Trinity Rep Announces PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

Trinity Rep will open its 2018-19 Season with Pride and Prejudice by Kate Hamill, adapted from the novel by Jane Austen. This classic "will they or won't they" romance between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy is infused with fresh vitality and hilarity in this effervescent new comedic adaptation, directed by Birgitta Victorson. Pride and Prejudice runs October 4 - November 4 with press opening on Monday, October 8 at 7:30 pm. Tickets start at $25. More information can be found at www.trinityrep.com/pride.

Mrs. Bennet is determined to see her daughters married. In fact, she will do anything to get them there, including embarrassing them socially. When one her daughters, Elizabeth (Lizzy) decides that she does not want to get married - all hell breaks loose. At the same time, Lizzy meets the stuffy Mr. Darcy who comes across more arrogant than anything else. As events unfold, Darcy and Lizzy continue to meet and the two find that first impressions aren't always correct - and Lizzy starts to wonder if marriage isn't always a bad thing. This classic love story becomes a rollicking good time with this new adaptation and is sure to delight audiences and have them gripping at their sides in laughter.

Kate Hamill is an actor and playwright, who was named the Wall Street Journal's Playwright of the Year in 2017. Her adaptation of Pride and Prejudice premiered at New York's Cherry Lane Theater by Primary Stages last year and has since been produced at Seattle Rep. She had previously adapted Austen's Sense and Sensibility for Bedlam theater, which was founded by Trinity Rep Conservatory graduate Eric Tucker. In addition to Austen adaptations, Hamill has also adapted Vanity Fair and is currently working on new adaptations of The Odyssey and The Scarlet Letter, as well as several new original plays (Prostitute Play, In the Mines, Love Poem). She was one of the 20 most-produced playwrights in the country this past season.

The Arthur P. Solomon and Sally E. Lapides Artistic Director, Curt Columbus, said, "Kate Hamill's adaptation of Pride and Prejudice is the perfect show to kick off our 2018-19 Season because it fits into so many of Trinity Rep's great traditions. We love exploring timeless literary tales here, and there are few more significant, and more beloved than this Jane Austen novel. At the same time, Kate's adaptation is so fleet, funny, and unexpected, that it takes a classic story and electrifies it with a glorious, new energy - something we do here all the time, as well. Director Birgitta Victorson's choreographic and comedic style is the perfect fit with this great, new adaptation, so I know audiences are in for a treat."

Director Birgitta Victorson is a Brown/Trinity Rep MFA graduate from 2007 who returns to Trinity Rep after directing A Christmas Carol (2009) and Paris by Night (2008). Her work has been seen at the Goodman, Steppenwolf, Chicago Shakespeare, Second City, the Hangar, Two River, EST, the Pearl, Jamal Jackson Dance and Miloco. She currently teaches at Saint Ann's in Brooklyn and the National High School Institute at Northwestern University.

Joining Victorson on the creative team are designers Michael McGarty (set design), Olivera Gajic (costume design), Dawn Chiang (lighting design), and Broken Chord, (sound design).

The cast features many of Trinity Rep's resident acting company members: Rebecca Gibel (Elizabeth Bennet), Rachael Warren (Mr. Darcy/Mr. Wickham), Janice Duclos (Mrs. Bennet), Angela Brazil (Mr. Bingley/Mary), Joe Wilson, Jr. (Mr. Collins/Miss Bingley) as well as Brown/Trinity alumnus Shelley Fort '15 (Jane/ Miss De Bourgh) and current Brown/Trinity student Katie Croyle '19 (Lydia/Catherine) and guest artist Richard Donelly (Mr. Bennet/ Charlotte).

Continuing Trinity Rep's tradition of offering affordable tickets for all, the theater will have discounted previews of Pride and Prejudice. Thursday, October 4 is a Pay What You Can performance. Pay What You Can tickets go on sale at 6:30 pm that evening, and are limited to one per person.

On Friday, October 19, Trinity Rep and Stage Source will host a Parity Party prior to the 7:30 pm performance in celebration of this production receiving Stage Source's Standing O designation, which recognizes theatrical productions which feature the work of female theater artists. Pride and Prejudice's writer and director are women, in addition to a majority of the cast and half of the design team. Trinity Rep has made diversifying the voices of its artists a priority in recent years. The Parity Party will be held in theater's lobby from 6:00 pm until the start of the 7:30 performance. It will feature wine and chocolate and recognition of the important role played by women in the theater.

Other special performances for this production include an Open Captioned performance for the show on Sunday, October 7 at 2:00 pm and Wednesday, October 17 at 2:00 and 7:00 pm. The Next Generation Night will be held on Thursday, October 11 and includes a pre-show reception for the next generation of theater-goers. The Teens Talk performance will be held on Friday, October 12, which features Trinity Rep's Teen Ambassadors discussing their perspective on the show following the 7:30 performance.

A Context & Conversation panel discussion will be held on Thursday, October 18 at 7:30 pm at Wage House in Pawtucket in conjunction with the production. At this free event, panelists from Wage House, a women-led improv comedy theater will discuss the role of women in comedy. Christina Bevilacqua, Trinity Rep's conversationalist-in-residence will moderate the discussion. To register, please visit www.wagehouse.com/events.

Pride and Prejudice at Trinity Rep is sponsored by Navigant Credit Union. The 2018-19 Season Sponsors are Ocean State Job Lot and Rhode Island Council on the Arts. Southwest is the official airline of Trinity Rep.

Rhode Island's Tony Award-winning theater, Trinity Rep has created unparalleled professional theater for and with its community since its founding in 1963. Trinity Rep strives to facilitate human connection and has been a driving force behind the creativity that fuels and defines the region for more than 50 years.

Trinity Rep is committed to reinventing the public square and inspiring dialogue by creating emotionally-stimulating live productions that range from classical to contemporary and innovative education programs for all ages and abilities. Its annual production of A Christmas Carol has brought families together for 41 years and made memories for over a million audience members.

Subscriptions for the 2018-19 Season are now on sale. The season includes Pride & Prejudice by Kate Hamill, black odyssey by Marcus Gardley, a special limited-engagement of An Iliad by Lisa Peterson and Denis O'Hare, Macbeth by William Shakespeare, The Song of Summer by Lauren Yee, Little Shop of Horrors with book and lyrics by Howard Ashman and music by Alan Menken, and José Rivera's Marisol.

For more information on our 2018-19 Season, call the box office at (401) 351-4242 or visit Trinity Rep's website at www.TrinityRep.com.

To post a comment, you must register and login.