Putting on 'Eyre'

This is the title of an article published today in the Minneapolis Star Tribune concerning the Jane Eyre performances at the Guthrie Theatre and particularly, Stacie Rice's role as Jane Eyre:

Picture Credits: Photo by Tom Wallace. Stacia Rice as "Jane Eyre" at the Guthrie. Source.

Some youngsters see a production at, say, the Guthrie Theater or on Broadway and are so jazzed by stage magic that they have to be in plays. That is true for Stacia Rice, who saw her first play at the Guthrie at around age 9 -- the same year she first read "Jane Eyre."
When she headlines as the title character in the Guthrie's "Jane Eyre," which opens today on the Wurtele Thrust Stage, she will have arrived at a childhood dream in a most unusual way.(...)
"Through her dedication to broadening her range, through her tenacity, through her continuing reach, Stacia has earned it," said "Jane Eyre" director John Miller-Stephany, who has followed and nurtured Rice's talent over the past several years.(...)
Rice will need to tap into empathy and more for her Jane Eyre. While Englishwoman Charlotte Brontë published her novel in 1847 under a pseudonym, the story has resonated through the ages because of the masterful way it interlaces themes such as romance and morality, class and personal conflict. (...)
In the Guthrie production, adapted by Irishman Alan Stanford (his version of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" played the Guthrie four years ago), three actors portray Jane. Rice plays the journeying Jane most familiar to readers and viewers of many film adaptations.
"I think of family when I see Jane," said Rice. "She's simple and strong, plain but complex."(...)
When he [John Miller-Stephany] cast Rice as Jane Eyre, Miller-Stephany was confident that she could easily move into all the styles that the play calls for, including romance and gothic. But he had one concern.
"I thought she may have been too glamorous for the part," he said. "Charlotte Brontë wrote this book to expressly portray a plain person."Look at me," Rice said, going into character. "I have no makeup on. I can play plain." (Rohan Preston)

TwinCities also comments on this production:

The Guthrie's adaptation of "Jane Eyre," Charlotte Bronte's classic romance novel of 1847, probably qualifies as the "oldest" show opening this weekend, even though the familiar tale will be told in a new adaptation by Alan Stanford. (Dominic P. Papatola)

Categories: In the News, Jane Eyre, Theatre