By Chuck Graham, TucsonStage.com
photo by Tim Fuller
The fabled Bronte sisters are, from left, Emily (Allison Akmajian), Charlotte (Dawn McMillan) and Anne (Myani Watson) devoted to their books and their independence.
The internet is always at your service, and a thoughtful search is definitely recommended before attending “Bronte,” playing through March 11 at the Scoundrel and Scamp Theatre, just west of North Fourth Avenue off East University Boulevard.
British playwright Polly Teale has put together a challenging amalgam of emotional peaks and valleys to portray the cauldron of deprived home life that inspired the three Bronte sisters to write “Jane Eyre” (Charlotte), “Wuthering Heights” (Emily) and “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall” (Anne).
Though “Tenant” is less well known it is considered the most shocking of all the Brontes' novels. After Anne's death in 1849, sister Charlotte prevented its re-publication in England until 1854.
There is no shortage of obstacles intended to keep women in their place in the private world Teale does present. Playing the sisters are Dawn McMillan (Charlotte), Emily (Allison Akmajian) and Anne (Myani Watson). Other family members are Hunter Hnat as their troubled brother Branwell and Tony Caprile as their stern clergyman father Patrick Bronte.
Cathy and Bertha complete the cast, both played by Elizabeth Falcon.
Bryan Rafael Falcon is director and Elizabeth Falcon doubles as associate director.
All the actors have additional small roles added to their main roles. These character changes are not always clearly made or announced with a switch of costumes. Some of this confusion is intended by the playwright, who wants to show how the sisters' creativity in their novels was fueled out of the limited opportunities at home as well as in their small Yorkshire town's attitude toward both genders in 1840s England.
Unlike the opportunities freely afforded their promising brother, the three female Brontes kept living on a daily diet of frustration as they matured into young women. As girls they had made up their own living room plays packed with imaginary adventures pretending to be world explorers and brave soldiers.
But with maturity came a limit to their choices in the real world. Women who weren't married could only become governesses. That was about it.
Valuing their own independence, this trio of sisters did not seek much employment or popularity. Nor were they successful at looking after other people's children.
Meanwhile their brother Branwell had his own problems living up to all that was expected of him as the young man of the house – which was looked over by their father, a stern clergyman losing his eyesight.
Branwell wasn't strong enough to meet the challenges of college and the competition of other men. He succumbed to the burdens of alcoholism and drugs. However Emily, the most rigid sister, was always willing to help him no matter what.
As their family home was the meager parsonage of a working class congregation, any spark of creativity would have to come from the determined souls of these women themselves. Though quarrelsome at times, they encouraged each other, first submitting their stories using the fictitious names of men.
While their novels have subsequently become pillars of classical literature, at the time of publication their greatest triumph was to break through the barrier that insisted women could never write as well as men.
“Bronte” continues through March 11 with performances Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Sunday matinees at 2 p.m., in the Scoundrel & Scamp Theatre at the Historic Y, 738 N. Fifth Ave. Running time is 2:30, including a 10-minute intermission. Recommended for ages 15 and older.
Tickets are $30 general admission; $28 for seniors 65 and older; $15 student and teacher; $15 theater artist. For details, 520-448-3300, or visit online scoundrelandscamp.org, or email boxoffice@scoundrelandscamp.org
The COVID protocol recommends wearing a mask at all times in the theater.
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