Golden West readies season finale

Tom Titus

Golden West College’s theater program has explored many facets of the

arts over the past few years, from the ancient Greeks (“Oedipus Rex”)

to the witch-hunting Puritans (“The Crucible”) to the plight of

Depression-era migrant workers (“Grapes of Wrath”).

Now, it’s Jane Austen’s turn. Golden West College is in rehearsal

for its season-ending production, the stage adaptation of Austen’s

novel “Pride and Prejudice,” opening July 9 for an abbreviated

two-weekend engagement.

Director Tom Amen is confident Golden West audiences will be

pleased with this rarely staged adaptation.

“Having read Austen’s novel a number of times, I have been

impressed with Helen Jerome’s adaptation of it,” Amen said. “While

the adaptation omits certain facets of the novel for dramatic

purposes, Jerome has successfully captured the essence of each major

event within it.

“She has constructed an adaptation that condenses a rather long

read into an engaging and well-paced evening of theater. This play

has a light and airy feel about it, which adds that touch of wistful,

romantic energy that the story requires.”

Amen points out that the story concentrates on a woman’s

determination to get her daughters married during a period in which a

woman’s one possible career choice was matrimony.

“During this particular historical period, to be a wife was to be

successful,” he said. “Anything short of marriage and the woman was a

failure, a social outcast of sorts.”

Thus, Amen notes, the action of the play centers on Mrs. Bennet’s

desperate and often hilarious attempts to marry off her daughters,

while the major conflict within the play focuses on young Elizabeth

Bennet and her refusal to wed any of her potential suitors.

The director points out that, while the play is a light comedy of

manners and marriage, it offers some keen insights into human

relationships.

“Austen’s portrayal of the relationship between Elizabeth and

Darcy is particularly interesting, in that, in the midst of a comedy,

Austin has painted a rather sensitive, realistic and, one might even

say, progressive portrait of two intelligent young people who undergo

individual transformations of character over the course of the play,”

Amen said.

At Golden West, Abigail Kinnahan is taking the role of Elizabeth

with Mark Bedard portraying Darcy. The matriarch Mrs. Bennet will be

played by Renata Florin, with Christa Mathis as Jane Bennet and Ken

Jagosz as Mr. Bennet.

Others in the large Golden West cast will be Stephen Silva, Ralph

Cardin, Shannon Delaney, Yvonne Robertson, Anne Rudd, Debbie Gerber,

Stephanie Schulz, Kathleen Fabry and Scott Finn.

Performances will be given at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2

p.m. Sundays through July 18 in the Mainstage Theater on campus.

Tickets are priced at $11 for general admission and $9 for students

and senior citizens. Contact the box office at (714) 895-8150 for additional information.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Independent.