Prime Stage Theatre to Present GREAT EXPECTATIONS in November

When Victorian Era author Charles Dickens wasn't writing best-selling novels dramatizing the urgent societal concerns of the day, he relaxed by staging elaborate family plays in his London home.

That's according to Dickens' great-great-grandson Mark Charles Dickens, who will appear via Zoom for a post-show discussion following Prime Stage Theatre's opening night performance of Great Expectations on Nov. 2.

It rings true for Prime Stage Theatre artistic director Dr. Wayne Brinda. "Charles Dickens' prose has so much inherent theatricality in his characters, settings and plots. The new stage version of Great Expectations we're premiering in Pittsburgh brings out that theatricality for today's audiences."

Adapted by English playwright Neil Bartlett, Prime Stage Theatre's Great Expectations runs for seven shows Nov. 1-10, 2024 at New Hazlett Theater, 6 Allegheny Square East, on Pittsburgh's Northside.

Director Art DeConciliis guides a versatile cast featuring Sam Lander as Pip and Michaela Isenberg as his romantic interest Estella, with a variety of roles played by Jeff Boles, Alex Brandel, Chelsea Davis, John Dolphin, Dylan Pal, Jennifer Sinatra and Brett Sullivan Santry.

Tickets (adult $39, artists & educators $24, student $19) are available by calling (412) 320-4610 ext. 10 or by reserving online at https://tinyurl.com/4avfucnr.

Great Expectations is an imaginative take on the classic rags-to-riches theme Dickens refined in a series of popular novels from 1836 to 1870. It fits squarely with Prime Stage Theatre's 2024-2025 season of Strength, Voices and Hope, says Brinda.

"People often ask why Dickens still matters in our time. The answer may be that his skill in conveying universal human emotions and experiences made his messages of optimism and hope timeless."

Dickens descendant Mark Charles Dickens, a former British Royal Navy commander, has thoughts on the subject and will share them at the Nov. 2 opening night talkback.

"Charles Dickens was a great champion for the poor," Dickens says. "He'd been there. He'd seen it. And he actually changed laws. Members of Parliament would write to him with their stories, and he would put them in his books, and the laws would change."

Prime Stage Theatre has also made a special commitment to promoting accessibility for special needs audiences. In 2022, Prime Stage Theatre audio describer Nathan Ruggles won a national Achievement Award in Audio Description from the American Council of the Blind.

Prime Stage Theatre offers student matinee performances, as well as an array of teacher workshops demonstrating how theatre enhances literacy and classroom learning.

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