It’s 1811, English novelist Jane Austen’s debut book “Sense and Sensibility” is flying off the shelves. Her publisher asks what’s next, and Austen … draws a blank.
She has a desk manuscript called “First Impressions” that she wrote when she was 19, but it’s not really ready for publication. With encouragement from her sister, Cassandra, she starts to revise the story of the Bennet sisters and Mr. Darcy that will eventually become her most famous work, “Pride and Prejudice.”
As she works, the characters around her come to life, and Austen herself steps into the story.
Cole Thompson plays Charles Bingley and Addie Morales plays Jane Bennet in “Austen’s Pride” at Stages.
That’s the premise of “Austen’s Pride,” a new show coming to Stages from July 25–Aug. 24 for its pre-Broadway tryout. Before a show goes to Broadway, it will get staged in another city to find backers, get reviews and generate word of mouth, iron out any issues and more.
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“What I really love about this show is that Jane Austen is one of the main characters,” says Andrew Kuhlman, the Mosbacher Family executive producer for Stages. “We learn so much more about (“Pride and Prejudice”), and we watch that almost tumultuous romance between Jane and the creative writing process.”
Jane Austen (played by Olivia Hernandez), holding a book, stands behind her two creations, Fitzwilliam Darcy (played by Dan Hoy) and Elizabeth Bennet (Delphi Borich). “Austen’s Pride” is about how Jane Austen wrote her popular book “Pride and Prejudice.”
Austen’s most popular work
Renderings of the costumes for Cassandra and Jane Austen, who discuss "Pride and Prejudice" in "Austen's Pride."
If you’re unfamiliar with Austen and “Pride and Prejudice,” you’re not alone. Stages Artistic Director Gayle Seay, who has been involved with “Austen’s Pride” since 2019, had never read or seen “Pride and Prejudice” before she got involved with the show.
“You don’t have to know the movie or the book to enjoy this show,” Seay says. “Because I knew nothing, and I fell in love.”
Published in 1813, “Pride and Prejudice” is about Elizabeth Bennet who has four sisters and no brothers. In England, only men could inherit, so their father’s estate will be entailed away to a cousin, meaning there’s pressure on the Bennet girls to marry well.
A rich bachelor comes to town, Mr. Darcy, which is good news for the girls, because “it is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife” (the novel’s famous opening line).
Proud Mr. Darcy looks down on Elizabeth (mostly because of her embarrassing mother), and she overhears him insult her. Now prejudiced, Elizabeth is unyielding in her dislike of him. It seems a hopeless situation, but Elizabeth’s older sister, Jane, is being courted by Mr. Darcy’s best friend, so the two continually run into each other. Can they get over their pride and prejudice to find love?
The story has been widely adapted, but this version is one of the few musical adaptations. “It’s really just its own sound, and it’s so lush and gorgeous at moments,” says Abigail Isom, who is a standby in the production. “But then also you have the funny moments, and you have these really intense, dark, spooky scary moments. And I really do think it has that big musical feel.”
Dianca Phelan (left) plays Jane Austen’s sister Cassandra and Olivia Hernandez plays Jane Austen in Stages’ “Austen’s Pride.”
A ӣƵ ‘Pride’
Isom is one of several members of the cast who is from ӣƵ, along with Keith Johnson, a red coat; Cali Noack, who plays Georgiana Darcy and Kitty Bennet; and Caroline Santiago Turner, a standby. This was a must for Seay.
“ӣƵ had to be highlighted in the production,” Seay says. And the ӣƵ talent impressed the casting team, which included Seay. “(Isom) was one of two people that came into the audition and everybody was like, she’s going to be in the show. We don’t know where, but she’s in it.”
Isom is a standby for any of the three youngest Bennet sisters, Lydia, Kitty or Mary. Of those, her favorite is Mary. “She’s the only one that knows what she wants,” Isom says. “Everyone else is kind of all over the place.”
This is Stages’ second pre-Broadway tryout. It also did one for “Karate Kid: The Musical” in 2022, which hasn’t yet made it to the Great White Way.
Costumes for the Bennet family. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and in the row of girls, Elizabeth Bennet is in the middle. Her elder sister Jane is to her right.
This time, for “Austen’s Pride” Seay wanted to make sure that the show would go somewhere.
“That was nonnegotiable. We were not doing it if it was not going on tour. It had to have a future.”
The costume for the wealthy Mr. Darcy
After its run at Stages ӣƵ, the show will be hitting the road with the costumes, set and cast that were developed right here.
“When it opens at each of those tour stops, right inside that playbill it will say ‘originally produced by Stages ӣƵ,’” Seay says.
“That’s shining a spotlight not just on Stages, not on Gayle or I, but on ӣƵ,” says Kuhlman. “It gives me goosebumps because I’m a ӣƵ boy. I am so proud of what this community does day in and day out.”
This means that being cast in this production is a big deal. Not only was the entire cast given a contract for the production at Stages, but also for the tour and first right of refusal to be in the show if it transfers to Broadway.
“It was definitely an easy yes,” Isom says about accepting a role in the show.
Seay helped cast this production, but she first got involved with the show to cast an earlier production of it in 2019 in Connecticut. That small production then moved to Seattle for a pre-Broadway tryout, but with 2020 came COVID and the musical was put on hold.
The producers revived the show in 2023 with a concert at Carnegie Hall that sold out.
“There was this buzz about the show again,” Seay says. “And I’d already been working (at Stages) a year to get my feet under me a bit.” She and Kuhlman began talking with the “Austen’s Pride” team about bringing it to Stages for another pre-Broadway tryout and tour launch.
The latest iteration features two people from the original cast: Delphi Borich, who will play Elizabeth Bennet, previously played younger Bennet sister Lydia. Olivia Hernandez, who will play Jane Austen, previously played Elizabeth Bennet.
“Jane Austen creates Elizabeth Bennet. There’s so much of Jane in Lizzie. So that process of an actor getting to bring the knowledge of playing both roles, it’s such a cool story,” Kuhlman says.
The stars of “Austen’s Pride,” from left, are Daniel Hoy as Fitzwilliam Darcy, Delphi Borich as Elizabeth Bennet, Addie Morales as Jane Bennet, Olivia Hernandez as Jane Austen (second row), and Cole Thompson as Charles Bingley.
Controversy behind the scenes
Bringing together Stages and "Austen's Pride" hasn't been easy. Stages is a nonprofit theater company and "Austen's Pride" is a commercial tour.
"When the actors were hired for the show, they had one contract for Stages, one contract for the tour, and then one contract for Broadway," Seay says. "And they were negotiating all of them at the same time. But we have way less money than a commercial production does. So agents were trying to figure (that) out.
"We're still tiny Stages, not for profit. This is all we can afford. If you're touring with the show, you'll get a different thing once you get on tour."
That may be what is causing issues with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 6, who are doing an informational picket outside of the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center where the show will take place. They say that Stages did not enter into a union contract and is currently underpaying members of its production team in areas such as carpentry, electricity and sound. Stages is paying $16-$17 per hour, but union rates are $30 per hour.
Some members of the IATSE are working on the show and being paid at union rates. There have been reports that the show is a yellow card show, which requires everyone to be in the IATSE. But the production at Stages is not a yellow card show, Stages says. The tour will be yellow card.
Stages says it is leaving it up to their employees if they'd like to unionize. "After much research, conversation and consultation, it is evident that a decision to unionize is one to be made by our employees," Stages says in a statement. "Stages ӣƵ will honor any decision our employees make...
"We have no objection to that outcome and are fully committed to respecting the rights of our team members and maintaining a collaborative, professional work environment."
Sally Wilfert plays Mrs. Bennet and Lady Catherine de Bourgh in “Austen’s Pride.” Kevyn Morrow will play her husband, Mr. Bennet.
Everything Austen
Despite these issues, “Austen’s Pride” is hoping to also be a celebration of Austen’s 250th birthday. (She was born Dec. 16, 1775.) So Stages is having a Universally Austen Festival Aug. 1-3.
The festival includes professors discussing themes from “Pride and Prejudice,” a demonstration and workshop on Regency dancing, and even a tutorial on popular games from Austen’s day.
“It’s going to be huge,” says Kuhlman. “The partners that we have for that are incredible.” Professors from Webster University, ӣƵ University and University of Missouri will be giving lectures, plus the Jane Austen Society of North America, Dance Discovery and the Tea Spout will be around to transport visitors back to the Regency era.
The show itself is also celebrating an anniversary. The writers, Lindsay Warren Baker and Amanda Jacobs, have been working on it for 25 years.
“It’s nice that they’re so settled and know the material so well,” Isom says about having the writers in the room during rehearsal. “We’ve been able to get so much done because they know the show inside and out, back and front. So they’re really able to explain their process.
“It’s kind of crazy, like they’re explaining their writing process in a show about a writing process, but it is all so intentional and it all makes so much sense.”
