Jane Eyre The Musical regional productions reviewed

Two of the three regional productions of Jane Eyre The Musical that we posted about a few days ago make it to the news today.

WFAA talks to Julie Stirman who plays Jane in Irving. It turns out the poor girl sacrificed her holidays in order to come on stage as Jane Eyre and she is also away from her husband who has remained at the New York home. Aw... poor girl. We hope she gets great reviews (at least just as good as the last one) and ovations to compensate for all this!

Our other review is for the California production:

Brontë's story is a somber one, as is any gothic fable. The way that sober mood is translated into music is by way of a lot of songs sung slowly, in a minor key. The trick is to hold the dark mood without turning the production into a dirge. Sometimes HLOC succeeds here -- and sometimes not.
The story of Jane Eyre is largely an internal struggle, and that is hard to translate to the stage, let alone to musical theater. With other dark tales -- “Les Miserablès,” for instance -- dynamic action scenes balance the sad weight of the subject matter. There isn't a lot of vigorous, active narrative in “Jane Eyre,” particularly at the start. Without Broadway-scale set designs to enliven the production, the story begins to get a little soggy and maudlin.
The start of Act I is a sad, synoptic rush through Jane's childhood that edges dangerously close to old-time melodrama: Mistreated orphan is abandoned at abusive boarding school where best friend dies, now Jane is a governess. Pow! And all to the accompaniment of a piano playing a minor key. The rich under-text of Charlotte Brontë's story -- which lays a foundation for all of Jane's future motivation -- has to be glossed over in the play, landing the audience at Rochester's estate with a fairly superficial understanding of what makes Jane Eyre tick.

Okay, so the reviewer is not very thrilled by the idea of a Jane Eyre musical - not out of Broadway or in small-scale productions, anyway. Fortunately for the cast involved, she treats them a little better:

Laura Hathaway does justice to the title role, portraying a strong, if beleaguered, heroine. She more than holds her own with the rather bombastic Rochester, played with gusto by Kevin Richards. Some of the highlights of the evening are duets sung between Hathaway and Richards. Their combined vocal talent is genuinely impressive and helped carry the story forward by adding depth to the budding relationship between the characters.
Two other performances really stood out for this reviewer. First, Bonnie Cyr as the fluttery, flustered Mrs. Fairfax. Cyr's portrayal of Mrs. Fairfax was a wonderful breath of comic relief, particularly after the dismal trudge through the early troubles of Jane's childhood. Cyr never failed to get a laugh when she took the spotlight, and she carried the scene more than once. Also excellent was Fiona Ryder as Blanche Ingram, dubious and underhanded rival to Jane for Rochester's affections. Ryder's lovely, operatic handling of her solo in the first act was vibrant and humorous, making her the kind of character we love to hate.

We encourage anyone near any of these regional productions to get to them and enjoy them - and send us a review too if possible! :)

(Picture courtesy of Meadow Bell/HLOC - from the Californa production).

Categories: Theatre, Music, Jane_Eyre, In_the_News