Pride and Prejudice (Primary Stages)

See it if While keeping much of Austin's delicious comedy of manners, Hamill's adapt too often gets caught up in silly, pop culture mannerisms & bores

Don't see it if Suprisingly, male cast comes off better than females. Hamill is too often one note & too broad but both Tufts & Bedard outrageously funny

See it if you're a fan of the Bennett sisters, enjoy the playwright's past work, want an evening full of honest & genuine laughs

Don't see it if Jane Austen is not your thing, you feel a humorous adaptation dishonors Austen, actors playing multiple roles and lack of scenery disturbs

See it if you’re a fan of Jane Austen, or shows in the vein of RTC’s The Robber Bridegroom, Fiasco’s Into the Woods, or Soulpepper’s Of Human Bondage.

Don't see it if you don’t like genre mashups. This integrates certain modern elements into the classic world of Jane Austen.

Also I’m a big fan of the “brand” of creativity employed by this show. Actors play multiple parts, doing quick changes on stage, and sitting or standing off to the side when not in a scene, and reacting as the audience would. This is quirky and fun, and you can tell the cast is having a great time.... Read more Read less

See it if you love the satire and sly fun in Jane Austen's classic novel. Imaginative staging, delightful singing, great silliness.

Don't see it if you are hooked on the romances. They are the plot but not the purpose of this production.

See it if you enjoy the overuse of mugging and screaming in a play. You want to see Jason O'Connell keep getting better and better as an actor.

Don't see it if you are a traditionalist. The play misses most of the flavor of Austen's novel.

Also I wish that Eric Tucker would have directed this piece. He would have brought a lot of the inventiveness that was so apparent in "Sense and Sensibility." Also, I would have liked to see more Bedlam actors in the play (I know it is not a Bedlam production) in addition to Kate Hamill and Jason O'Connell. Amanda Dehnert is just not an interesting director as Eric Tucker. Amelia Pedlow is the only actor to seem to be aware of the period of this play.... Read more Read less

See it if You like a different take on Austen’s classics, and know Kate Hamill’s work. Actors play multiple characters, adding to the hilarity.

Don't see it if You expect the typical British drawing room version of an Austen novel. Do not like pratfalls or silliness.

Also If you were fortunate enough to see Kate Hamill and Jason O’Connell in Sense and Sensibility, P&P is a familiar experience for you.
The other first timers are in for a really fun theatrical experience. Watching the ensemble have a great time on stage, is only part of the experience. It would be worth it to see this place several times, just to see how much change there is from night to night in the dialogue, and actions of the players, based on the reaction of the audience.
Everyone in the theater has a good time.... Read more Read less

See it if want to see a creative irreverent adaptation of a Jane Austen novel

Don't see it if you loved Kate Hamill's version of Sense & Sensibility and are expecting something of that quality again.

Also Unlike S&S, this one tries too hard and the effort shows. Nevertheless it has its moments.... Read more Read less

See it if You just want to have fun with a quirky take on a classic.

Don't see it if You need your classic super true to form and don't like farce and going with the FUN vs the cut and dry dialogue

Also I did not love the direction in which Elizabeth and Darcy were played in this particular production. They were the two least interesting characters in this play and I am a huge fan of Hamill and O'Connell.

But I could not stop laughing at the fun the actors were having and how smart their farce was. This was well worth the ticket and I look forward to Hamill's next show.... Read more Read less

See it if you don’t mind a version of P&P where Lydia is the most complex character; you like Mel Brooks’ comedy at its loudest & flappiest.

Don't see it if you won’t tolerate Mel Brooks’ style poorly done by the lead. Be honest because this play is not quick. People left @ intermission.

Also The sad thing is Hamill is the weak link in her own show. (She wrote the script and plays the lead.) Her comic repertoire consists of only 3 moves: making the same pathetic grimace over and over, shrieking, and crawling around on all fours. Every other performer exhibits more range than she does and not just because they’re doubling roles. Any of them—even the men—would have been a better Lizzy.

Rest of the cast is good. Group movement is well choreographed. Act 2 is when Hamill, as playwright, offers her unique point of view on Lydia. Austen isn’t sacred to me (I actually liked Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) so I have no beef with the madcap stylization, but the novel and the characters are really emptied of their richness here. No reason farce can’t also have heart or romance.

Since everyone’s throwing it out there: yes, I saw Sense & Sensibility and thought it was ok; no, P&P isn’t as good.... Read more Read less

See it if you love Jane Austen in general, Pride and Prejudice specifically and especially Kate Hamill, who has done it again - a true theater talent.

Don't see it if you don’t enjoy poking fun at classic stories. Austen would be rolling, all right, but completely in laughter. SO GOOD.

See it if you are a fan of Austen and want to see a remarkable variation on a traditional story. It will make you so happy! Hats off to them all!

Don't see it if You are a purist about Austen and don't enjoy an out-of-the-box production.

Also WOW!! The Cherry Lane Theatre is having a season that is a bowl of ripe cherries for theatre lovers. As if Discord was not treat enough, next up is P&P, which completely knocked me out. Want to see a Star Wars scene in the proceedings? Or how about a famous opera aria? Sounds contrived or forced, perhaps, but it comes off beautifully, as if a gene from the Monty Python group was in this production. It has elements of the 1981 Nicholas Nickleby, but is not as emotionally draining. Everyone is stellar, and I wish them all a glorious Thanksgiving--top of my list is this show, for which I am eternally grateful. Rest up, all, and return with a superb variation on another classic!... Read more Read less

See it if Have a great time revisiting a classic novel in a totally engaging manner , funnier than Sense and Sensibility

Don't see it if You take life and love seriously and want your theater to do the same

See it if You enjoy creative versions of shows. This is a farce, so prepare for a comedy rather than a romance.

Don't see it if You are a P&P purist or you don't like gender bender characters.

See it if You're a fan of Jane Austen, or just enjoy madcap comedy

Don't see it if You don't like Jane Austen, aren't a fan of breaking the fourth wall, want something serious.

Also I'm amazed at how ineffective this piece was compared to Hamill's Vanity Fair, which was an absolute masterpiece. I think the biggest culprit is that P&P does not have much to say - girl doesn't want to marry, then girl does want to marry. Without a powerful message, Hamill just throws everything but the kitchen sink at the audience to try to make it funny, but it just comes off as indulgent - more like friends having a lark with P&P than a show worth watching.... Read more Read less

See it if you are a fan of Jane Austen and want a fresh interpretation of a very well known story.

Don't see it if you don't like things that diverge from the original source material.

See it if You love physical comedy and general silliness. This was a miss for me but I did hear other people laughing.

Don't see it if If you are not a fan of farcical physical comedy.

See it if you like slapstick humor, don't care about what was originally written and have patience for mugging and endless costume changes

Don't see it if you want insights and purpose for a re-interpretation of a classic that could have a lot to say about the status of women in 2017.

See it if you want to have fun; you enjoyed the author's Sense&Sensibility and Vanity Fair; you like new takes on classics.

Don't see it if you're an Austen purist &won't like a wacky, somewhat slapstick version of P&P ; don't know the story; dislke actors playing multiple roles.

Also I didn't think this was quite as good as Vanity Fair. There is too much screeching, especially in the first act; it was unpleasant. This is still previews, so I recommend that the director tone it down a bit. It was just too shrill. Still, it was a fun evening and I certainly laughed a lot.... Read more Read less

See it if You liked Bedlam's Sense & Sensibility, are an Austen fan, enjoy madcap rom-coms and doubled-up roles. No need to know the book to enjoy it!

Don't see it if You hate Jane Austen, don't like long (2.5 hour) plays, prefer your classics straight up rather than "messed with." Or don't like to laugh.

See it if You enjoy smiling & laughing while watching an imaginative adaptation of Jane Austin's book. The actors are wonderful & we all had fun.

Don't see it if You don't like to have fun.

See it if you are ready for a delightful, surprising, clever version (deconstruction?) of a beloved classic novel. It is tremendous fun and well done

Don't see it if you don't like productions with small casts playing multiple roles, if you aren't in the mood to laugh, or you don't like classics changed.

See it if you liked the Bedlam's Sense & Sensibility. This one is almost as funny and wild, although I missed the unconventional staging of S&S

Don't see it if you hope to see all the nuances of the book presented here, e.g., a statement about women's rights; that was lost in translation

See it if You enjoy non-traditional takes on classics, like farce and silliness, can forgive slightly cynical perspective on love and marriage.

Don't see it if you are immune to the real creativity behind a low budget production such as this, with great acting and ingenious stagecraft from f. POV.

See it if you love the play and can put up with a bit too much slapstick. There is an essence of romance that strikes a real chord. well done by all

Don't see it if you either need absolute faithful portrayal of the book or a full blown dramatization of the saga. This is a clever but bare bones approach

See it if If you want to experience the true talent of Jason O'Connell & if you are open to a raucous interpretation of Austen

Don't see it if Slap stick drives you crazy or if you are an Austen traditionalist

Also Kate Hamill went just a bit too far with this one ( at least for me ) - mostly with her own interpretation of Elizabeth Bennett. She really scours the character for her pride & prejudice - making her a whiny irritating & somewhat shallow Elizabeth Bennett. ---- so for those of us that are used to thinking of Ms. Bennett as a hero whose only fault was mistaking shyness for snobbery - and being shortly taken in by a scoundrel - well it doesn't work. The Darcy interpretation however is INSPIRED and Jason O'Connell breaks through the chaos to give a performance that is both comical in keeping with the piece but truly tortured as well - BRAVO to the Dork Knight !... Read more Read less