It’s akin to found-object assemblage, or maybe sampling, when some
imaginative soul takes a piece of literature and fashions it into a stage
musical full of songs that the source material never envisioned. And it’s
happened numerous times; think of “Les Misรฉrables,” “The Phantom
of the Opera,” and “My Fair Lady,” to name just a few of the
legendary musicals that initially sprung from the pens of those with only words
in mind.

Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” has tripped the lights before
as “First Impressions,” a 1959 Broadway show that took its name from
the title of Austen’s original manuscript, but the latest tune-filled version
of the beloved novel is called “Pride and Prejudice, The New Musical.”
With dialogue, music, and lyrics by Rochester’s own Lindsay Warren Baker and
Amanda Jacobs, this still-fledgling production is gunning for an Autumn 2009
date with the Great White Way as it impressed a packed Eastman Theatre on
Tuesday, October 21, for a one-night-only preview.

“Pride and Prejudice, The New Musical” distinguishes itself from
previous incarnations by incorporating the venerable author herself into the
story. Austen had written her initial draft of “Pride and Prejudice”
just as the 18th century was drawing to a close, and the musical opens in 1812,
as Austen revisits the work, which had been rejected more than a decade
earlier, bringing the characters back to life with her pen. Literary purists
might be vexed by this angle, but Austen is woven so organically into the story
and, in the sly, knowing hands of the Obie-winning Greece native Donna Lynne
Champlin, might actually enhance it.

And it’s a story you know, one resounding with the familiar Austen themes of
love, honor, and duty, and focusing on the five Bennet sisters, whose anxious
mother wishes to secure advantageous matches all for her daughters, and whose
warm father simply wants his girls to be happy. The focus narrows, of course,
to the now-clichรฉd push-pull romance between second daughter Elizabeth Bennet
(the charming Laura Osnes) and the sexiest sourpuss in English literature, Mr.
Darcy (suitably sideburned Colin Donnell), with various machinations designed
to throw them together or tear them apart. We watch as Austen puzzles out her
rewrites, sometimes pausing to give advice to her creations or listen to their
desires.

What you’re not familiar with, however, is the music. Seventeen pieces of
the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra sat in front of the elegant
toile-patterned backdrop and conjured the notes from the busy stage, offering
up an appropriately graceful score that wouldn’t have seemed out of place in
any of the 800 million recent Austen film adaptations. The accomplished, often
catchy, sometimes clunky (a forgivable musical evil) compositions by Warren and
Jacobs effectively retain the tone of the novel, with the oily buffoonery of
the unwelcome Mr. Collins (the welcome Jim Stanek) and the worry-induced
hysteria of Mrs. Bennet (Patty Goble, who does double-duty as the fearsome Lady
de Bourgh) translating particularly well to showy song.

At any given moment the entire cast might be singing or dancing, and
coupling that fact with the orchestra’s liberation from the confines of the pit
makes for a very crowded spotlight at times. (A passing familiarity with the
story is very helpful in figuring out who’s who.) It’s to director Mark Lamos’
credit that he’s able to draw the attention where he needs it to be, though
equal credit should go to his players. Osnes, who won the starring role in
“Grease” on Broadway, makes for a gorgeously feisty Lizzie, while
Donnell from “Jersey Boys” handles a deceptively thankless role, that
of the dour Mr. Darcy, with sympathetic skill.

It’s worth noting that “Pride and Prejudice, The New Musical” is a
work in progress, making the preview seem like a very accomplished dress
rehearsal. Many of the actors carried notebooks to assist with their lines, and
the set, which consisted of a few pieces of artfully arranged period furniture,
was necessarily bare bones amidst the hubbub. The top-heavy first act is in
need of some serious pruning, especially as compared to the lean, satisfying
second act, though Warren and Jacobs would need to take some serious dramatic
license to keep the story intact. None of this, however, takes away from the
performances, startlingly good across the board and all in clear, fine voice.
Champlin and Osnes stand out in particular, especially in scenes that find them
harmonizing like empire-waisted angels. Austen would have loved all this 21st
century girl power.

This article appears in Sep 22-22, 2008.