"All About Jane: The Eras of Austen" by Buzz Music Theater at The Hive Collaborative

There's a new theater space in town, and it's hosting its first theatrical event this weekend. But The Hive Collaborative (in the space formerly known as Dreamland Arts in St. Paul's Hamline-Midway neighborhood) has plans to be more than just a theater space. New owners Laura Rudolph Morris and Eric Morris want it to be a community hub, a place for theater as well as classes, celebrations, game nights, and even sound baths. I interviewed the couple on episode 2.10 of "Twin Cities Theater Chat" (listen here or wherever you get your podcasts, and get a discount code for the show), and their excitement for and passion about this project is contagious. They also have a theater company called Buzz Music Theater, which is producing All About Jane: The Eras of Austen, a concept album by local singer-songwriter Monica Livorsi. She's planning to release the album next spring, but this weekend only you can hear her perform it live in the new Hive space, that's been transformed into a cozy Regency Era sitting room. It's a fantastic collection of songs in various modern pop styles, each of which features a heroine from Austen's work - a must see for Jane Austen fans. But quick - only three performances remain!

"Emma" at the Guthrie Theater

It's summer at the Guthrie, and there's a big fun show on the thrust stage for the first time since 2019 - a world premiere new adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma. Playwright Kate Hamill is adapting all of Austen's works for the stage; Emma is her fourth and was commissioned by the Guthrie Theater, its 2020 premiere postponed two years due to the pandemic. But somehow, now seems just the right time for what is my favorite Kate Hamill play to date. All of her adaptations are true to the source but bring something fresh, modern, and feminist to the story. The themes of Austen's work are timeless, stories of smart young women determining their own destiny despite societal limitations, and Kate makes these themes even more relatable to a modern audience. Emma strikes the perfect balance between the source material, modern social relevance, and delightful silliness; a summer confection as delicious and juicy as the red ripe strawberry on the cover of the program. See it now through August 21.

"Miss Woodhouse Presents" by Aethem Theatre Company at Elision Playhouse

In a delightful piece of Jane Austen fan fic, Aethem Theatre Company brings us the new play Miss Woodhouse Presents, written and directed by their Managing Director Kayla Hambek. It's a sort of mash-up of all of the novels, in the form of a British reality TV show. In just 90 minutes, we see love lost and won among the Dashwoods, the Bennets, and more familiar characters. Fans of Austen, who are not too precious about it, are sure to enjoy. The short run ends this weekend; you have just three more chances to see this charming play at Elision Playhouse in Crystal (click here for info and tickets).

"Pride and Prejudice" at Park Square Theatre

Park Square Theatre recently announced that they're cancelling two planned shows in their 2019-2020 season due to financial challenges. But fortunately, the regional premiere of Kate Hamill's new adaptation of the beloved Jane Austen novel Pride and Prejudice is not one of them. Kate Hamill is a young female playwright who's been adapting several classics with a modern and feminist bent, e.g., Sense and Sensibility, Little Women, and the upcoming Emma, to premiere at the Guthrie next spring. Walking into the theater we're told "this is not your grandmother's Pride and Prejudice," which turned out to be very true. The playwright turns the story into a full-out comedy, performed by an ensemble of just eight actors, many playing multiple roles. While the comedy went a bit too far for my taste in a few places, on the whole it's a fun and delightful new look at a beloved classic.

"Sense and Sensiblity" at Lyric Arts

The new adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, which premiered in 2014 and played at the Guthrie in 2016, has made its way to Lyric Arts' Main Street Stage. As I wrote in 2016, playwright and actor Kate Hamill has adapted the beloved novel "with theatricality, wit, and purpose" (she also adapted Little Women, which premiered at the Jungle last fall, and Pride and Prejudice, just announced as part of Park Square Theatre's 2019-2020 season). Now is a great time for these women's stories written by women to be adapted for today's audience by a young female playwright; audiences are hungry for it. Lyric's production is a delightful and charming version of this sisterhood story.

"Persuasion" by Aethem Theater Company at the Wellstone Center

"Men have had every advantage of us in telling their own story. Education has been theirs in so much higher a degree; the pen has been in their hands." These words were written by Jane Austen 200 years ago, spoken by Anne Elliot, the heroine of Persuasion, but they're just as true today. OK maybe we've evened things out a little bit in the last 200 years, but women's stories told by women are still in the minority. Fortunately, Jane Austen was able to tell her story despite the obstacles, a story of strong women who are determined to decide their own fate despite living within the confines of early 19th Century English society. One of the less common iterations of this story, her final novel Persuasion, has received a new adaptation by local theater artist Kayla Hambek for Aethem Theatre Company, and it's just delightful. Full of the Jane Austen charm, the familiar story of a strong, determined, principled woman who won't settle for less than her heart's desire, brought to life by a large wonderful cast with creative use of movement to convey emotions - it's a must-see for Janeites.

"Sense and Sensibility" at the Guthrie Theater

The Guthrie's 2016-2017 season marks my 14th season as a subscriber, and I'm still just as excited as I ever was to walk into that big beautiful building on the river. In fact, more than excited, it feels like home. It's my happy place (especially when preceded by dinner at my favorite restaurant, Spoonriver). I've always been a fan of the Guthrie, but there's a new excitement in the air. It's the second season for new Artistic Director Joseph Haj (who recently accepted the Ivey for the ensemble of Trouble in Mind), and you can already see the changes, specifically in a greater commitment to new works and greater diversity onstage and behind the scenes. The first play in the new season is a wonderful example of that. While Jane Austen's beloved novel Sense and Sensibility is over 200 years old, this is a brand new adaptation that tells the story with a freshness and drive that makes it feel new. And by the way, the playwright is a woman, a young woman, an actress, who played the role of Marianne in her adaptation off Broadway. The Guthrie's production is directed by a woman (Sarah Rasmussen, herself an exciting new Artistic Director over at the Jungle), with scenic and costume design by a woman, and featuring a cast that is two-thirds women and ethnically diverse. That is reason for excitement indeed, especially when the end product is this delightful.

Fringe Festival 2015: "Manners and Misconduct: Improvised Jane Austen"

Day: 2

Show: 6

Title: Manners and Misconduct: Improvised Jane Austen

Category: Comedy

By: Burnt Nightingale Productions

Created by: Burnt Nightingale Productions

Location: Illusion Theater

Summary: A nine-woman cast improvises a Jane Austen-esque story based on a title suggested on Facebook or Twitter and names suggested by the audience.

Highlights: The play I saw was titled Vanity and Virtue - it sounds like a book Jane Austen would have written, doesn't it? The story of the Pembletons and the Sethwaites (there was some confusion about this suggested name) includes all of the requirements of a Jane Austen novel - cousins, a flighty sister, a bookish sister, visits to the country, a scandal, an eccentric aunt, a hidden fortune, sudden proposals, walks in the garden, and witty dialogue. All of the women in the cast (half of whom play men) are fantastic improvisors and play off of each other well. And they speak in (slightly modernized) 19th Century language. What else is there to say - it's fresh, funny, and very Jane Austen.

"Pride and Prejudice" at the Guthrie Theater

Pride and Prejudice is the final production in the Guthrie's 50th anniversary season, and my tenth season as a subscriber. It's also the first repeated show in that 10 years (not counting the annual production of A Christmas Carol). Pride and Prejudice was the first production in my first season as a subscriber in the summer of 2003 (that has a nice symmetry to it, doesn't it?). It almost didn't work out that way - when the season was announced last year, the final show was Born Yesterday. Earlier this year the decision was made to move that show to this winter, with Pride and Prejudice replacing it. Which I imagine caused a bit of a ruckus, getting all the required ducks in a row for this scale of a production on a shortened timeline, including a last-minute actor change. You wouldn't know it, as this is a gorgeous production, impeccably cast, and a charming rendition of a classic literary love story.

Jane Austin's most popular novel centers on the Bennet family in early 19th century England - five daughters of marriageable age, an exasperated father, and a mother whose only goal is to see her daughters married and taken care of, since none of them can inherit their father's estate under English law. Wealthy gentlemen arrive in the country, and the Bennets are all aflutter. Balls, witty repartee, misunderstandings, scandals, and reconciliations continue for two hours, in a story I'm sure most of you are familiar with (if not - see Wiki). This adaptation by Simon Reade (a different one than they used 10 years ago) stays pretty faithful to the story as I remember it, condensing it nicely for the stage and keeping much of Austin's prose in the form of letters that are read by both the sender and recipient.

Ashley Rose Montondo
and Vincent Kartheiser
as Elizabeth and Darcy

The Guthrie has assembled an excellent cast of familiar faces and new, beginning with Ashley Rose Montondo as our heroine, the smart and spirited Elizabeth. Ashley was a last-minute replacement, stepping in just a month before previews began, and a fortunate one at that. She is so natural and charismatic as Lizzie; it's a star-making turn for someone with a relatively short bio (it's worth noting that Ashley, along with five other cast-members, is a product of the U of M/Guthrie BFA program). As her Darcy, Minnesota-actor-turned-TV-star Vincent Kartheiser* is initially stoic, disagreeable, and cold - as Darcy should be (he is the "pride" in Pride and Prejudice). But as he shows his softer side, Elizabeth warms to him, and so do we (it's lovely to see a natural smile on Vincent's face, something his Mad Men character never quite manages). They make quite a charming pair, and it's easy to root for and celebrate their happiness when it comes at long last. All of the Bennet sisters are perfectly cast, from Christine Weber as the eldest, the sweet and beautiful Jane, to Thallis Santesteban as the amusingly bookish Mary, to Aeysha Kinnenun, stealing scenes as the young and flighty Lydia. Completing the family, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet are played by the appropriately frazzled Peter Thomson and ridiculously silly Suzanne Warmanen. Kris Nelson is excellent as always as the quite creepy Mr. Collins (showing quite the range from his last role - the creepy-in-a-different-way Stanley Kowalski). Hugh Kennedy is charming as always as the good Mr. Bingley, and Anna Sundberg does haughty privilege well as his sister. Last but not least, Sally Wingert has a couple of nice turns as two completely different aunts - the girls' friendly aunt and Darcy's hilariously stern aunt.

The set is dominated by a gorgeous and fascinating moving showpiece (set design by Alexander Dodge). The floor of the thrust stage is cut into concentric circles that rotate in opposite direction, the outer supporting a set of huge stately white columns, the inner a wall with three glass doors. As the circles spin in opposite directions, the set pieces are arranged in seemingly infinite combinations to represent various indoor and outdoor settings. The stairs around the familiar thrust stage are covered with green grass, with green topiary adorning the back of the stage. The only downfall of this relatively simple set is that it's difficult to see the difference between the Bennet's modest home and the more extravagant homes of the Darcys and Bingleys, but that's what the imagination is for. The costumes, hair, make-up, etc. are of course stunning; I expect no less at the Guthrie. Adding a little visual action to the drama, Joe Chvala has choreographed some charming English country dances. I was particularly impressed that Darcy and Elizabeth carry on a complete conversation while effortlessly performing the steps of an intricate dance.

Pride and Prejudice is a great choice to close the Guthrie's landmark season. A classic and well-loved story; a cast that features Guthrie vets, new young local talent, and one of Minnesota's famous sons; and gorgeous production values. I found it to be quite charming.




*I have to admit, when Vincent Kartheiser was announced as Mr. Darcy, I was very excited. You see, before I was a theater junkie, I was a TV junkie, and I still am. I believe Man Men to be the highest form of the art that television can be. And I love it when my fellow Minnesotans make it big on the national scene and then come home to share their gifts. I met Vincent a few weeks ago at the Guthrie's 50th Anniversary Gala and made a blithering idiot of myself, so in shock I was to see him live and in person instead of on my TV screen in 60s period garb. It took a minute to get used to him in a different role, but I saw no traces of Pete Campbell in Mr. Darcy. He's in a position of success where he has many choices before him, and the fact that he chose to do a play in his hometown is a pretty cool thing.