Past

Last Play in the Sequel to Pride and Prejudice.

Georgiana & Kitty, the last play of the trilogy Christmas at Pemberley by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon, opened at Taproot Theatre last night. Previously Taproot produced Miss Bennett in 2018 and last year The Wickhams. Although fictionalized, The Wickhams honored Jane Austen by delivering not only wit and humor but also morality and character development. Georgiana & Kitty was disappointing in that it lacked the underlying seriousness of a Jane Austen novel.

Last weekend, at the beautiful Bagley Wright Theatre, Seattle Rep debuted its modern adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s original coming-of-age novel, Little Women. At the time of its release, Alcott’s novel about the magnanimous Marches, a family of four young and exceptional women, was an immediate success, marking a cultural turning point for stories written by and about women. Seattle Rep’s production of this notorious nineteenth-century novel, adapted by playwright Kate Hamill and directed by Marti Lyons, emphatically reminds us why Little Women still resonates so deeply with audiences even today. Their fresh and inspiring take on the novel remains true to the source material’s heart while offering a compassionate perspective that liberates the story from its own temporal binds.

Seattle Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor is a comedy about how two wives in Windsor outsmart Falstaff, a celebrity knight who attempts to court both of them by sending them the same exact letter. The play has a beautiful fall-themed set crawling with leaves and pumpkins, created by Scenic Designer Eddie DeHais. The section of the stage that is the Garter Inn is stunning. It’s a combination of a tiki bar and lodge, with glimmering pots and pans above the bar and a pride flag on the counter.