'Pride and Prejudice'

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Oct 29, 2006 | by Ivan M. Lincoln Deseret Morning News

For an actress with family in California and a home in New York, Libby George has played quite a few British women over the past 15 years that she's performed in Utah.

The guest artist, who plays Mrs. Bennet in a newly revised stage adaptation of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" has played such diverse roles as Dotty Otley in "Noises Off," Mistress Quickly in "The Merry Wives of Windsor," Moxie the maid in "Relative Values," Lennox in "Macbeth" and Madame Arcati in "Blithe Spirit" -- all in Cedar City for the Utah Shakespearean Festival.

She's also appeared as the Duchess of York in "Richard III" and Preservation Trust supervisor Lotte Schoen in "Lettice and Lovage" for Pioneer Theatre Company at the University of Utah, where she is doing "Pride and Prejudice."

"This is my fourth production directed by Chuck (PTC Artistic Director Charles Morey)," said George, "and my fourth with (actor) Max Robinson -- although it's the first time we've had roles where we speak to each other."

She was also highly complimentary of PTC. "I really hope that the community appreciates the professional work done here at Pioneer Theatre Company."

George has performed for regional theaters across the country, as well as having an ongoing role as one of the judges in the "Law & Order" TV franchise. "PTC is a fabulous training ground here for students, and I'm delighted to see Dale Dean, the company manager here. He is the best anywhere in the country, bar none. Anyone who learns the ropes through him will learn how to treat their staffs and actors."

George and Robinson play Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, the parents of five daughters in rural England during the early 1800s. "Part of the charm of the show," Robinson said during a separate interview, "is this woman who is hysterical and trying to marry off her five daughters, and the husband is just trying to bear with her and try to bring some civility and sobriety to the household."

Morey, who is directing Alan Stanford's revision of James Maxwell's original stage adaptation, was also interviewed separately, and said, "This is obviously a story that many people love, and it's good to have a chance to see it on stage. The parents are essentially comic in nature, and the show is a gentle, sweet comedy."

He said that during the time period of "Pride and Prejudice" there were few options for unmarried women. "No money. No career. She could maybe be a governess somewhere or go out on the streets. For most, it was a very dire future, so getting married was a big deal.

"It's such a wonderful story and a great romance -- very sweet and very funny and rich and full. It's very smart, too, very smart."

The cast includes Michele Vazquez as Elizabeth, the second oldest daughter, who "is probably the sharpest of them all," said Robinson. "The story is told from the point of view of Lizzy. She can see through things better than the others and is the most level-headed. She narrates things for the audience, filling in between the scenes."

Also in the cast are Jamie Greenland as Mary, Christianna Nelson as Jane, Stacy Sobieski as Kitty and Jenny Strassburg as Lydia. Some locally familiar players include Paul Kiernan as Mr. Collins, Trish Reading as Charlotte Lucas and guest artist Richard Mathews in two roles, Sir William Lucas and Reynolds. (Robinson said that Mathews, who's performed at PTC dozens of times, has the lead role in the company's upcoming holiday show, "You Can't Take It With You.")

Jayne Luke is choreographing some segments of the show, with costumes by Carol Wells-Day, incidental music composed by James Prigmore and scenery by guest designer Bill Clarke.

Robinson explained that his own character, Mr. Bennet, is "caught in the midst of this maelstrom of females running amok. My character deals with it by escaping into the library, only coming out to put out little and big fires.

"Mr. Bennet is a bookish man with five silly girls, except he has a fondness for the two oldest. They're a little more serious and 'aware' and not taken with the exterior things of society, while the younger ones are excited about the soldiers who come to town in uniform."

The actor has spent much of the past few months in and out of Huntsman Cancer Center, having multiple surgeries for skin cancer that was first detected on his nose. "That's one of the worst places you can have it," but he added that his father had been a plastic surgeon, and it was interesting to experience it from a patient's perspective.

If you go

What: "Pride and Prejudice," Pioneer Theatre Company

Where: Pioneer Memorial Theatre, University of Utah

When: Friday through Nov. 18

How much: $20-$39

Phone: 581-6961

Web site: www.pioneertheatre.org

E-mail: ivan@desnews.com