More High School Jane Eyres

A couple of student productions in the US:

1. A student production of Gordon & Caird's musical in Westhampton Beach, NY: (Picture Source: Director Linda Howard works with members of the student cast of “Jane Eyre” at a recent rehearsal.)

Westhampton Beach High School
Jane Eyre: The Musical
Friday, April 17, 2009 7:30 PM
Saturday, April 18, 2009 7:30 PM
Sunday, April 19, 2009 2:00 PM

Westhampton Beach High School Theatre Program presents their production of "Jane Eyre: The Musical."

WBHS Auditorium
49 Lilac Road
Westhampton Beach, NY 11978

27east gives more information:

After 20 years of directing and producing plays for Westhampton Beach High School, music teacher and theater director Linda Howard will take her final bow after the matinee performance of “Jane Eyre” on Sunday.
The musical adaptation of “Jane Eyre,” the Gothic novel written by Charlotte Bronte in 1847, will stand as Ms. Howard’s final spring theatrical production at Westhampton Beach High School. Some 50 students are working together to put on three performances of the show, on Friday and Saturday, April 17 and 18, at 7:30 p.m., and on Sunday, April 19, at 2:30 p.m. at the high school auditorium.
The 61-year-old Ms. Howard, who has worked at Westhampton Beach High School for the past 20 years, explained that the novel Jane Eyre translates well into a play and has a positive message for high school students, especially girls.
“It’s a novel about making your own life,” said Ms. Howard, who originally hailed from Brooklyn before moving to Westhampton.
She explained that the title character, Jane Eyre, marries her former employer, Edward Rochester, on her own terms and as an independent woman.
“It’s good for young women to think about themselves as successful, capable, bright and as valuable as a man,” Ms. Howard said. (...)
Alexa Keegan, a junior at the high school from East Moriches who plays Jane Eyre in the production, said that she loves working with Ms. Howard, and has found the process of creating the play “great.”
“It’s been a good process, there’s been minimal frustration, and we all get along,” Alexa said. “I’m sad that Ms. Howard is leaving.”
Ms. Howard has a special connection to the play “Jane Eyre” because her youngest daughter, Joanna Howard, participated in the first workshop of the play at the Manhattan Theatre Club. A workshop is a casual performance of a show to get the backing of producers, Ms. Howard explained. (...)
Bret Tucker of Westhampton, a sophomore at the high school, enjoys playing St. John Rivers, a character who helps Jane Eyre by taking care of her aunt, Mrs. Reed.
“He’s different from the other parts; I’m not used to playing a priest,” Bret said. “I’m used to playing dorky characters, nerds.”
Remsenburg’s Billy Finn, a junior, is one of four actors from the school who had parts in the recent Hampton Theatre Company production of “Six Degrees of Separation.” He said that he is enjoying playing John Reed, a character who torments Jane—even tells her she should die—when she is young.
“I’m not saying I like being a jerk,” Billy said, “but it’s interesting to not be like yourself.” (Jessica DiNapoli)

2. A high school original production with a Jane Eyre appearance in Millburn, New Jersey

From the Page to the Stage
MHS Spring Drama, April 17 and 18, 8 p.m. Millburn High School Auditorium

For this year’s Spring Drama, the Millburn High School Limelight Players will bring 18 notable literary characters to life, as they also help the charity Broadway Cares, in their original production, "From the Page to the Stage."
Have you ever wanted to meet your favorite character? Wouldn't it be great to see and hear Holden Caulfield? Scout Finch? Eugene Jerome? On April 17 and 18, 18 notable literary and dramatic characters will come to life on the Millburn High School stage in a showcase of 18 literary monologues.
English/Drama teacher Suzanne Snyder returns as drama director after a four year “sabbatical”, and has decided to try “something different, something that could inspire all of us as human beings in these trying times.” In the fashion of the Ancient Greek theater, it's a festival that honors drama as an art form from rehearsal to production.
Snyder says she and her stage manager, senior Jamie Miranda, have selected a cast of incredible actors for roles ranging from icons of classic literature like Jane Eyre (Jane Eyre) and Holden Caulfield (Catcher in the Rye) to characters like Father Flynn (Doubt) and Vivian Bearing (Wit), of modern theater. Each of the characters is connected by a thread that the audience will see as the characters are brought to life.

More information on New Jersey Independent Press.

Categories: Jane Eyre, Music, Theatre