Go behind-the-scenes with PRIDE & PREJUDICE at KCRep

Nedra Dixon as Mrs. Bennet, Nicole Marie Green as Lydia (front), and Bree Elrod as Lizzie (back) in KCRep’s 2019 production of PRIDE & PREJUDICE (Photo by Cory Weaver)
Costumes Designed by Melissa Torchia

Next up in Kansas City Repertory Theatre’s 2018/2019 season is the multiple award-winning and much-heralded production, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE written by Kate Hamill, directed by KCRep’s recently-departed Associate Artistic Director, Marissa Wolf, and based on the novel by Jane Austen. Hamill’s hilarious, gender-bending reimagining of arguably Austen’s most beloved book, runs March 22 – April 20, 2019, at Spencer Theatre on the UMKC campus.

Director Marissa Wolf, who most recently directed A CHRISTMAS CAROL and THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME at KCRep, calls Hamill’s adaptation, “A fantastic, feminist farce! Hamill writes with an athleticism embedded in the language and physicality of the play, which beautifully embodies Austen’s wickedly smart, buoyant spirit.”

Brian Demar Jones and Bree Elrod in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (Photo by Cory Weaver)
Costume Design by Melissa Torchia

Take a look behind-the-scenes for a sneak peek at the production: designed by Melissa Torchia, the costumes created for PRIDE AND PREJUDICE are Regency fashion at its finest. Costume Shop Manager Gayla Voss and her team are exceptionally busy right now sewing costumes and holding fittings.

Both reverently devoted to the original source material, yet remarkably funny, moving, and filled with unexpected surprises, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE is a favorite comedy of manners from the British Regency period. There are overarching themes of gender and marriage that the strong-willed Austen left behind for future generations to debate and negotiate, but Hamill’s stylized approach to getting people laughing is what this version is really all about.

Costume Design by Melissa Torchia

Finding a husband is hardly Elizabeth Bennet’s most urgent priority. But with four sisters, an overzealous mother, and a string of unsuitable suitors, it’s a difficult subject to escape. When the independent ‘Lizzy’ meets the vaguely handsome but enigmatic Mr. Darcy, all feelings of attraction are muted by his pride and her prejudice.

The Company for PRIDE AND PREJUDICE features, alphabetically, Walter Coppage as Charlotte/Mr. Bennet; Sam Cordes as Mr. Collins/Wickham/Miss Bingley; Nedra Dixon as Mrs. Bennet; Bree Elrod as Lizzy Bennet; Nicole Marie Green as Lydia/Lady Catherine; Brian Demar Jones as Mr. Darcy; Andy Perkins as Bingley/Mary; and Lauren Spencer as Jane/Mrs. DeBourgh. Rachel M. Dyer serves as the Assistant Stage Manager, and Mary R. Honour is the Stage Manager. Besides director Wolf, the production/design team includes Choreographer Darrell Moultrie, Set Design by Kimie Nishikawa, Costume Design by Melissa Torchia, Masha Tsimring is Lighting Designer and Madeleine Oldham is Sound Designer. Wig Designer Alison Hanks, Dialect Coach Scott Stackhouse, and Assistant Director Amy O’Connor round out the team.

Tickets for PRIDE AND PREJUDICE start at just $38 and may be purchased by visiting https://kcrep.org/show/pride-and-prejudice or by calling the KCRep box office at 816-235-2700. Groups of nine or more receive discounted tickets by calling Andrew at 816-235-6122.

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