Pride and Prejudice (Primary Stages) NYC Reviews and Tickets
About the Show
Primary Stages and Hudson Valley Shakespeare present a new stage incarnation of Jane Austen's classic novel, adapted by and starring Kate Hamill ('Vanity Fair,' 'Sense and Sensibility').
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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 want to see a fun, imaginative, well written and acted interpretation of a classic.
Don't see it if you don't like; plays, interpretations of classics, a fun night out at the theatre.
See it if You like well done farce and Jane Austen
Don't see it if You don't like tampering with classics
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 love P&P and you want to see a smart, careful, and truly well-done adaptation performed and directed incredibly well.
Don't see it if Mild anachronisms (non-period music, etc.) will bother you.
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 lovingly irreverent, incredibly clever, fast-paced, and cheeks-hurt-from-laughing drama
Don't see it if you really can't stand even modernised funny period drama, struggle with fast dialogue, or with body-language intensive plays
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.
Critic Reviews (23)
“The cast is beyond perfect, the direction inventive, and the text is stripped of all the unnecessary fluff. In other words, this production makes the story that Jane Austen shaped available and immediate...So connected are the actors and elements of this production, one cannot single any one person or element out. This is an ensemble that stands as an example of what the word ‘seamless’ means in the theatre...Treat yourself to this one.”
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"Incites the senses and decries stuffy sensibility...Hamill’s take on the classic novel has the convivial effect of hurling you head-first into the marital machinations of the entire Bennet family...Austen’s eristic tale has an incandescent champion in Kate Hamill who’s a firebrand in the role of Lizzy Bennet...I haven’t stopped laughing at her plight; it’s a perfect distillation of Austen’s valiant heroine. Excellent direction by Amanda Dehnert controls the chaos."
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“Brilliantly brought to life by the immensely talented and seriously smart Hamill...She has returned to the stage, to star in and present Lizzy and the Bennet family shenanigans to us all in an absurdly funny but ridiculously heart-felt manner...Will squeeze your romantic heart in the most touching of manners, as you laugh, love, and truly embrace these characters...A pure theatrical delight, a playful and smart romp through the English countryside of Austin’s world."
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"A delightfully comedic farce...Dehnert keeps this delightful play moving with a beyond-brisk pace that manages to clearly delineate the novel’s action from beginning to end...The assumed seriousness of the novel is replaced with the unexpected playfulness of Hamill’s script, the precision of Dehnert’s direction, and the brilliant cast assembled for this production...This is a ‘Pride and Prejudice’ for this time and every time.”
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"The tone has been rewired from witty comedy of manners to boisterous farce...A fast-paced, winking entertainment...Hamill also winds up doing justice to Austen in her portrayal of Lizzy...The bickering between her and her love-hate suitor/antagonist Mr. Darcy has its comic moments, but as the play progresses, the attraction between the two feels real...For all the bells and whistling the last quarter of Hamill’s play is as charming and touching as it is in Austen’s novel."
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“While there are flickers of fine comic acting, and the actors are all expert at what they do, subtlety is sacrificed for pedal-to-the-metal hamminess. Hamill's overacted Lizzy is the worst offender…The performance has an anything-for-a-laugh exuberance that often smothers the story in farcical foolery…Act Two, while still prone to excess, tones things down considerably and has some lovely, even serious moments, especially an extended conversation between Lizzy and Mr. Darcy.”
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"While the present work offers many pleasures, it lacks the air of lighthearted effortlessness...A frenetic pastiche of slapstick comedy, anachronisms, and crossdressing that tries much too hard to entertain...Surprisingly Kate Hamill’s Lizzy is disappointing; she comes across mainly as a sourpuss. Some of the anachronisms were jarring for me...The audience appeared to be having a good time. If you are not measuring it against Hamill’s earlier work, you probably will too."
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“Either you go for this riff on the classic or you don’t...An onslaught of buffoonery by a cast that, as talented as it is, overacts to the hilt under the direction of Dehnert. Depending on one’s reaction, blame or praise can be aimed at playwright Hamill...The audience generally whooped it up with laughter...However, I had trouble joining in the revelry, as I am too engaged with the wit and meaning in Austen’s original to see the purpose of such no-holds-barred satire.”
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