Twos for the show
Real-life couples portray couples in production of Pride and Prejudice
If only Drew and Joanna Battles could speak to Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy somewhere beyond the theater wings.
And well past the pages of every novel with Jane Austen’s name printed on the cover.
They might suggest that the couple consider falling in love a little earlier in the story. (Unlike Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy.) They might even use their own story as an example.
The Battleses met while in graduate school at Brown University. Neither mentions if it was love at first sight, but love was inevitable, because the two quickly became a couple, then married.
After that directors were reluctant to cast them in the same productions. That is, until now.
George Judy has cast them as Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy in Swine Palace’s production of Pride and Prejudice.
But not being simultaneously cast in plays didn’t deter the Battleses’ love for one another, nor did it hamper their individual ambitions. They married and eventually moved to Baton Rouge, where Joanna Battles became part of the theater faculty at LSU.
And where Drew Battles works as a professional actor.
They also had a child.
And though no life is perfect, it’s certainly a lot easier without pride and prejudice acting as obstacles along the way.
Perhaps that’s the advice the Battleses would give Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy.
Then again, maybe not. Because without pride and prejudice, there would be no conflict between Austen’s characters. And therefore no story.
And the Battleses wouldn’t have a chance to relive a special time.
“This has been so great, because every night, it gives us a chance to revisit that time in our lives,” Drew Battles said. “It gives us a chance to revisit the time we fell in love.”
The husband and wife team are quiet for a moment, sitting side-by-side among the empty audience seats in LSU’s Claude L. Shaver Theatre. This will change when Swine Palace opens its production of Pride and Prejudice on Friday, Feb. 3.
Audience members will be sitting in these seats, and the Battleses will be on stage bringing Austen’s story to life.
The production is the second in Swine Palace’s 20th anniversary season. This adaptation was written by Joseph Hanreddy and J.R. Sullivan of New York’s Pearl Theatre Company.
“It hits all the important parts and dialogue in the book,” Drew Battles said.
“Fans of the book won’t be disappointed,” Joanna Battles added.
Judy agrees.
“Joseph Hanreddy and J.R. Sullivan did a good job capturing the romance and the conflicts of boy versus girl,” he said.
But Judy went a step further, adding to the romance by casting not one but three married couples in the parts of, well, couples.
So, not only are the Battleses playing the story’s protagonist and her romantic interest, husband and wife Tom Anderson and Cristine McMuro-Wallis are playing Elizabeth’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet.
And playing Elizabeth’s aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, are Greg Leute and Bacot Wright. They’re also husband and wife.
“They also play Sir Lucas and Lady Lucas,” Judy said. “So, they’re playing two married couples. I cast it that way on purpose. The idea of it was always in my mind, and I think it’s fun for our audiences.”
Besides, the timing is perfect. The production’s run is scheduled in the weeks leading to Valentine’s Day, meaning audiences will be in the mood for a good love story, especially one that has a happy ending.
Now, this isn’t a spoiler to the story. Pride and Prejudice has fans around the world, and it’s no surprise to them that Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy get together at the end of the story.
The fans are all ages, from high school students who are reading the book for English classes to adults who love re-reading the story for sheer joy. There also have been numerous film and television adaptations through the years, the most recent being actress Keira Knightly’s 2005 Academy Award-nominated performance as Elizabeth.
The story always ends the same. Mr. Darcy always asks Elizabeth to marry him.
“And we assume they get married,” Judy said. “I realized that I hadn’t read the book since high school. I returned to it, and it reminded me how fun the story is.”
Judy also began thinking about the story’s appeal. Sure, it was published in 1813, but the book remains one of the most popular from generation to generation.
The world changes, technology offers more modern ways to communicate, yet the basics of romance never change.
“Pride and Prejudice speaks to relationships of every generation, even though society has changed through the years,” Judy said. “Today, it’s understood that women can be independent and make their own way in life. But the story is set in Regency England at a time where the importance of a woman’s security was based on the security of a family and making a good marriage.”
Not that marriage and family aren’t important today. The difference was that these were the only goals for 19th century British women – goals set for them, and goals set for themselves.
The story follows Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education and marriage in a society of landed gentry. She is the second of five daughters of a country gentleman, living near the fictional town of Meryton in Hertfordshire, near London.
Her father is a good-natured gentleman, and her mother’s ambition is to find suitable husbands for the couple’s five daughters.
Yet finding a husband is hardly Elizabeth’s most urgent priority. She’s independent-minded and has no problem turning down marriage proposals by what she considers unsuitable suitors.
This disturbs her parents. They fear for her security.
But things change when Elizabeth meets the handsome but enigmatic Mr. Darcy. She is determined not to let her feelings triumph over her own good sense — but the truth turns out to be slipperier than it seems.
And so the story unwinds with conflict and triumph, hope and fear, all leading to a happy ending.
“We chose to do this adaptation because one of its writers, J.R. Sullivan, was initially going to direct it,” Judy said. “He had a scheduling conflict, so I’m directing. But he’s going to be here on opening night to see our production of his adaptation.”
Hopes are that Sullivan will enjoy seeing the story played out on a Louisiana stage with three married professional acting couples in the cast.
“We’ve been Jane Austen fans for years,” Anderson said.
Again, he plays Elizabeth Bennet’s father.
“Whether it’s the BBC’s adaptation, the movies or the books, we love them,” he said. “So, the idea of doing this play is so exciting for us.”
“People know this stuff,” McMurdo-Wallis added. “So, we also have to be respectful to the story.”
Still, the story represents something different to Anderson and McMurdo-Wallis. They, too, see it as an opportunity to revisit their own romance.
The couple met in 1992 while working in a theater in St. Petersburg, Fla. Anderson wore a suit of armor in the production, which adds the ultimate romantic twist.
Why? Because McMurdo-Wallis first kissed Anderson when he was wearing the costume.
“He was my knight in shining armor,” she said. “And he’s been my knight in shining armor since.”
McMurdo-Wallis is a member of the Actors Equity Association. She continued her career and has been seen in Swine Palace productions, as well as those at Southern Repertory Theatre in New Orleans.
She and Anderson lived 13 years in New York, where Anderson coordinated volunteer services at Ground Zero after the terrorist attacks on New York on Sept. 11, 2001. McMurdo-Wallis made her Swine Palace debut as Fanny Cavendish in the 2009 production of the George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber play The Royal Family.
Pride and Prejudice marks Anderson’s return to acting since, well, since meeting McMurdo-Wallis in St. Petersburg.
“It’s something I always wanted to come back to,” he said. “And I can’t think of a better place to come back to it than at Swine Palace, which is connected to this wonderful MFA program at LSU.”
McMurdo-Wallis glances at her husband to consider his appearance. He’s dressed in full costume topped by a white wig. She, too, is fully dressed in the garb she’ll be wearing on stage.
This particular rehearsal marks the first time cast members have had an opportunity to wear costume designer Corey Globke’s Regency reproductions, and the clothing somehow elevates this story to a new level.
Globke has made sure all details are as historically accurate as possible, and double duty was necessary when planning the costumes for Luete and Wright.
They’re the third married couple in this production, and again, they’re playing two different couples. And these couples are opposite in nature.
“The Lucases are social dealers,” Leute said. “They’re matchmakers, and they love to be in everybody’s business.”
“They’re easily impressed, and they love to have parties,” Wright added.
And the Gardiners?
“Mr. Gardiner is the brother of Mrs. Bennet,” Leute said. “They live in London.”
“They’re kind,” Wright added.
Still, the Gardiners have at least one thing in common with the Lucases.
“They still have that matchmaking thing going,” Leute said, laughing.
Leute and Wright also are Jane Austen fans, which prompted them to audition for this production.
“It’s the ultimate romance,” Leute said. “There are so many things standing in this couple’s way, but they still surrender to love.”
“They have to pass a test to deserve each other,” Wright added. “They dance around each other all through the story. It’s a test to see each other’s good sides.”
Love not only will win on stage but off when the winner of a Swine Palace-sponsored contest will propose to his fiancee on stage after the opening night curtain call. Then the romantic circle will be complete with fictional romance blurring into real life.
And though a talk with the Battleses might make it easier for Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy in the end, the romance wouldn’t be the same.
Because somehow the journey is more important than the destination in Austen’s story.
Just as it is in life.
Cast: Tom Anderson, Mr. Bennet; Jenny Ballard, understudy Elizabeth; Drew Battles, Fitzwilliam Darcy; Joanna Battles, Elizabeth Bennet; Jason Bayle, Col. Fitzwilliam; Molly Buchmann, Mrs. Reynolds; Elizabeth Cowan, ensemble/understudy Lucas/Gardiner; Katrina Despain, Lydia Bennet; Nic Hamel, Mr. Collins; Carolyn Higdon, ensemble; Madison Holcomb, ensemble/understudy Caroline/Charlotte; Jessica Jain, Charlotte Lucas; Ben Koucherik, Charles Bingley; Greg Leute, Sir Lucas/Mr Gardiner; Nancy Litton, Lady Catherine; Monique McCain, Jane Bennet; Cristine McMurdo-Wallis, Mrs. Bennet; Anthony McMurray, Wickham; Jacob Miller, ensemble/understudy Lucas/Gardiner; Emily Rodriguez, Mary Bennet; Ryan Sands, ensemble/understudy Wickham; Chris Silva, ensemble/understudy Mr. Denny; Kristina Sutton, Caroline Bingley/understudy Lady Catherine; Sierra Terrebonne, Georgiana Darcy/understudy Mary; Rachel Theriot, Kitty Bennet; Weston Twardowski, ensemble/understudy Bingley; Donald Watkins, Mr. Denny/understudy Darcy; Chia Wen Hsu, Anne de Bourgh/understudy Lydia; Bacot Wright, Lady Lucas/Mrs. Gardiner.
Artistic staff: George Judy, director; Molly Buchmann, choreographer; Nick Erickson, fight director; Ken White, lighting designer; Ken George, set designer; E.J. Cho, sound designer; Tyler Kieffer, assistant sound designer; Corey Globke, costume designer; Abbey Vitrano, assistant costume designer; Peryn Schmitt, assistant to the director.
Production staff: Jim Murphy, production manager; Jim Bussolati, props master; Abeo Brown, costume director; Elise Masur, scenic shop manager; Pat Acampora, facilities manager.
Stage management staff: Karli Henderson, stage manager; Tim Weber, assistant stage manager; Jordan Campbell, assistant stage manager.
Administration: Kristin Sosnowsky, managing director; George Judy, artistic director; Jessica Jain, company manager; Jacquelyn Craddock, director of development.