Someting old, something new, Donald Hardy's adaptation of Austen's Pride and Prejudice is sure to delight everyone, even you!

Something old, something new. This week I have two reviews of shows that were terrific experiences for me, and I hope they will be for you too. The marvelous little Butterfield 8 Theater in Concord has taken a big leap of faith with an entirely new adaptation of a very famous book (Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice), by a local author (Donald L. Hardy). into a two part play that does require two completely separate shows to present the full richness and beauty crafted by Jane Austen in her world renowned work.

Writer and story adaptor Donald L. Hardy, struggled for nearly a year trying to abbreviate and reduce the eloquence and complexity of the story encapsulated in Pride and Prejudice down into a manageable two hour format. The encapsulated version just did not work, so he went back to a process of converting this remarkable book into a theatrical format, but this time, using both first person and third person narration lifted directly from Austen’s own masterful work. As David Hardy reveals, he did not want to “create a one night romp through the most basic plotlines – (which was ) tempting to do, since so many people already knew the story”. The adaptation is a melded work of translational genius. The final play is carried out in two separate performances, part I and part II. It is intriguing, engaging and thought-provoking, and apparently from the post-performance discussions between audience members who remained for a rather lengthy time on opening night, the final result was truly appreciated.

Austin wrote romantic novels with acute realism, articulate richness, understated simplicity, endearing qualities, and most unique of all, she wrote in the “Third Person format”. In 1813 the world became enamored with this story of romance among the landed gentry. “Pride and Prejudice” is so rich in historical perspective, so representative of the social norms of the times, that to cut away any of her rich and rewarding writing would be a travesty. Its principal characters are so diverse in personality, for many, it was considered remarkable that they could ever engage in meaningful relationships.

The story revolves around the unique family situation of the Bennet family, wherein the family lives on an estate which can only be passed in title to a male heir. Since the Bennett family consists of a husband and wife and five daughters, they stand in the precarious position of losing the property should the head of the household, Mr. Bennet (Alan Cameron), become deceased. This creates great anxiety for Mrs. Bennet (Maureen-Theresa Williams) who is eagerly seeking any opportunity to find appropriate husbands for her daughters.

When a very wealthy young gentleman, Mr. Bingley (Alexander Murphy), acquires the neighboring property called Netherfield, and arrives with his sisters and a good friend, Mr. Darcy (Edwin Peabody) in tow, they become acquainted with the Bennet family through a community dance assemblage. Mr. Bingley is well received by everyone and he becomes enamored with the oldest Bennet daughter, Jane (Amy Liebert). Mr. Darcy on the other hand, shows contempt and disdain for the locals and rejects the Bennet family and all those of similar social ilk. The next oldest daughter, Elizabeth (Becky Potter), is not kindly disposed to Mr. Darcy’s rejection of her family, and demonstrates cunning wit and resolve in meeting each sarcastic remark by Mr. Darcy with equally biting retorts, setting off what would appear, at first, to be the center of the conflict in this novel. But no, as Mr. Bingley and Miss Jane Bennet become closer, there are many more interwoven stories of conflict that arise between these families, in laws, out laws and acquaintances. Miss Caroline Bingley, who is Mr. Bingley’s sister, and a very snobbish girl, becomes increasingly spiteful toward the Bennet family as she discovers that Mr. Darcy (the wealthy gentlemen she has cast her eyes upon) is becoming more and more intrigued with the uncommonly outspoken and strong spirited Elizabeth Bennet.

Within this same time frame, Mr. Bennet’s unmarried cousin, Mr. Collins (David Hardie), arrives at the Bennet estate (Longbourn). Under the current title laws, Mr. Collins would be the logical nearest male who would inherit the Bennet estate due to their lack of sons. He is employed by a wealthy patron as the local parish rector. His appointment to this position has also given rise to his self importance and ego-centered behavior. He expresses the desire to marry one of the Bennet daughters, to keep the estate in the family by virtue of marriage. He is rejected by the two older daughters he prefers, Jane and Elizabeth, as Jane has great hopes that Mr. Bingley will eventually ask for her hand, and Miss Elizabeth has cast her eyes on a very handsome, personable and gregarious military officer, a Mr. George Wickham (Carter Chastain). The intrigues continue to multiply as lies, jealousies, conflicts and misunderstandings arise and prevail.
The story never becomes boring or weighty and it moves along surprisingly well under the expert and excellent guidance and direction of John Butterfield. There are 16 actors employed in this stellar endeavor, most of whom I do not have space to appropriately recognize in this article. All of the acting is superb, with very few missed lines or ques. The remainder of the cast not previously mentioned include: Ali Arman, Jake Breckinridge, Jessamy Collier, Terry Downward, Deborah Doyle, Gary Mutz, Molly Kaye Taylor, and the delightful, squealing younger Bennet daughter, Lydia, played by Annie Potter.

Scenic design, lighting design and choreography, all by John Butterfield, is simple but effective, designed to allow this very complicated play to move forward without time consuming set or scenery changes. The costumes created and orchestrated by Liz Martin and her co-costume creators at the Pink Depford Dressing Studio in Martinez, are all expertly conceived and executed, to the great enhancement of this time relevant script. Lynda Wenzelberger has lent her expertise to the excellent wig creations.

While I knew before we attended the show that it was a play to be produced in two parts, I also had other local show openings the following weekend that I felt were important to see as soon as they opened. I had thought that I would come back to see “Part II” later in the run, but I was informed by my wife and daughter who attended with me, that they didn’t care what shows I was going to see next weekend, but they were coming back to see part II next weekend, with or without me! Well, I now will be returning next Friday to see “Pride and Prejudice”.

These performances are very reasonably priced community theater productions at $12 for seniors and students, $18 for adults and $10 for TBA (members of Theater Bay Area) and Actors Equity members. “Pride and Prejudice” continues Thursday (8/18), Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., with Saturday matinees at 2 p.m. and Sunday afternoon performances at 3 p.m., now through August 26th. For those of you who want to see the entire production in one day, there will be one consolidated Saturday afternoon performance beginning at 2 pm, to be followed in the evening with the second installment at 8 p.m., allowing time for a comfortable dinner at one of the nearby Santos Park dining establishments and perhaps even browsing other local business establishments. The Butterfield 8 Theater Company uses the Cue Productions Live performance space at 1835 Colfax Street in Concord, only one and a half blocks East of Todos Santos square in downtown Concord. Tickets may be selected and purchased by calling Brown Paper Tickets at (800) 838-3006 or by purchasing tickets at the door. You can also gather more information by going online to http://www.b8company.com and click on “Events” for more information about the company and the show. This is a very informal theater with casual seating in a cabaret type of venue. I always bring an extra tush cushion for my bony derriere. On-street parking can be tight on Friday and Saturday nights due to a number of restaurants and clubs nearby, so come a little early. Seating is open, so come first and be first seated!


My Fair Lady is a rousing success at the Woodminster Amphitheater in the Oakland Hills!

Lerner and Lowe’s “My Fair Lady” opened this past weekend and drew a huge crowd to the Woodminster Amphitheater in Joaquin Miller Park in the Oakland Hills, right above the LDS “Mormon” Temple, on Joaquin Miler Road. This perennial favorite is always popular with community theaters and audiences alike. The upbeat, romantic, fun-filled music and the powerful message about male chauvinism that plagued Europe from the Victorian age through 1912 when the original play was written by its author, George Bernard Shaw, is just plain hard to resist.

Shaw says in his preface to the play, “ - - - The English have no respect for their language, and will not teach their children to speak it. They spell it so abominably that no man can teach himself what it sounds like. It is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman hate or despise him. German and Spanish are accessible to foreigners: English is not accessible even to Englishmen. The reformer England needs today is an energetic phonetic enthusiast: that is why I have made such a one, the hero of a popular play.”

The original play was written in large part due to Shaw’s infatuation with the beautiful British actress, Mrs. Patrick Campbell, and his frustration with her exaggerations and affectations layered on over her natural speech and diction, an artificial elitism that he considered a detriment to her true potential as an actress. In other words, she was adding a phony suburban social exaggeration meant to make her sound like many in high society were desirous to sound.

This Woodminster “My Fair Lady” production is a delightfully witty musical adaptation of the original story about Professor Henry Higgins (played by Robert Moorhead), who overhears a Cockney flower girl, a Miss Eliza Doolittle (Susan Himes Powers, soliciting funds for her flowers from the London elite. Her cockney drawl is so unique, whining and offensive to the ear, at least to Higgins ( a professor of language and phonetics), that he begins taking notes on her regionalized vernacular. In the process he encounters Colonel Pickering (Gene Brundage), another speech expert, to whom he boasts that he (Higgins) is so knowledgeable and disciplined in his practice, that with 6 months of hard work and instruction, he could take this “catawallering” flower girl and transform her from an unrefined street person into a proper speaking and acting well bred lady. Further, he makes a bet with Pickering, that at the end of this instructional time, he could even go so far as to take her to a Grand Embassy Ball and fool everyone in attendance into thinking that she really is a well bred, genteel lady!

To make a long story short, he succeeds. Eliza’s painful and arduous education under the tyrannical Higgins works and she is successful in the “big test” at the ball, after all.

This is an exceptionally well done production in almost all aspects. The cast selection is very good especially for Community Theater, with leads who have professional credentials as Equity Association Actors. In fact, it is quite unusual where a community theater can afford to engage 8 Equity Actors for one show! The choreography (by Peggy Nixon) and the musical direction (by Brandon Adams) also work very well. This is a very long play but the company moves it along quite well. Director Joel Schlader pulled together many divergent elements for a very enjoyable evening of entertainment. This is the company’s 45th year and they are pulling out all stops for your enjoyment.

I highly recommend the drive down highway 13 to Joaquin Miller Park, above the Mormon Temple, at 3300 Joaquin Miller Road, in the Oakland Hills to take in “My Fair Lady”. Theatre under the stars can be a bit chilly, even this late in August, so dress in layers and bring a tush cushion if you do not have ample cushioning of your own. This is a great place to come early, bring a picnic basket and eat dinner in the park before the theatre performs in the evening. You can also purchase food in theater compound and I highly recommend the hotdog vender (a fairly recent addition, separate from the refreshment stand) whose polish dogs are outstanding. All shows begin at 8 p.m., Thursday, Friday, Saturday and closing this coming Sunday (August 14th). Ticket prices range between $26 and $42 each, with a $2 discount for children and seniors. Call (510) 531-9597 or go online to Ticketweb.com or contact www.woodminster.com for additional information or ordering tickets.