‘Jane Eyre’ brought to life on stage this week

Stage adaptation adds experimental aspects to classic British novel

By Lindsay Casale, contributing writer
Posted on November 5, 2007

To students currently up to their elbows in readings for British literature classes, here’s a break: Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre is being performed at Latimer-Shaeffer Theatre as a stage adaptation that will provide an original and illuminating view of Bronte’s initial text.

The stage adaptation was written by Polly Teal with the goal of providing a new perspective on the famous love triangle between the novel’s main characters: Jane, Rochester and Bertha. The performance is directed by Roger Hall and has eight cast members with most of the actors/actresses playing multiple roles. Junior Julie Schroll, whose characters include Abigail, Helen, Adele and Mary Rivers, spoke about the difficulty of this task.

“The biggest obstacle I faced was making each one of my characters very different,” Schroll said. “I have never been in a play where I have played multiple parts, and it’s a whole different ball game.”

The cast is comprised of seniors Emily Nilsen and Lauren Meyer, juniors Joel Adam Gerlach, Julie Schroll and Lash Dooley, and sophomores John Kirk, Ali Hoxie and Meredith Young.

“All eight of us come from extremely different backgrounds and theatrical experience, which is awesome because we all had a lot to bring to the table,” Kirk said.

The small cast also provided a support system for one another. 

“We all have so many things to keep track of in this show, and hardly any of us are off stage for long periods of time,” Hoxie said. “So there is a lot of support and we really work well together.”

What makes Teal’s adaptation so unique is its focus on  the novel’s most intriguing character, Bertha, played by  Hoxie.

“The character I play really allows me to see a whole other side of the story and another perspective that I never got from reading the book,” Hoxie said.

It’s this shift in focus, among other experimental production elements, such as the use of musical underscoring, that ensures a rare view of such a well-known novel.

“The basic plot and characters are still there, but there are very experimental aspects to the show that you can’t get from reading the novel,” Schroll said.

“Jane Eyre” will be performed Nov. 6-10 at 8 p.m., at Latimer-Schaeffer Theatre. Tickets are $10 for the general public and $8 for JACard holders. Tickets can be purchased at the Masterpiece Box Office in Harrison Hall.