Jane Eyre is breathtaking

A couple of reviews of the the performances of Polly Teale's Jane Eyre at the Clay Center in Charleston, WV.

The Charleston Gazette:

The play is set in many short scenes, which are brought together with graceful transitions, aided by tasteful lighting and music. The single set was dark and beautiful, and served well in most scenes, except it sometimes seemed a bit cramped when characters needed more distance from each other.
Jane begins the story as a headstrong young girl, who becomes a restrained and modest woman. In Teale's adaptation, she physically leaves part of herself behind, as her willful alter ego is locked in the attic. The play gives a vivid depiction of Jane's battle between duty and desire.
Jane's youthful self returns in later scenes as Brontë's character Bertha, a madwoman in the attic. As Bertha, Marlette Carter shows a range from youthful energy to disturbing adult passions. Bertha's reactions depict Jane's inner feelings throughout the play. Her presence is what enables this novel to work so well on stage.
Elaine Carol Tapley gives a strong, measured performance as the title character. Christopher Terpening showed Rochester as both a thoughtless entitled gentleman and a man of deeper feeling. While the love story is between Rochester and Jane Eyre, the best chemistry in this show was between Jane and Bertha as two sides of the same person.
The rest of the cast skillfully portrayed their roles, often taking multiple parts.
The greatest range came from Joe Biller, who played characters ranging from a clergyman to Rochester's faithful pet dog. (Mona Seghatoleslami)

Charleston Daily Mail:

Charleston Stage Company's current production of Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre" is breathtaking.
Coming from someone who considers literary works of this nature, slushy, aesthetic, sentimental claptrap, I never would have believed that Jane Eyre, of all things, would move me so thoroughly.
This presentation works in several unique and interesting ways.
Think of theater in the round, but not quite. More like theater in Cinemascope, for all who are old enough to remember the transition of movies from a flat screen to a concave screen.
Audience seating semicircles the multilevel stage and everything is actually on the stage of the Clay Center auditorium.
Let's hear it for director David Wohl and the "techies" - Troy Snyder, set and light design, Kit Reed, costume design, and Jason Hively, technical director.
Their vision and the actuating of that vision make this one of the most aesthetically satisfying plays that I have seen in a long, long time.
In fact, the bountiful audience seems to share with me a serene comfort in the stage setting that allowed the players to cast a spell on us without being encumbered by the reality of tables, chairs and whatnot moving on and off the stage levels.
Of course, Elaine Carol Tapley, as Jane Eyre, is just out and out righteous, just as Chris Terpening, as the miserable Rochester, is forthright and commanding.
They strike a balance of believability that is rare and beautiful.
Other members of the cast, Marlette Carter as Bertha Taylor Horst as Adele and Jim Stacy, Terry Terpening, Courtney Flint, Kelly Strom and Joe Miller each performing multiple roles. They glide effortlessly on, off, across, around, behind and over the stage seemingly lubed by theatrical WD-40.
Music is very tastefully used to augment the dramatic sense of the actors and adds to the general feeling of calm tension.
Violent action begins within minutes of the opening with a rat bite, and what a lovely rat it was.
Also you will be cautioned to stay out of the way of the horse, and don't forget to feed and pet Pilot the Dog. One of my favorites.
This story of "Jane Eyre," as adapted for stage by Polly Teale, is good theater done extremely well by people who know what they are doing and is not to be missed. (Rick Justice)

Categories: In the News, Jane Eyre, Theatre