Cody Beaty as Mr Wickham, Joshua Gerlach as Mr Bingley, Daniel Gates as Mr Darcy Isabel Nixon Klein as Lydia Bennett, Scarlet Nixon Klein as Jane Bennett and Lunden Nugen as Elizabeth Bennett. Morton's Roxy Theatre is presenting an adaptation of Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice.'
Sarah Hartman as Mrs Bennett and Kellie Wright as Lady Lucas in the Morton Roxy Theatre's production of 'Pride and Prejudice.'
Daniel Gates as Mr. Darcy and and Lunden Nugen as Elizabeth Bennet in the Morton Roxy Theatre's production of 'Pride and Prejudice.'
The cast of the Morton Roxy Theatre's production of Pride and Prejudice are, from left, Lunden Nugen, Isabel Nixon Klein, Scarlet Nixon Klein, Zoe Squires, Cody Beaty, Joshua Gerlach, Daniel Gates, Sarah Hartman and Kellie Wright.
For several years, Morton’s Roxy Theater has offered a Valentine’s dinner theatre production.
This year, they’ve changed things up a bit and they hope the results will be a little sweeter for theatre-goers.
A Valentine’s Day dessert theatre version of “Pride and Prejudice” will be offered at Roxy Theater Feb. 15-16 and Feb. 23. The production is a collaboration between the teen OnStage youth theater program and the community theatre program and will take place at the Roxy Theater itself, instead of the Tiller building next door as it has been in years past.
“We’re excited about the changes and we’re hoping the public will like them as much as we think they will,” said Director Vanessa Nixon Klein.
Nixon Klein has served as artistic director for the OnStage youth theater program at the Roxy, now in its 14th season, for the last three or four years and has been involved as a volunteer with the Roxy for a several years. She explained that the dinner theater that had become a Valentine’s Day staple at the Morton theater was fairly labor intensive, requiring building a stage at the Tiller Center from scratch each year. And allowing for set building and rehearsals meant the Tiller Center was unavailable for about a month.
“It prohibited the Tiller from being rented out for other uses during that time,” Nixon Klein said.
This year’s version will not be a sit-down dinner, but instead a desserts and warm drinks will be laid out for patrons in the lobby of the Roxy, which they can enjoy in the lobby or bring into the theater. Nixon Klein added that changing the venue also allows more people to be able to participate, as the Tiller Center only had seating for about 50 people at a time while the Roxy seats 190 per show. The Roxy is also Americans with Disabilities Act accessible, while the Tiller Center has accessibility issues.
“We just thought we’d try something new,” Nixon Klein said.
“Pride and Prejudice” was chosen as this year’s valentine’s show because it was a classic love story that incorporated actors and actresses of many ages, the director said. The version being presented at the Roxy is written by Jane Kendall from the novel by Jane Austen. Set in 1800s England, the Mrs. Bennet (portrayed by Sarah Hartman) is a tad overzealous in her bid to find husbands for her five daughters.
But not all goes according to Mrs. Bennet’s plans, such as when youngest daughter Lydia (portrayed by Isabel Nixon Klein) falls for George Wickham (portrayed by Cody Beaty) and runs off, to her family’s chagrin. And possible romance between Jane (portrayed by Scarlet Nixon Klein) and Mr. Bingley (portrayed by Joshua Gerlach) as well as Elizabeth (portrayed by Lunden Nugen) and Mr. Darcy (portrayed by Daniel Gates) may be in jeopardy because of Mrs. Bennet’s lack of tact. But love manages to find its way despite the many types of pride and prejudice in this social circle.
“I really love the fact that while this play stays true to the original story, it really emphasizes the amusing side of the story that is not always the emphasis in every version,” Nixon Klein said of the Jane Kendall version of the play.
This is the 14th season since the 82-year-old Roxy reopened its doors to the public to offer music, theatre and movies to the community. Nixon Klein said her cast of 16 for “Pride and Prejudice” includes actors and actresses from East County communities such as Morton, Mossyrock and Packwood but she also has cast members who are traveling from as far away is Eatonville and Puyallup to be part of the show.
“Over the years the Roxy has been trying to build a reputation of having first-rate shows and events and I think the word is spreading we have the philosophy we want to raise the bar with every show,” Nixon Klein said.
