Today@Sam Article

Comedic Adaption Of Pride And Prejudice Opens This Week

Nov. 17, 2019
SHSU Media Contact: Wes Hamilton

Story By: Laura Avery ; Photos By: Brandon Willis

If you’re looking for Masterpiece Theatre’s “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen, this is not it. However, if you are looking for Saturday Night Live’s take on Austen’s 1813 classic novel of manners, you may have hit the jackpot.

Sam Houston State University’s Department of Theatre and Musical Theatre presents Kate Hamill’s surprising and boisterous comic adaption of “Pride and Prejudice” in the Erica Starr Theatre Nov. 20-23. Directed by Vicky Lantz, performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. with a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m.

Kate Hamill’s version of this classic 19th century story centers of course on the underprivileged Bennet family, whose four daughters are in desperate need of an advantageous marriage. Nearly scaring off every notable suitor is their militant mother. The play explores the absurdities and thrills of finding your perfect (or imperfect) match in life while allowing the characters to freely swap identities not just for comedic effect but to make a statement about gender and class norms.

Capturing the hew of Jane Austen’s narrative while pushing the rules of her manners nearly over the edge highlights the irrationalities of the limitations placed on women, and men, in finding a match.

“This production is a merry-go-round, literally and figuratively, with characters spinning playfully through the Austen narrative. The actors wheel around the fast-paced, complex exploration of relationships and love,” Lantz said.

Literature’s greatest tale of latent love has never felt so theatrical or so full of life than in Kate Hamill’s adaption of “Pride and Prejudice.”

Read more about the show at: www.shsu.edu/see/shows/PrideandPrejudice.

For ticket information, contact the Performing Arts Center Box Office at 936.294.2339 or visit www.shsutickets.com to purchase your tickets online. Tickets are $12 if purchased in advance, $15 at the door. SHSU Students can obtain one free ticket the week of the show. SHSU faculty and staff may purchase two tickets at $5 each.

The Erica Starr Theatre is located in the University Theatre Center at 1740 Bobby K. Marks Drive and 17th street between the Newton Gresham Library and the James and Nancy Gaertner Performing Arts Center.

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