Jane Austen's Pride And Prejudice, A Musical

In 1797, Jane Austen finished the first draft of "Pride and Prejudice," but she was unable to interest a publisher. She put the manuscript away for more than a decade, until after the successful publication of "Sense and Sensibility," when she dug it up and rewrote it.

This historical tidbit about one of the most beloved novels of the English language has inspired Lindsay Warren Baker and Amanda Jacobs to add the author as a character in their staging of the difficult romance between the rich, handsome, but diffident Mr. Darcy and the sensible, outspoken Elizabeth Bennet. This, along with their two dozen or so original songs, is the major way they try to distinguish "Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, A Musical" from the many dramatizations that have gone before it.

Does the show work? Mostly, yes. Is it because of the new music or the addition of Jane as a character? Mostly no. The work is a worthy entertainment largely thanks to a terrific cast and the fact that the book writers were smart enough to include some of the novel's best lines.

Austen, played by Donna Lynne Champlin, is supposedly creating "Pride and Prejudice" as it unfolds on the stage. Occasionally she provides narration, reading the sentences at the very moment she is writing them, scribbling in a little book. She interacts with her characters, sometimes ordering them around, much to their irritation, other times taking notes about their behavior, as if she were simply a witness to it—giving life to the old saw that an author has no control over her characters once she creates them. This makes for a few choice moments, and Champlin has a spectacular voice, but Austen's presence is just as often a distraction, albeit a mild one.

The score includes some lovely melodies. My favorite songs were "Not Romantic," "Isn't She Wonderful?/I Think You're Wonderful," and "The Netherfield Ball," which accompanies the formal dance where the Bennet sisters interact with their suitors—the greatest argument for turning the story into a musical. It's hard to imagine the scene working as well in a straight play. But there is an old-fashioned feel to the music; it all sounds to me like earnest operetta or 19th-century art songs, with tasteful more often than clever lyrics. This is the case even in the comic numbers; Baker and Jacobs are no Gilbert and Sullivan.

Though "Pride and Prejudice" was first published almost 200 years ago, its continuing appeal can be attributed in part to the modern tone of Austen's writing—ironic, mocking, full of sharp and witty dialogue. I'm not suggesting it would work better set to punk rock, but the score in its uniformity does not strike me as an ideal match.

The casting, on the other hand, does seem ideal. All 20 performers look precisely the way they ought and are in fine voice. I warmed to Doug Carpenter's portrayal of Mr. Darcy just as Elizabeth (the winsome Patricia Noonan) warms to the character as she begins to understand him. Standout performances include those of Marguerite Willbanks as the frivolous Mrs. Bennet, Michael Scott as her bemused and amused husband, Matthew Schneider as the geek suitor Mr. Collins, and Kaitlyn Davidson as the bitchy Caroline Bingley, though they do have the unfair advantage of having the juiciest roles. But the real star of "Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice" is Jane Austen—not the character, but the author. That is how it should be.

Presented by J&B Productions as part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival  at the Signature Theatre Company's Peter Norton Space, 555 W. 42nd St., NYC. Oct. 1-Oct. 11. Remaining performances: Sun., Oct. 2, 5 p.m.; Fri., Oct. 7, 1 and 5 p.m.; Wed., Oct. 11, 5 p.m. (212) 352-3101, (866) 811-4111, or www.nymf.org. Casting by Michael Cassara Casting.