Pride and Prejudice comes to Pitt

Pride and Prejudice Dec. 6 to 22 Stephen Foster Memorial Theatre Presented by… Pride and Prejudice Dec. 6 to 22 Stephen Foster Memorial Theatre Presented by Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre Directed by Scott Wise 412-561-6000

This holiday season, the Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre brings the timeless novel “Pride and Prejudice” to life on stage right on campus in The Stephen Foster Memorial Theatre. “Pride and Prejudice” is considered Jane Austen’s greatest and most popular work of literature. Set in the 18th century, “Pride and Prejudice” tells the love story of the proud and wealthy Mr. Darcy and the headstrong and witty Elizabeth Bennet.

PICT’s adaptation of the Jane Austen’s most well-known book will star Leah M. Curney and David Whalen as Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. “Pride and Prejudice” will be Curney’s PICT debut.

“It’s really been lovely. The book is the favorite of mine so to do a stage adaptation has been a lot of fun,” said Churney in a recent phone interview, describing her first experience working with PICT.

Unlike his costar, Whalen is a veteran of the PICT stage, having performed in three other plays this season, from George W. Bush in “Stuff Happens,” Mark Antony in “Julius Caesar” and Padraic Osbourne in “The Lieutenant of Inishmore.”

“It’s a lot different than playing George Bush and Caesar. It’s more restrained with a whole different time period and style. The fun comes with researching England and finding out how people lived in England and their manners and customs,” Whalen said in a phone interview.

Both Curney and Whalen are fans of the romance and intricate plot of “Pride and Prejudice” and look forward to portraying the characters that they admire.

Curney describes her part of Elizabeth Bennet as “a gift of a role to play.”

Whalen enjoys playing Mr. Darcy and admires the thought and complexity that Austen put into his character.

“People think that Austen’s novels are just for women, but the men in the stories are written very well. Darcy is a complex character because you can see pride and arrogance, but my job is to show that that is his unbearable shyness. He’s a great character because once he falls in love, he doesn’t let that change, which is very romantic,” Whalen explains.

Churney similarly describes her love of the “humor and wit of ‘Pride and Prejudice.’ It’s a big journey of self-discovery before they fall in love. It’s not just boy meets girl, but a much more complicated journey before they can really fall in love.”

With the recent resurfacing of Jane Austen’s popularity in Hollywood with movies like “The Jane Austen Book Club,” “Becoming Jane” and the 2006 adaptation of “Pride and Prejudice” starring Keira Knightly, PICT is anticipating an excellent turnout for the performance.

“Jane Austen is such a timeless writer. She isn’t really dated so I think it’ll help us,” said the play’s marketing director and assistant director Melissa Grande in regard to the expected success of “Pride and Prejudice.”

According to Grande, the plot and dialog of the play, the script written by the acclaimed playwright Jon Jory, is quite similar to the classic novel.

“The play is very close to the book. It’s a very good adaptation of the book, but it’s still very much a piece of theatre which makes it exciting,” said Grande.

“Pride and Prejudice” will be running from Dec. 8 to 22 in the Charity Randall Theatre of the Stephen Foster Memorial building. There will be preview performances on Dec. 6 and 7 at 8 p.m. Student Tickets are $15 for all performances while regular adult admission will be $29 for the previews and $45 for all other performances.