RATING: 4 out of 5
“Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen is one of the most popular and critically acclaimed English novels in history, with adaptations in dozens of genres and across various mediums. The MHS Theatre Department put on Kate Hamill’s theatrical adaptation, a comedized and exaggerated version of the novel, from Nov. 14-16. Overall, it was a very entertaining comedy with great physical acting, topped off with a generous amount of British accents.
Like the novel, the play takes place in Regency England and centers around the Bennet family, whose modest lifestyle pushes Elizabeth Bennet’s (Paulina Peters) main love interest, Fitzwilliam Darcy (Shawn Joseph), away from marriage. Bennet’s mother eagerly encourages her daughters to marry while the Bennets’ lack of wealth repulses Darcy’s family. In short, Hamill’s version keeps the original’s enemies-to-lovers romance and criticism of class elitism with a generous amount of satire.
The stage had beautifully painted windows, adorning vines of bright red flowers on wooden doors, which were cleverly opened and closed to signal changes in setting. Only one scene was unclear, as the backside of the doors was painted as a garden but it was not a large issue.
Comedy wise, the department did a fantastic job. Mazaria Aldrich played Mrs. Bennet, the mother of the four Bennet sisters, who is an overbearing mother and aims to gain riches through her daughters. Aldrich portrayed her overzealous nature very well, as shown by the audience’s repeated eruptions of laughter during her loud, comedic outbursts.
The fourth daughter, played by Artemis Kwok (Mary Bennet), was a running gag throughout the performance since simply her presence, coughing, or occasional lines of dialogue incited many screams of terror from her family. Generally, she was treated as an outcast. The reasoning for why is never explained in the play, but it was very humorous nonetheless.
Even though it was Kaleb Saldana’s first MHS production, he played the role of Mr. Collins well, as Mr. Collins’ awkward dialogue and oaf-like character translated fittingly into his acting.
Overall, there was a balanced amount of physical humor as well. Even though the dance scenes were somewhat awkward, the actors made great use of the stage area by having the characters run, chase, scoot, throw props, and dramatically gesture, making for dynamic visuals on top of the spoken script. Darcy’s appearance through the theater aisle was a good use of the offstage area, as it added to the unexpectedness of his visit.
However, plot details in the script were slightly hard to follow, especially for those who have never read the original novel, as some of the actors’ volume and enunciation slightly fluctuated over the play. But overall, the general plot was easy to understand.
There was an evident difference in the quality of the costumes as well. Most of the dresses were coherent with their soft pastels and ruffles, making the brightness of the red soldier costumes seem out of place. Generally, the male costumes were lackluster compared to the range of lace, feathers, gloves, and satin in the female characters’ costumes. However, the quality difference made sense to differentiate Mary, the odd Bennet sister, from her sisters and to portray the wealth of characters such as Lady Catherine de Bourgh (Yadira Ramirez).
Criticisms aside, the performance was an enjoyable comedy and spin-off of the original “Pride and Prejudice”, complete with exaggerated characterizations and enthusiastic actors.