,000 pounds a year. Topping this is the income of his aloof, bachelor-buddy Mr. Darcy, with10,000 pounds. Could anything be more fortuitous than their locating nearby?

The plot that unfolds from this point on follows the uneven romances of three of the sisters. For those who have read the book, it is a splendid treat to watch it all come alive. For those to whom it is new, don’t miss this delightful depiction of a classic! But for all its brilliance, the play is not a substitute for the book.  The sheer constraints of time (three acts in over 2 hours), demands that some material be eliminated. Unfortunately, Maxwell couldn't show everything, but in this skilled adaptation, he did glean the best.

Editor’s Note: I was particularly taken with the period perfect costumes by Gail Brassard and the complicated dance steps that were perfectly performed throughout act one by the entire cast. Carey Cannon’s Elizabeth was marvelous as was Cindy Gold as Mrs. Bennet. Nick Sandys, Patrick Clear and Nigel Patterson were outstanding also. Pride and Prejudice is more than a ‘woman’s play, it is terrific theatre.

Highly Recommended

Tom Williams

Chicago Stage Talk Radio Show

This show eligible for a C.S.T. Equity Theatre Award

October 10, 2005