Running time: 2 HOURS, 35 MIN.Ĭast: Elizabeth Roby (Jane Eyre), Blythe Auffarth (Young Jane), Nancy McDoniel (Mrs.
Paterson music, Albert Evans stage manager, Laura K. Costumes, Gregg Barnes lighting, Timothy Hunter sound, David R. 1,200 seats $46 topĪ Paper Mill Playhouse presentation of a play in two acts written and directed by Robert Johanson. Still, the massive production and large cast will present challenges to an afterlife for “Jane Eyre.” Johanson has paced the play with a swift and knowing hand, tying up the story with an unexpected yet satisfactory happy-ending epilogue, delivered after the final curtain call. Incidental music and a deft lighting design provide a cinematic accent. The period costumes are handsome and right, from uniformed orphans to guests at a fancy supper party. William Ryall as the tyrannical headmaster is gruff enough, but missing is the cold and malevolent steely edge of the late Henry Daniel in the classic 1944 film. Particularly outstanding is Mikel Sarah Lambert as the wise and comforting housekeeper, who relates the final episode amid the crumbling ruins of Thornfield Hall. Glory Crampton as the arch and haughty Blanche Ingram, Natalie Van Kleef as a tragic orphan and John Littlefield as a neurotic clergyman all find their marks. There are many other sharply defined performances. Tom Hewitt essays the proper balance of anguish, abruptness and roguish ardor as the world-weary and disillusioned Edward Rochester. With the quiet dignity of a Doulton figurine, the actress firmly links the episodic events with impressive fortitude and authority. The Yorkshire estate suffers the ravages of thunderstorms, rain, snow and crackling fire with chilling effect, giving the smoke machine extra duty.Īs the narrator and title character, Elizabeth Roby, who is seldom offstage, progresses from a timid but determined governess to a radiant young bride-to-be.
The multilevel mansion includes a grand staircase with appropriate chandeliers and candelabras. What gives the production its thrust and balance is Michael Anania’s set, a creative network of aspiring facades and gloomy Victorian interiors. At Thornfield Hall, Jane finds hideous laughter and horrifying screams echoing down from an attic garret and harbors a secret passion for her elusive and imposing employer. With a sprawling cast of 30 players, some doubling in roles, the tale follows the orphaned little Jane (sympathetically acted by Blythe Auffarth) from the cruel indignities of Lowood Institution to her mature years as a tutor-governess.
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