The Frederick Gunn School Theatre Program will present Pride and Prejudice by Kate Hamill, adapted from the novel by Jane Austen, November 14, 15, and 16 at 7 p.m. in the Tisch Family Auditorium of the Thomas S. Perakos Arts and Community Center.
All shows are free and open to the public. Seating is by general admission. Parking is available in the Upper Parking Lot off Kirby Road, with a limited number of accessible parking spaces in front of TPACC. Please see the Campus Map for details.
“This isn’t your grandmother’s Austin!” said Dramatists Play Service, noting that Hamill brings all of Austen’s beloved characters to life in “a delightful, energetic take on the classic tale.”
The New York Times said that Hamill “has a gift for condensing three-volume novels into galloping two-act plays. Her screwball PRIDE AND PREJUDICE … is as frolicsome as her earlier efforts. It hasn’t met a rib it can’t tickle.”
To prepare for this production, Gunn Theatre students attended the Hartford Stage production of the same play last year, and this fall, the cast of 143 worked behind the scenes with actor Samantha Steinmetz, who was in the Syracuse Stage production of Pride and Prejudice, and in the off-Broadway premiere of Sense and Sensibility, and actor and director Tracy Liz Miller, who worked with students on embodying the language, period style, and movement in the play.
Speaking about why he chose this play for the school’s fall production, Kent Burnham, Director of Theatre Arts said: “In 2016, I had the good fortune to see the off-Broadway premiere of Sense and Sensibility, adapted by Kate Hamill and presented by Bedlam Theatre Company. I had never seen Jane Austen presented with such wit, joy, gossip, intrigue, theatricality, and at a pace that made the two hours fly by. My idea and concept of the Regency Era of 1813 was blown out of the water, and I knew I wanted to direct a Jane Austen novel, one adapted by Kate Hamill.”
Originally from the farms and fields of upstate New York, Hamill is an award-winning New York City-based actor and playwright. She was named 2017's Playwright of the Year by the Wall Street Journal. She has been one of the 10 most-produced playwrights in the country for the last seven years running, from 2017-2024. In both 2017-2018 and 2018-2019, she wrote two of the top 10 most produced plays in the U.S. Her plays have been produced off-Broadway, at A.R.T., Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Guthrie, Hartford Stage, Portland Center Stage, Seattle Rep, PlayMaker’s Rep, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Dallas Theater Center, Folger Theatre (8 Helen Hayes Award nominations; Winner, best production), Shakespeare Theater of DC, The Alley, A.C.T., and more.
“Theatre requires action, and Jane Austen’s novels, especially this adaptation, are a feast for theatricality," Burnham said. "My hope is that our audience will lean into the comedy, romance, hypocrisy, family expectations, hopes and dreams, pressure to conform to societal norms, and the game that often comes with finding the right partner. This vibrant and highly energized production does what live theatre is supposed to do — it surprises you, challenges you, makes you think, and maybe, just maybe, even think differently."
The cast of Pride and Prejudice includes: Sofia Panzer ’25 (Jane), Poppy Mand ’27 (Lizzy), Shannon McCormack ’25 (Lydia), Talulah Ryan ’27 (Mary), Taylor Sall ’25 (Mrs. Bennet), Henry Abbate ’25 (Mr. Bennet), Aniah Sam ’27 (Charlotte Lucas), James Poulos ’28 (Mr. Bingley/Mr. Collins), Daisy Moriarty ’25 (Miss Bingley), Gavin Forbes ’28 (Mr. Wickham), Oliver Severino ’27 (Mr. Darcy), Dean Sevin ‘28 (Lady Catherine), Aryel Sealey ’25 (Miss de Bourgh), and Daniel Conlan ’26 (Servant).
The Design Team includes: Katherine Aguirre-Felipe ’26 (Lighting and Sound Design); Willa Regan ’27 (Costume Design and Hair and Makeup Design); Dean Sevin ‘28 (Assistant Costume Design), Becca Miller ‘26 (Assistant Costume Design and Prop Assistant); Aryel Sealey ’25 (Prop Design). Scenic Design and Set Construction are by Katherine Aguirre-Felipe ’26, Willa Regan ‘27, Dean Sevin ‘28, Becca Miller ‘26, Aryel Sealey ‘25, Charlotte Friedmann ‘27, and Kaidence Wright ‘27.
Pride and Prejudice is directed by Kent Burnham with Leo Jiang, Assistant to the Production, Al Chiappetta, technical director, Terry Hawley P’08, Costume Supervisor, and Greg Fisher, Sound Supervisor. The choreography is by Burnham and Mikki Ferrigno. To learn more about Gunn Theatre, visit our web page.