| For nearly 200 years, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice has remained one of the most popular novels in the English language. This fall, Arizona Theatre Company joyfully charges into its 2005-2006 season with a sumptuous world premiere stage version of this timeless romantic classic. Adapted and directed by Jon Jory, former longtime artistic director of Actors Theatre of Louisville and founder of the acclaimed Humana Festival of New American Plays, Pride and Prejudice runs from September 10 through October 1 at the Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave., in downtown Tucson and continues its run in Phoenix from October 6 through October 23 at the Herberger Theater Center and in Mesa from October 28 through November 6 at the Mesa Arts Center. Pride and Prejudice is supported in part by Nate and Tara Tanpiengco. The 2005-2006 season underwriters are I. Michael and Beth Kasser. "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." Romance, beauty and wry comedy come together in the classic tale of the courtship of Elizabeth Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy. As Mrs. Bennett attempts to marry off her five daughters, Elizabeth, the daughter of a country gentleman, and Darcy, a rich and aristocratic landowner, engage in a romantic clash filled with charming flirtation and caustic wit. Elaborate society balls, hunting parties and smoldering looks propel Elizabeth and Darcy toward the altar to undo his pride and her prejudice, as they ultimately come together in love and self-understanding. Audiences can look forward to highly theatrical staging in Arizona Theatre Company's colorful production. With a cast of fourteen playing 25 roles, adapter/director Jon Jory has created a quick-footed, swiftly moving, truly theatrical version of Austen's witty novel. "With Jon at the helm of this production," said Artistic Director David Ira Goldstein, "it has been easy to attract an astonishingly talented array of actors, designers and craftspeople to create the world of Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen's tale of the Bennet sisters and their various searches for their places in the Regency world of nineteenth-Century England is as current as ever. Her portraits of an astonishing array of characters are gloriously theatrical and an actor's dream. Austin's wit, her irony, her deep understanding of the human character in all its moods is as relevant, as timely, as involving and as truthful as ever. That's the definition of a great classic." Pride and Prejudice is a co-production with San Jose Repertory Theatre where it will play from November 16 through December 30 and Alliance Theatre in Atlanta where it will play from February 8 through March 5. Jon Jory, former artistic director of Long Wharf Theatre and producing director of Actors Theatre of Louisville, was also the founder and artistic director of The Humana Festival of New American Plays for 25 years. Mr. Jory returns to ATC having directed The Underpants in 2004. He has directed in many countries including Hungary, Greece, Canada, Germany and Ireland, and his work has been seen in international festivals in Yugoslavia, Australia, Hong Kong and Bulgaria. Mr. Jory has directed on and off Broadway and with many American regional theatres. He was also inducted into New York Theatre's Hall of Fame. Mr. Jory's adaptation credits include The Brothers Karamazov, East of Eden, Ozma of Oz, and an adaptation based on the short stories of Saki (Hector Hugo Munro). He has written several books for musicals, including She Stoops to Conquer. Returning to ATC as Elizabeth Bennet is Julia Dion who played Louise in The Underpants. Her New York City credits include Filthy Stinking Rich at Ground Floor Theater, Bad Juju at Greenwich Street Theater, A Majority of One at the Jewish Repertory Theatre and Gum at the Mac Wellman Festival. Her regional theatre credits include performances at San Jose Repertory Theatre, The Shakespeare Theatre in Washington D.C., Actors Theatre of Louisville, Mark Taper Forum and Berkshire Theatre Festival. Making his ATC debut as Fitzwilliam Darcy is Anthony Marble whose regional credits include Twelfth Night at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Leap at Cincinnati Playhouse, Henry IV Parts I and II at The Shakespeare Theatre in Washington D.C., and the Colorado Shakespeare Festival where he won an Ovation Award for his portrayal of Benedick. Also returning to ATC are Arizona favorites David Pichette (Mr. Bennet), who played Ferris in Over the Moon, Don John in Much Ado About Nothing, Serge in Art, Adrian in Private Lives, Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Renfield in Dracula, as well as dozens of roles in regional theatres throughout the country; Peggity Price (Mrs. Bennet), who played Gertrude Deuter in The Underpants and has performed regionally in over 50 plays at Actors Theatre of Louisville, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Barter Theatre, Mark Taper Forum and others; Amy Resnick (Mrs. Gardiner/Miss Bingley), who was last seen in For Better or Worse and whose off-Broadway credits include Death of Frank, Goldberg Variations and I Think I Like Girls; and Remi Sandri (Mr. Lucas/Collins) who played Don Pedro in Much Ado About Nothing and whose most recent work includes A Chorus Line, The Underpants, the American premiere of That Was Then and an NEA/DOD sponsored tour to thirteen U.S. military bases playing the title role in Macbeth. Making their ATC debuts are Jennifer Erdmann (Lydia Bennet/Georgiana), whose regional credits include roles at San Jose Repertory Theatre, TheatreWorks, Marin Shakespeare Company and American Musical Theatre of San Jose; Krista Hoeppner (Jane Bennet), who has performed at The Old Globe, Geva Theatre, Dallas Theater Center and Madison Repertory Theatre; Joe Knezevich (Lt. Wickham), who is an associate artist at Georgia Shakespeare and whose regional credits include roles at Alliance Theatre, Horizon Theatre, Synchronicity Performance Group and Theatre in the Square; Pat Nesbit (Catherine de Bourgh/Housekeeper), who performed in the national tours of Biloxi Blues and Copenhagen and received Carbonell Awards for her roles in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Price, Collected Stories and The Middle Ages at Caldwell Theatre; Sarah Roberts (Mary Bennet/Charlotte Lucas); Liam Vincent (Mr. Bingly); Adele Bruni (Kitty Bennet); and Douglas Giorgis (Dancer/Officer). The artistic team includes Robert A. Dahlstrom (Scenic Designer) who designed ATC's production of The Underpants and has designed scenery, lighting, and costumes for many companies including ACT Theatre, Alliance Theatre, American Conservatory Theater, Intiman Theatre, San Jose Repertory Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre and many others; Michael Krass (Costume Designer), whose many recent Broadway designs include The Constant Wife, After the Night and the Music, Twelve Angry Men, night' Mother, and Reckless; Michael Philippi (Lighting Designer), whose Broadway designs include the 50th anniversary revival of Death of a Salesman and Steve Tesich's The Speed of Darkness; Peter Ekstrom (Composer); Stephen LeGrand (Sound Designer); Daniel Pelzig (Choreographer); Tamara Fisch (Assistant Director); Dianne J. Winslow (Dialect Coach); Glenn Bruner (Production Stage Manager); and Bruno Ingram (Stage Manager). Tickets range from $26-$44 depending on date and section choice and are available at www.arizonatheatre.org or by calling the ATC box office at (520) 622-2823. Discounts are available for students, seniors and active military. Half-price student rush tickets are available for balcony seating for all performances one hour prior to curtain at the ATC box office (subject to availability; must show ID). For discounts on groups of eight or more, call (520) 884-8210 x 8204. ATC will offer a Pay What You Can performance on Tuesday, September 13 at 7:30 PM. A limited number of tickets will go on sale at the Temple of Music and Art at 11 AM on the day of the performance. Purchases are limited to two tickets per order with a suggested donation of $5 per ticket and are sold on a first come, first served basis. The tickets must be purchased in person and with cash only. ATC offers audio-described performances for patrons who have low vision or are blind on Thursday, September 22 at 2 PM and Wednesday, September 28 at 2 PM. Interested patrons may request a tactile tour one hour prior to curtain. Braille and large-print playbills are available upon request from the house manager. An American Sign Language-interpreted performance is offered Saturday, October 1 at 8 PM. Patrons who are deaf or hard of hearing will receive a biography of the interpreters, a description of the play and name signs of each character. An open-captioned performance is offered on Thursday, September 22 at 2 PM. As the play progresses, those in open-captioned seating will be able to read the play's dialogue displayed in large green letters on an LED. The service is for patrons with mild to severe hearing loss who may not be ASL-literate. Tickets for all performances are available through the ATC box office at (520) 622-2823. TTY access for the box office is available via Arizona Relay at (800) 367-8939 (TTY/ASCII). For ticket information for the Phoenix and Mesa runs of Pride and Prejudice, call the ATC box office in Phoenix at (602) 256-6995 or visit our website at www.arizonatheatre.org. | |
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