The romantic tale of Jane Austen’s “Persuasion” is coming to Brigham Young University in an original stage adaptation Wednesday, March 16, through Friday, April 1, at 7:30 p.m. in the Pardoe Theatre.
Tickets cost from $10 to $15 and are available at byuarts.com/tickets or by phone at (801) 422-4322. Dress rehearsals will be held Wednesday and Thursday, March 16-17, for $8 a seat, and a matinee performance will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 19, also for $8. There will be no performances Sundays or Mondays.
Adapted by award-winning playwright and BYU alumna Melissa Leilani Larson and presented by the Theatre and Media Arts Department, “Persuasion” is a romantic tale that only Jane Austen could weave. In her adaptation, Larsen dramatizes what it means to love, to lose and to gain a second chance.
“Persuasion,” Austen’s last novel, is considered a stirring love story and satirical commentary on the genteel, aristocratic society of its day. The play is set in various locales in Somerset, Lyme Regis and Bath, England, at the beginning of the 19th century.
Eight years after Anne Elliot was persuaded to reject her love, Captain Wentworth, he has returned as a wealthy and eligible bachelor, determined to resist falling again for the one woman who once destroyed his soul. Is forgiveness possible where pain is etched so deep?
BYU’s Barta Heiner, director of the play, wrote in her director’s note that one of the play’s underlying themes is the importance of lodestars in life.
“Figuratively, a lodestar can mean anything that acts as an inspiration, a guide or an example to follow,” she wrote. “In ‘Persuasion,’ Frederick Wentworth and Anne Elliot are each other’s lodestar. Although they may have been separated by the ‘turbulence’ of other people’s opinions or each other’s fear or pride, the ‘true north’ of their hearts ultimately reunites them.”
The cast for the production includes Anna Hargadon as Anne Elliot, Eliot Wood as Captain Wentworth, Kimberly Olson as Young Anne, Bryan Bowerman as Young Frederick, Brighton Sloan as Lady Russell, Tanner Garrett as Sir Walter Elliot, Bethany Talley as Elizabeth Elliot, Mia Selway as Mrs. Clay, Melanie McKay as Mary Musgrove, Elise Osorio as Henrietta Musgrove, Christie Clark as Louisa Musgrove, Ben Isaacs as Charles Musgrove, Eric Gourley as Captain Benwick, William McAllister as Captain Harville, Brock Kannan as Mr. Elliot and Amber Richardson as Mrs. Smith.
Production staff includes choreographer Melanie McKay, dramaturg Jenny Huffman, production stage manager Tiffany Smithee, scenic designer Eric Fielding, costume designer Landen Gates, makeup and hair designer Janell Turley, lighting designer McKell Crandall, sound designer Joseph Craven, props designer Aileen Hill and set dresser Lara Nelson.
This production is part of the NTC National Initiative to Celebrate American Women Playwrights. The National Theatre Conference, founded in 1925, encourages and supports the American Theatre through its initiatives, awards and colloquy. For more information, see www.nationaltheatreconference.com.
For more information about this play, contact Barta Heiner at (801) 422-4631 or barta_heiner@byu.edu, or Ken Crossley at (801) 422-9348 or ken_crossley@byu.edu.
