Transylvania Theater has done it again! Transylvania Theater’s latest mainstage production is a for-the-stage adaptation of the classic novel by Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, adapted by Kate Hamill. This is the second play by Hamill, who was named Playwright of the Year in 2017 by the Wall Street Journal and is known for innovative adaptations of literary classics that Transy Theater has produced in recent years, as Little Theater hosted performances of Kate Hamill’s Little Women in October of 2022. Many of the actors who starred in Little Women return for this production, including Vanessa Rivera (‘25) and Mary Clark (‘25), who play the leading roles of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy respectively. Pride and Prejudice opened to audiences in Lucille Little Theater on Wednesday, February 26th, and will continue its run through Sunday, March 2nd. I was lucky enough to be in attendance for the opening performance of Pride and Prejudice on the 26th.
An important note before I begin this review. I have not read the novel Pride and Prejudice. I have not seen any film or television adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, including the lauded 2005 film adaptation directed by Joe Wright. Other than a vague knowledge of the names of characters like Lizzy Bennett and Mr. Darcy, I have unintentionally avoided Pride and Prejudice related media for most of my life, with this production being the first time I was exposed to the story as a whole. Because of this lack of knowledge of the source material, I will be judging the Transy Theater production on its own merits as a contained story, not as an adaptation of the novel or film. If you are a die-hard Jane Austen fan who wants to know whether Kate Hamill and Transy Theater deliver a faithful adaptation of the 1813 original, you will just have to attend the show and find out.
Similar to the Hamill adaptation of Little Women, which trimmed down its source material to focus on the relationships between the titular women of the March family, this adaptation by Hamill focuses heavily on the relationship between the women of the Bennet family and close friend Charlotte Lucas, how they each confront the pressures of the patriarchal system they are living in, and how they resist the tendency of those forces to tear the women and their families apart. The adaptation confronts the contradictions of the need to find a partner one loves, signified by the ever-present ringing of bells throughout the show, and the importance of finding a “perfect match,” with the show’s characters split on if such a thing even exists. The show lays the absurdities of these competing social pressures bare, with moments of slapstick-laden comedic chaos contrasted with moments of genuine tragedy. This is perhaps best signified by the literal game of blind man’s bluff that serves as the play’s cold open. Lizzie later describes the pursuit of marriage and love as a game, and this cold open shows the anxieties many of the characters hold about losing that game and being left out in the cold.
Hamill’s vision for the Pride and Prejudice story relies heavily on the individual eccentricities of each character, and those shined through in the performances of the Transy Theater cast. The absurdity of the social game played by the Bennet family shines through Katelynn Humphries’ (‘26) hysterical Mrs. Bennet, her younger mirror in Addie Regnier’s (‘25) Lydia Bennet, and Sam Goss’ (‘27) jaded straight-man performance of Mr. Bennet. Luke Aguilar (‘27) performed excellently in two wildly different roles in Mr. Bingley and Anne de Bourgh. Lumi Kaono (‘27) brings a justified exasperation to Hamill’s comically tragic interpretation of Mary Bennet. The absurdity of the show shines through the most in Will Johnson’s (‘28) Mr. Collins, who puts his slapstick skills to the use in his surreal take on the character, who is tremendously funny at times and tremendously disturbing at others. In particular, a scene between Mr. Collins and Lizzy near the end of the first act feels as if it was lifted straight from the climax of a horror film, rather than a nineteenth-century novel. However, the absurdity of the show only works when balanced by the emotional core of the show in the relationship between Rivera’s Lizzy Bennet and Clark’s Mr. Darcy, as well as Samantha Farr’s (‘26) Jane Bennet. Pride and Prejudice is a wonderful romp through the perils of nineteenth century British high society that adeptly balances the hilarious with the heartfelt. And the story is brought to life through the tremendous work of the actors, technicians, artists, and everyone else working in Transylvania Theater. Pride and Prejudice runs through Sunday, March 2nd in the Little Theater, so if you have access to tickets, be sure not to miss it!
