By Laura LaVelle, Wonder Shuffle Culture Editor:

Set a Play Date

Go see this! The world premiere of Are the Bennet Girls OK? is being produced by the Bedlam theater company off-Broadway.

Adapted by Emily Breeze from the Jane Austen novel, Pride and Prejudice, it is a funny and original take on a very familiar story.

The play focuses on the relationships between the Bennet sisters and takes some pretty significant liberties with the plot, but if you know the story (or even if you don't) you'll be happy to go along for the ride. 

Jane Austen's characters are very reserved by our current standards--you have to understand the subtext generally since they're often speaking formally and indirectly. In this production, there's no hidden subtext, just text, and they're not just saying it, they're yelling it. It's different, of course, but really well done. If you've ever longed to see a Charlotte Lucas (Deychen Volino-Gyetsa) / Lizzie Bennet (Caroline Grogan) showdown, this is the play for you.

Jane (Shayvawn Webster) was losing her temper and barely keeping it together. Lizzie was funny but definitely a wee bit thoughtless and sometimes too clever for her own good--and was called out for being judgemental.

Mary (Masha Breeze) didn't fit in, and knew it, but was ultimately kind and forgiving. Kitty (Violeta Picayo) was more fleshed-out than usual and really was playing the straight man, having a much calmer disposition than the rest of them. And Lydia (Caroline Grogan) was foolish and headstrong of course but did actually care about her family and truly was a victim of predation.

One actor (Edoardo Benzoni) played the male parts (Bingley, Darcy, Mr. Collins, Wickham, an infirm Mr. Bennet--I think that was all of them). And Mrs. Bennet (Zuzanna Szadkowski) was an unhinged force of nature, both 100% cringeworthy and absolutely right about the family's precarious circumstance.

You have until November 9 to see this show--get your tickets now for this creative reimagination of a classic.

Contact

Address: 263 West 86th Street, New York

Website: https://bedlam.org/w-o/are-the-bennet-girls-ok

Email: info@bedlam.org

About Me

Laura LaVelle is Wonder Shuffle's Culture Editor. A fan of the great indoors, you can find her in her native NYC, her home in Connecticut, or at a concert, play, library, bookstore, or museum just about anywhere in the world.