Adaptation: Barbara Landis, from the novel by Jane Austen

Lyrics: Barbara Landis

Musical Director and Conductor: Linda Madonia

Reviewer: Barbara Michaels

(3 / 5)

A musical adaptation of a Jane Austen novel –   one
might be forgiven for thinking whatever next! 
Somewhat surprisingly to this hardened critic, Persuasion the
musical version actually does work, although whether it contributes a great
deal to the understanding of the mores of the time which is so intrinsic to
Austen ‘s work, is questionable.  More
D’Oyly Carte than Austen, and, on occasion, tipping over the edge of comedy
into farce, for my money Jane Austen it ain’t.  
That is not to say it is without merit.

Playwright Barbara Landis, whose adaptation this is of the
last complete novel that the illustrious Jane wrote, has striven to keep the magic
of Austen’s elegant prose by donning a mob cap and sitting at the side of the
stage reading some of the passages from the novel.  This could conceivably have worked, had
Landis not chosen to add in such elements as rolling eyes and gestures which
detract rather than enhance her performance.

 Add to this that Landis
also plays the central character of Anne Elliott, so at regular intervals throughout
throws off said mob cap and shawl (various) to join the action centre stage. It
is Anne’s on-off romance with Captain Wentworth played by Jeff Diebold, that is
at the heart of Austen’s novel.  Much rests
on the role of Anne, and Landis does not differentiate sufficiently between the
younger and more mature Anne although full credit must go to her for remaining
faithful to the original inasmuch as keeping to much of the original dialogue
and music appropriate to the era.  BUT,
and sadly it is a big but:  in
pinpointing the provincial snobbery, class consciousness and ignorance of the
era with a heavy sprinkling of comedic touches, the essence of Austen has been
lost.

This is a pity, as there is nevertheless much to commend
here when viewed in its own right i.e. stand-alone as an independent piece of musical
theatre.  The music and choreography make
a major contribution,  with music faithful
to the era and, in the second half, with spirited Irish dancing by Peter Dzik
and Ian Schwartz (query: Irish dancers normally do not move any part of their
upper body including their arms) and a couple of ballroom scenes from the pump
room in Bath.  As Anne’s father Sir
Walter Elliot, John B. Boss gives a suitably over the top performance which
shows his relish for the role, while Anne Marie Lewis’s portrayal of
hypochondria as Anne’s sister Mary is a classic.  Maggie Clennon Reberg’s Lady Russell,
godmother to Anne- a cross between Downton Abbey and a Fairy Godmother –
is a joy; a welcome portrayal of what real class, á la Austen, looks
like.

Excellent backdrops projected on screen throughout add an
authentic touch, with those in the latter half of the Cobb at Lyme Regis and
the Pump Room at Bath being particularly good.  
Overall, a fun evening albeit somewhat of a hybrid based on the work of
one of our greatest literary novelists.

Performance on Saturday, 4^th August 2019