Tuesday, December 23, 2014

8. Book-It Repertory Theater: Pride and Prejudice

Eight Down. Forty Seven to go.

Our family has a mild obsession with Pride and Prejudice. Perhaps it began with my wife's Gramma Claire, who re-read the book every year during her entire adult life. On more occasions than we can remember our clan has gathered to watch the entire BBC miniseries in a single sitting. We find the distinct characters a useful way to describe those we meet (as in "well, she is much more of a Lydia than an Elizabeth") and we delight in finding ways to work Austen quotes and expressions into everyday conversation.

On Saturday night we joined the packed house at Book-It Repertory Theater to enjoy their very fun and broadly comic romp through the literary classic. The cast is strong and delightful, the staging excellent, and the show a fast-paced and thorough telling of the story (for us Austen purists).

Formed as an experimental artist's collective in 1987, Book-It has grown into a thriving regional company, unique because of the theater's commitment to encouraging a love of reading. Book-It productions adapt classic and contemporary literature for the stage, preserving the narrative text of the book as dialogue by the characters in the production. Book-It has over 90 world-premiere adaptations of full-length novels to its credit.

Pride and Prejudice runs through December 28. You can still enjoy the show if you have no fixed engagements next weekend (and worth canceling one to attend if you do).





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