Stage Review (OSF) - Jane Eyre
Stage Review - Jane Eyre
Presented By: Oregon Shakespeare Festival - Ashland, OR
Show Run: May 31 - October 11, 2024
Date Reviewed: Tuesday, July 23, 2024
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman
If you have a few minutes, head out to Google and ask it for a list of adaptations of the classic story Jane Eyre. You’ll find way too many to count, well at least to count quickly, from silent and “talkie” films, to radio plays, television versions, and stage plays. It’s a story that was originally published in 1847 and hasn’t lost any steam over the almost 200 years of its existence. Written by Charlotte Brontë, sister of, to me, the more popular Emily, Jane Eyre was written under Charlotte’s nom de plume “Currer Bell” a male alter ego that helped her break through into the publishing world that her sisters had already entered. Though I’ve known of the existence of Jane Eyre, it’s another one of those that I hadn’t consumed before, contrary to sister Emily’s Wuthering Heights. So, as I kick off my second week in Ashland, to take in more of Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s 2024 season, I entered the Allen Elizabethan Theatre on Tuesday with no expectations and as a Jane Eyre virgin, so to speak. The OSF production of Jane Eyre runs, as I mentioned above, on the stage of their flagship outdoor Allen Elizabethan Theatre, and it runs through October 11. It’s an adaptation by Elizabeth Williamson, directed by Dawn Monique Williams, and features Jennie Greenberry as Jane and a cast of wonderful OSF actors supporting her in what I can only describe as a tour de force performance.
The original title of Brontë’s book is Jane Eyre: An Autobiography. Many posit whether or not it’s the story of Emily’s life, but at the end of the day, it really isn’t, though she does pull from her own experiences for the story. Rather it is Jane’s autobiography, told from her perspective. The novel was released in three volumes, thirty-eight chapters, and covers her life from youth to adulthood, so you might wonder how to get this on to the stage in a reasonable amount of time, while covering the key points that tell the heart of it all. Elizabeth Williamson starts her adaptation with Jane arriving at Thornfield Hall, relying on flashback’s and Jane’s role as her own story’s narrator to fill in the details about her life growing up with an oppressive and abusive aunt, and her time after being cast out by said aunt to spend time at the Lowood Institution, a school for poor and orphaned girls. Jane’s story is an early feminist take, in which the title character asserts her independence in thought and action, regardless of the social attitudes of the day. It’s also one that speaks to socioeconomic prejudices and hierarchy. At its heart, though, Jane Eyre is a love story, one in which an independent woman demands that marriage be for love rather than by arrangement.
The story succeeds to the extent that the actor portraying Jane Eyre captures her spirit, and the intention that Brontë had for the character. As a whole, each of the characters needs to feel human and convincing in their roles. Mrs. Fairfax, maid at Thornfield Hall, has to be delightful and welcoming, Grace Poole, another servant at the manor, has to be mysterious and spooky, Adele, the young girl in Jane’s charge for her new position as governess of the house, has to be giddy, innocent, and spoiled, the Ingram family, a well to do family of socialites need to be aloof and presented with a great deal of contempt for anyone of a lower social status than they, including Jane, and Mr. Rochester, proprietor of Thornfield, has to be detached, strong, and stern. Without these characteristics, the story loses its impact. Thankfully, each of the actors in this production are spot on, and director Dawn Monique Williams directs them in a way that tells a story that Brontë would be proud of.
It starts with Jane herself. Jennie Greenberry is simply superb. The character in this adaptation is also part narrator, Jane addressing the audience directly with any number of asides, providing background where historical context needs to be provided as well as access to her thoughts at any particular time. It’s clear that we as the audience are watching something that is a story transpiring over time, built and presented as if a novel is being read directly to us by its author. As a storyteller, Jennie is phenomenal. I appreciate everything about this piece of her acting, from her change of tone when she switches into narration, to her mannerisms that are presented with posture and a precision of movement that is very engaging. That’s a good adjective for her performance in total as well, engaging. As Jane, Jennie brings a bit of attitude that Brontë may not have written into the novel, but something that plays well into the independent nature of the character. It’s Jane’s story, and it’s in wonderful hands with Jennie. Jane’s heart is unspoken for, that is until she meets the owner of Thornfield Hall, Edward Fairfax Rochester. Armando McClain is Rochester here, father of Jane’s charge Adele, who is quite frequently away from the estate, and really doesn’t know how to care for his daughter, leaving it to Mrs. Fairfax (Caroline Shaffer) and the rest of the staff, now including Jane, to handle. Armando’s Rochester is inexperienced in matters of the heart, and when he begins to discover that he has feelings for Jane, watching Armando navigate that in this role is quite entertaining, and between Jennie and him, they infuse a good amount of humor into the ups and downs of this budding relationship, which isn’t to say that they don’t handle the heavier pieces of the relationship, because they do that as well. They’re a wonderful pair together, and work with a chemistry that is clear and present.
The supporting cast is very good too, as I alluded to above. Most of the characters play multiple roles, and while I realize that these are all professionals with a good deal of experience on the stage, it never ceases to amaze me when actors play roles with different accents how they can move back and forth between them with such agility. Thilini Dissanayake is both Adele and a younger version of Jane in a beautifully staged flashback to her youth. Meanwhile, Kate Hurster plays two characters that couldn’t be any more different, the socialite Blanche Ingram and servant Grace Poole, who resembles someone that’s been pulled directly from Disney’s Haunted Mansion before she asks you to step into the “dead center of the room”, she’s that mysterious, and Kate is that good. Beyond the kindly Mrs. Fairfax, Caroline Shaffer plays the elder Ingram as well as Jane’s dreaded aunt, each with a different accent and manner, a versatile and good set of performances fro Caroline. The cast is rounded out by Dane Troy, whose Mason is a key piece to the puzzle that is this plot, and who also plays young Jane’s abusive cousin in the aforementioned flashback, Amy Lizardo (servant Leah, Diana Rivers, and Mary Ingram), Al Espinosa (St. John Rivers, Colonel Dent, and Carter), and understudy David Kelly as John, Mr. Wood, and Mr. Reed. It’s a diverse cast and one that does very well to bring this story to life.
Though not an official member of the cast, equally important and equally as much of a star here is the scenic design, which includes a set that Grace Poole must feel at home in as it resembles a stately, albeit gothic, gentleman’s manor, like you might feel resembles that famous Haunted Mansion, replete with Spanish Moss, vines, and gothic stylings colored by a palette of greens, purples, and blacks. Dawn has employed Efran Delgadillo, Jr. as the scenic designer for Jane Eyre and he has transformed the Allen Theatre into something that feels like an old haunted house, so when mysterious things start happening during the story, it almost makes sense that it would, just by looking at his set. The show is as immersive as it can be in this venue, and that kind of experience is usually accomplished through a combination of set, light, and sound. The general lighting of the show is a story of two acts in and of itself, given that the sun is still shining for Act 1 at this time of year. It’s only in Act 2 when the audience gets to see the subtle excellence that is Sarah Hughey’s design. There’s plenty of thunder and lighting though, heck it is a house that seems haunted, so that gives Sarah plenty to do regardless of the state of the sun in the sky. And sound-wise, Paul James Prendergast completes the gothic design. Perhaps, though, the best part of this overall intertwined design is with Ulises Alcala’s costumes. Each actor is clad in a wardrobe that matches the gothic design of the story, with the exception of Adele’s bright and bouncy dresses, much like her personality. The Ingram family wears garb with more flash, but everyone associated with Thornfield has dress highlighted by the greens, purples, and blacks that are akin to the gothic style. It’s magical when a design works in every aspect as it does in this production of Jane Eyre.
Jane Eyre has been engaging readers, viewers, and theatre goers for almost 200 years. Its themes of female independence and empowerment, socioeconomic disparity, and class are in some ways even more impactful today than they were when Charlotte Brontë first published the story. The OSF production brings this classic to life in all its gothic splendor, adapted by Elizabeth Williamson, directed by Dawn Monique Williams, and featuring a cast that is skillful and engaging. Brontë’s story lives on in this adaptation and it feels like its place in OSF’s Allen Elizabethan Theatre is exactly where it is meant to be.
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival production of Jane Eyre runs on stage at the Allen Elizabethan Theatre in Ashland, OR through October 11. For more information on the festival, its history and programming, or this show and how to purchase tickets, visit https://www.osfashland.org/.
Photo credit: Jenny Graham
