Oh that Mr. Darcy! The most “abhorrent, repulsive, vulgar, rude, man in all of Hertfordshire” invaded Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival last night, much to my delight.
Pride and Prejudice’s Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy have the greatest love story ever written. This production, which started it's run last night, captured the essence of one of my favorite novels. The quick pace of the play was especially focused on the humor of Jane Austen’s writing, which was so refreshing.
I wish I could have taken a picture of the audience last night. When Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy were on stage together, everyone’s face was lit up. Their chemistry was perfect, especially the love/hate nature of their relationship. Also worth noting were Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. To think that characters written for England in 1813 could be relatable to modern times is astonishing, but I guess it is true that parents only want their children to be happy. They were hysterical and played off of one another wonderfully.
Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival is doing something unique this year with two of their productions. Pride and Prejudice and Hamlet are in repertory, which means the plays will be performed back to back on the same stage with the same actors!
Mairin Lee (Elizabeth) and Michael Brusasco (Mr. Darcy) played their roles to perfection in Pride and Prejudice, I can only imagine that their roles in Hamlet, Ophelia and Laertes, will be just as outstanding!
My own Mr. Darcy and I enjoyed a lovely night out with dinner at The Copperhead Grill and then the show. We have seen a show there together every year for the past seven years and we both agreed that this production was our favorite. Pride and Prejudice runs from July 19th through August 7th, click on the link to purchase your tickets now. http://pashakespeare.org/show2011_pride.php