"Pride and Prejudice"

February 28, 2020 — After reading Pride and Prejudice, Mark Twain said he wanted to dig up author Jane Austen and beat her over the skull with her shin bone. Too bad he didn't live to see Kate Hamill's re-imagining of the Austen classic as performed by theatre KAPOW at the Derry Opera House in Derry, New Hampshire. I'm sure he would have been pleased.

You could enjoy this madcap, irreverent adaptation of Pride and Prejudice without having read the book, but familiarity with the characters and plot would help. I never read it, but I may have seen one of many TV adaptations sometime in the past. The names Bennet, Lizzy, Mr. Darcy and Pemberley had a familiar ring to me.

All the players were dressed in stunningly beautiful, white 19th Century formal attire, except for the sneakers of various colors they all wore. Surprisingly, there's no credit for a costume designer in the program. Two actors who played dual roles, Peter Josephson as Mr. Bennet/Charlotte Lucas, and Rich Hurley as Mary/Mr. Bingley, simply donned floor-length white sashes when playing their female role. Josephson also placed a ribbon on his head held in place by a chin strap.

Jess Vaughn moved the play along with her vocals, mostly from the '80s, sung in front of the live band at the back of the stage. Making the band clearly visible rather than in a pit was the right decision. Vaughn also played the dual roles of Lady Catherine and Miss Bingley.

Glittering costumes, witty dialog, broad physical comedy, all executed perfectly by one of the largest casts I've seen in a tKAPOW performance made for a thoroughly enjoyable evening. Among the players not already mentioned were Laurie Torosian as Mrs. Bennet/Servants, Emily Karel as Lizzy, Carey Cahoon as Jane/Miss de Bourgh, Victoria Volokitkin as Lydia, Bretton Reis as Mr. Darcy and Nicholas Meunier as Wickham/Mr. Collins. The band consisted of music director Jake Hudgins on keys, Ben Ferrari on guitar, Tate Pinyochon on bass and Alex Fellows on drums.

Artistic director and tKAPOW co-founder Matt Cahoon was director and production designer. Once again, Tayva Young's lighting expertise brightened a tKAPOW play. Trey Haynes was the light board operator.