Another P&P Play

I apologize for this brief post, but life has turned a bit crazy recently and my blog completely slipped my mind until the alarm went off on my phone shortly after I received a text from my daughter. Since they happened so close together and both had to do with Jane Austen, I figured it was a sign. Now mind you, I was a bit distracted when her text came in because I was doing homework, but here it is:

Has anyone seen this one? I Googled it and was able to read the first 5 scenes (which seem to move REALLY fast). It is an older play (2016). According to Ms. Munsil’s website, “Jane Munsil’s witty, romantic, and ingenious adaptation of Jane Austen’s beloved tale of the independent-minded Elizabeth Bennet and enigmatic Mr Darcy is remarkable for capturing the tone and compressing the complexity of the story into a fast-paced, funny, and fiercely romantic two hours on stage.”

Now, a few years back, I saw Kate Hamill’s adaptation performed at our local university. (This is the same play my daughter designed the lighting for at Belmont University in February of this year.) At that time, I had a knee-jerk Austenite reaction to it and did not enjoy the first few scenes. However, the previous year, I had participated in Rosenbach Museum’s “Austen Mondays” where they read through Pride and Prejudice. One of the episodes they actually discussed adaptations and something they said came to me in that moment of offence at the play. They talked about how all the adaptations before the 1995 Andrew Davies version were reminders of the good old days, and dull and drab. They pointed out that the expectations for adaptations (and I believe most JAFF fits this) is that they have a reason, are done with love and respect and understanding, have the essence of the text, know what is important, serve the needs of the contemporary audience, and each adaptation responds to the last adaptation. They also pointed out that every generation finds something new in it. Taking this into consideration, I was able to relax my “that’s not canon” cringe and enjoy most of the play. (Jane playing ball with Mr. Bingley like he was dog was just a bit too much for me.)

So, I am pleased to share that I will hopefully be traveling to Nashville again in February of 2026 to see yet another P&P play with lighting designed by my daughter and I am eager to see what this playwright has done with our beloved characters.