We were very excited to hear from the delightful Amanda Jacobs and Lindsay Warren Baker (who write to us, appropriately, as a single unit), the authors/composers of one of our two all-time favorite stage adaptations of Jane Austen’s novels, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice: A Musical, to tell us two very exciting pieces of news about the musical.
The first is that there will be a production of the musical in Edmonds, Washington, the first-ever high school production of this musical, at Edmonds Heights K-12 (formerly Edmonds Homeschool Resource Center) on May 6-15, 2011. The production is directed by Shileah Corey and features a cast of 35 talented actors, ages 14-18. Performances are May 6, 7, 13 and 14 at 7:00 pm, with matinee performances May 8 and 15 at 2:00 pm. Tickets are $5.00 and can be purchased at the door. We suggest that our readers in the Seattle area check it out! We’ve seen some pretty professional school plays in our time, so we expect this to be thoroughly enjoyable.
The second piece of news is that the play is a finalist in the 2011 New York Music Theater Festival Next Link Project. This means the play was chosen from hundreds of entries as one of 28 finalists. Eleven of those plays will be chosen to be produced in September in New York City! The writers also will be introduced to industry professionals who can bring the show to bigger and better things. The announcement will be made in mid-May. All our fingers and toes are crossed and re-crossed that this will happen. The dream lives! Check out the production website for samples of music from the production, and our review of an earlier version of the musical from a few years ago. Unlike most of the recent multimedia projects related to Jane Austen’s work, trust us, Gentle Readers: this one is worth getting excited about.
AustenBlog 
I concur as to the total praise-worthiness of this project! I traveled from Pittsburgh to Rochester to see a semi-staged version of it a couple of years ago and fell in love with the concept and with the music. It’s funny and touching and the tunes are lovely. This is definitely a show that will have “legs” and I think it will be a great choice for the high school. There are 3 star parts and a lot of great ensemble pieces, which makes it a nice choice for a school. I wish I could see it again. If you are in the area, please go–you will not be disappointed.
Allison (fresh from watching 3 out of 4 shows of my daughter’s high school musical, The Brain from Planet X. Kids who are eager about what they are doing can put on an amazing and very professional performance!)
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Thank you for your comments – some high school theatre can be very wonderful to watch and very professional. I can assure you that our students are thrilled to be working on such a wonderful piece, and very dedicated. We’ve had great response from our first two shows! If you live in the Seattle area, we’d love to have you come see the show. We are a very small school, but have an award winning theatre program, and the show really is beautiful. Come join us!
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I don’t believe I’ve seen this one. And living in Puyallup, we’ll certainly try. I did see a P&P musical in Sumner WA recently and it was okay. Tho’ the music for a different one has been online and I enjoyed it so much more. I’ll certainly have to see if it’s the one this group is doing. Thanks so much for the heads up. It’s so seldom there’s something in our area. Or relative area.
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We are the premier of this show in Washington state, so I know that they one you saw in Sumner isn’t the same show. I promise you won’t be disappointed! I know it’s a long drive from Puyallup to Edmonds though… if you need any more information, just let me know!
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Exciting! I was just wondering the other day what became of this project. I remember following the production site for a while, a while ago. Glad to know they’re still making it happen.
Also, interesting that there are dueling versions of P&P musicals out there. Wonder which one will hit the zeitgeist first.
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I wish the production can come over to Australia!
Fire and Cross
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Sorry, Enid, but I think a European premiere on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe should come first.
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Jane Austen + musical = heaven. That’s all I have to say.
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