Pride and Prejudice news!

With being so busy and all filming season 2 of Project Runway I have missed some important local and international Theatre news.

This miss, which was originally reported on August 21st on Playbill.com is a little embarrassing considering Liza's adoration of the original text and films:

"A concert version of the new musical Pride & Prejudice — based on the classic Jane Austen novel — will be presented Oct. 21 at the Eastman Theatre in Rochester, NY. Pride & Prejudice, A Musical Play will feature a 16-piece orchestra and a cast filled with Broadway actors, including Jersey Boys' Colin Donnell as Mr. Darcy. Additional casting will be announced shortly. The evening will also include costume pieces, lighting and simple sets.

The Rochester venue is an appropriate choice for the Broadway-aimed Pride & Prejudice: The musical was penned by two Rochester natives, Lindsay Warren Baker and Amanda Jacobs. Mark Lamos (Our Country's Good, Seascape, The Rivals) directs with musical direction by Fred Lassen.

Pride & Prejudice, A Musical Play has been optioned for a Broadway production by Lori Bajorek, also a Rochester native. Executive producer is Donald C. Farber.

In a statement producer Bajorek said, "We really want Rochester to 'own' this show from the start. This is 'Rochester's Musical,' and we want the whole community to come with us to Broadway!"

A reading of Pride & Prejudice — which combines the world of the Bennet family in Pride and Prejudice with the world of Austen as she writes the novel — was presented in Manhattan in August 2007. "Jane Austen," according to previous production notes, "brings to life the world of Pride & Prejudice through her writing process. She creates the classic love story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy before our eyes for us to fall in love with all over again. . . . It is a story of love — the love an author has for her characters and the love the characters have for one another." That reading was also directed by Mark Lamos." (Andrew Gans, Playbill.com)

Picture: Colin Donnell