Not that long ago marriages were arranged by a matchmaker and the bride and groom rarely met before they saw each other under a wedding canopy. Today couples meet online and in bars and at church and on blind dates. You can even meet someone in the vegetable aisle at the supermarket.
Yet far away, in the little town of Anatevka, Russia, Tevye the milkman and his wife Golde, from “Fiddler on the Roof” fame, struggled with the happy problem of having too many daughters to find husbands for, and, it wouldn’t hurt if the husbands brought some cows and chickens as a dowry. A romantic novel by Jane Austen, many decades later, deals with another husband and wife, the Bennets, who also are blessed with a quartet of daughters of marriageable age. For the Bennets, love is not an issue as much as the size of the prospective suitors’ pocketbooks.
Set in England in 1813, Hartford Stage has swept the world back in time to a new adaptation by Kate Hamill of Jane Austen’s work of “Pride and Prejudice” capturing the stage until Sunday, November 5. It is incumbent upon the eldest daughters Jane (Maria Gabriela Gonzalez) and Lizzy (Renata Eastlick) to save the family estate Longbourn by marrying well, to suitable men of great wealth, like the mysterious strangers Mr. Bingley (Sergio Mauritz Ang) and Mr. Darcy (Carman Lacivita), otherwise their home will be lost for lack of a sufficient male recipient since women cannot be heirs.
Mrs. Bennet (Lana Young) is determined to secure the financial future of the family, especially since her husband (Anne Scurria) seems more concerned with his newspaper than with the fate of their home should he die. The other daughters Mary (Madeleine Barker) and Lydia (Zoe Kim) do not seem too involved in the marriage game, but the youngest one Lydia, although only fourteen, soon gets caught up in the playing and acts rashly.
While Bingley and Jane seem to be attracted to each other, Darcy and Lizzy spark anger with the other and he admits after one dance that Lizzy is too plain to attract him. Other gentlemen in the running for the prize are Wickham and Mr. Collins (both portrayed by Sergio Mauritz Ang). The characters frequently cross roles from male to female with facility, aided by the clever costuming by Haydee Zelideth, on a sparkling stage designed by Sara Brown, with the uproarious direction of Tatyana-Marie Carlo.
As romances flare and flame, with disappointments and proposals flying through the rose petalled air, one wonders if anyone will find their true love match by play’s curtain. Interference and problems are created by Anne De Bourgh (Maria Gabriela Gonzalez), Lady Catherine (Zoe Kim), Miss Bingley (Madeleine Barker) and Charlotte (Anne Scurria) who are all clearly jealous and want to stop the courtships, usually to their own favor. For tickets ($30 and up), call the Hartford Stage, 50 Church Street, Hartford at 860-527-5151 or online at HartfordStage.org. Performances are Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday at select 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
Come watch Lizzy, who has pledged never to marry, and her sisters as they engage themselves in the game of wedlock with humorous and romantic results.
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