Janes in Ontario and Delaware

A couple of new Jane Eyre productions open today, April 19:

In Whitby, Ontario, Canada:

Whitby Courthouse Theatre presents
Jane Eyre
Adapted by Willis Hall
Director: Janice Stevenson
Producer: Debra Eckstein

Whitby Centennial Building
April 19-21, 26-28, May 3-5, 2012
Curtain: 8:00 p.m.

One of the world’s greatest romances of all time and the beginning of the Gothic tradition, Jane Eyre comes to life in the spring of 2012. An old dark house, ghostly laughter and an evil presence in the night surrounds a young orphan as she comes to live in the manor owned by Edward Rochester. Romance blossoms but all is not as it appears for there are many secrets kept hidden. Will love conquer all? Find out this spring at WCT.

In Middletown, DE, US

Towle Institute Drama presents
Jane Eyre
based on the classic novel by Charlotte Brontë
Adapted by Robert Johanson
Directed by Cheryl Shields
Kendall Wimer ... Jane Eyre
Matthew Ernst ... Edward Rochester

 7:30 p.m. April 19-21 at the Everett Theatre.

CommunityPub gives more information:

Concerning the number of intricate layers of commotion and, most notably, inspiration woven into “Jane Eyre,” Shields believes the show is capable of breathing encouragement into hollow audience members who may feel they’re doomed to a future of mediocrity, as a result of tough setbacks they’ve absorbed.
“It’s a wonderful love story of someone who has been depressed all their life,” said Shields, of Townsend, who teaches drama at Towle.
When you’re thrown a curve in the real world, you have to shake it off. When you’re thrown a curve in the acting world, you “pretend” to shake it off.
Since Towle isn’t known for presenting romances, one of the initial hurdles the teenage cast in “Jane Eyre” faced was learning to convey romanticized love, because it’s a situation some students have never been in, Shields said. (Andre Lamar)

Middletown Transcript also talks about the production.