Via Community News Service for the Rutland Herald
BRANDON — “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” So begins Jane Austen’s 19th-century classic, “Pride and Prejudice,” an unexpected love story between wealthy Englishman Mr. Darcy and comparatively lower-class Elizabeth Bennet.
To celebrate Austen’s 250th birthday, Amplified Arts of Claremont, N.H., brought the show to the Brandon Town Hall earlier this month.
The show was based on the 1995 BBC miniseries. It was the second part of their two-part tour, following performances the previous weekend in Plainfield, N.H.
Director Shelly Hudson said the script held very close to the book.
“The version that we’re doing sticks more to the timeline of the book and several of the famous scenes from the book,” Hudson said.
A portion of the Brandon proceeds benefited the scholarship program at Camp Thorpe, a summer camp for teens and adults with developmental disabilities in Goshen.
Hudson, who is also executive director at Camp Thorpe, discussed how the camp has impacted campers throughout its 99-year history.
“The regularity of coming to camp every summer is highly important to the mental health of these individuals, as well as those shared experiences, that community experience, which — very much like theater — is integral to the human experience,” Hudson said.
The diverse cast of 15 included professional and novice actors from Vermont, New Hampshire and New York.
Tera Monroe Murray of Springfield played Mrs. Bennet, the mother of the lead Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bennet and her four sisters.
“I love Mrs. Bennet’s exuberantness. (She’s) very dedicated to her girls, but at her fault sometimes,” Murray said. “She’s just so fun to play, even with her faults. She’s so sweet, too.”
Murray’s portrayal of Mrs. Bennet’s boisterous and exaggerated nature helped establish the production as a truly comical one. For instance, when daughter Lydia runs away with Lizzie’s previous love interest, Mr. Wickham, Mrs. Bennet dramatically slumped over in her chair, complaining about her “nerves,” which elicited laughs from the crowd.
Playing the strong-willed Lizzie and Mr. Darcy were Maya Smalls, based in New York City and New England, and Matthew Harmon, of New York.
Smalls and Harmon reinforced their characters’ pride and prejudice through their facial expressions; Lizzie’s apparent disgust and Mr. Darcy’s impenetrable, dull expression spoke volumes even when they did not.
The story, as Hudson explained, explores the overlap of romance and social class in 19th-century England.
“(It’s) very poignant in the discussion of pressures of women during that period to be married at a certain age, and the expectations of class and whether you can climb or not, or should or not,” said Hudson.
The story also poses the question of whether one should marry for love or financial security. Lizzie reveals her conviction when she rejects the proposal of wealthy clergyman Mr. Collins, stating that she could never love him.
Yet, when Lizzie’s friend Charlotte Lucas was asked for her hand, she immediately said “yes.”
“Mr. Collins is not perfect, but he is kind and of good disposition,” Charlotte told Lizzie, adding that it was a purely pragmatic decision.
Marriage, especially to a man of higher economic status, was the embodiment of female success. To some of the Bennet family, it seemed a competition of who could marry first.
Lydia Bennet, the youngest sister and first to marry, made no attempt at humility following her elopement to Mr. Wickham and obnoxiously bragged to her family.
“We married women don’t have much time for writing,” she told her parents after they inquired whether she would write them.
Heike Chaney of White River Junction played teenage sister Kitty Bennet. She talked about how the societal pressure to marry and negative influence from Lydia motivated “pick-me,” or attention seeking, behaviors within her character.
“The one thing I really appreciate about Kitty is how much I can also truly relate to her on a personal level because it’s about this self-referential, deep journey she goes on of recognizing all the things that Lydia has been influencing her (about) had turned out to be wrong,” said Chaney.
Hudson announced that this was the final show under Amplified Arts, as the company will soon undergo a rebrand.
Chaney and Murray commented on their positive experience working with the cast and thanked Hudson.
“Having the support of this huge cast, with Shelly’s support, they’ve just been phenomenal,” Murray said.
