(Reg Rogers as Napoleon Bonaparte and Lucy Austin as Lydia Wickham. Photo by Carol Rosegg.)

by Tim Leininger

WESTPORT, CT — Ken Ludwig has written a sequel to Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice that features Napoleon Bonaparte as the main character, which had its world premiere this past weekend at Westport Country Playhouse. This may be a confounding idea for sure, but for those who are willing to look past the absurdity — and liberties — of the concept, the play has some genuinely delightful moments that make it worth seeing.

Running through Nov. 7 at the playhouse at 25 Powers Court and directed by Emily Mann, Pride & Prejudice Part 2: Napoleon at Pemberley is set in 1914, approximately a year or two after the events of the original novel. Elizabeth (Delphi Borich) and Fitzwilliam Darcy (Tony Roach) have settled into their home at Pemberley and are struggling with the routine of day-to-day domesticity. This all changes when Elizabeth decides — to Mr. Darcy’s dismay — to let the British military hide their prisoner of war, Napoleon Bonaparte (Reg Rogers), at their estate until he can be transported to the island of Elba, where he will be held in exile. While there, Napoleon plans to escape captivity until he learns that his lost love Josephine is in England as well and is sick. Hearing of his longing for his ill love, Elizabeth dares to reunite the fallen emperor with his lost Josephine.

(Tony Roach as Fitzwilliam Darcy, Carson Elrod as Major Hudson Lowe, Reg Rogers as Napoleon Bonaparte, Mathias Goldstein as Lieutenant Melville, and Delphi Borich as Elizabeth Darcy. Photo by Carol Rosegg.)

I’ve never considered Elizabeth to be much of a romantic. That, I’ve always attributed more to her sister Jane. So, having Elizabeth go out of her way to reunite a man responsible for the deaths of as many as 6.5 million people seems a bit out of character for Elizabeth. But let’s say she is doing this out of impulse, historically speaking, there’s no concrete evidence that Josephine ever visited England. After the fall of the Napoleonic Empire in March of 1814, she fled to Chateau de Navarre in Normandy. She died soon after on May 29.

Despite the historical differences, and the liberties taken with the character of Elizabeth, Pride & Prejudice 2 is an entertaining piece anchored in a mesmerizing performance by Red Rogers, who captivates the audience with every nuanced gesticulation as the disposed emperor. His performance is richly layered with a regality mixed with an everyman call that invokes a seduction that echoes the voice that once brought him to power. Ludwig goes out of his way to humanize Napoleon, which may, understandably, turn off audiences. As stated, this is a man who was responsible for millions of deaths. Feeling sorry for the man because he longs to see a woman with whom he had to annul his marriage with four years previous is still a stretch, even with Rogers’ amazing performance.

(Reg Rogers as Napoleon Bonaparte, Mathias Goldstein as Lieutenant Melville, and Carson Elrod as Major Hudson Lowe. Photo by Carol Rosegg.)

Still, I found Pride & Prejudice Part 2 an entertaining play. This is mostly due to Ludwig’s instinct for humor, as while Elizabeth is pursuing new adventures, eccentric characters like her sister Lydia (Lucy Austin), Lady Catherine de Bourgh (Kristine Nielsen) and her daughter Anne (Allison Wick) visit to add a bit of chaos to the story. Anne is immediately taken by Lieutenant Melville (Mathias Goldstein), a British soldier looking after Napoleon, whom she knew 10 years previous.

The story is mostly light fair, and the supporting characters are kept simple, making the narrative easy to consume, but at the same time, causes the characters to lack depth. The most serious performance comes from Roach, whose Fitzwilliam is so incensed with the idea of having Napoleon at his home that he ends up the straight man to most everyone else’s antics. Borich’s Elizabeth feels significantly different from the end of the novel. The woman who has overcome her prejudices against her now husband, has opened up significantly to empathize with everyone now to a fault. I would have liked a bit more of the biting wit that the character is known for. Nielsen is hilarious as the overbearing Lady Catherine, and her antics with Rogers as the two battle wits with each other is a highlight of the show.

(Kristine Nielsen as Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Reg Rogers as Napoleon Bonaparte. Photo by Carol Rosegg.)

Beowulf Boritt has designed another fantastic set, representing either a drawing room or parlor in the Darcy home that Napoleon is primarily held in. Jennifer von Mayrhauser’s Regency Era costuming is fantastic. Her ragtag fashion of a defeated Napoleon who attempts to maintain some sense of military propriety in his demeanor is fantastic.

Pride & Prejudice 2: Napoleon at Pemberley is not Ludwig’s best. Most of the characters lack any serious depth. Still, the banter between the characters can bring genuine laughs, and Reg Rogers gives a bravura performance filled with sensitivity, heart, and humor. If you’re willing to look past the historical accuracy and some seemingly out of character development, Pride & Prejudice 2 can be enjoyed as a funny, entertaining piece of historical fantasy comedy.

TICKETS: https://www.westportplayhouse.org/

PRODUCTION

Written by Ken Ludwig; Directed by Emily Mann; Set Designer: Beowulf Boritt; Costume Designer: Jennifer von Mayrhauser; Co-Lighting Designers: Jeff Croiter, Katy Atwell; Sound Designer & Additional Arrangements: Mark Bennett; Wig/Hair Design: Carissa Thorlakson; Choreographer: JoAnn M. Hunter; Fight Director/Intimacy Coordinator: Michael Rossmy; Voice and Dialect Coach: Deborah A. Hecht; Creative Associate: Ashley D. Polasek; Production Stage Manager: Christopher Kee Anaya-Gorman; Props Supervisor: Robert Lavagno; Casting by Stephanie Klapper Casting: Stephanie Klapper, CSA; Associate Set Designer: Aafini Kamal; Assistant Costume Designer: Leslie Bernstein; Assistant Sound Designer: Ryan Marsh; Associate Choreographer: Justin M. Keats; Assistant Stage Manager: Patricia L. Grabb; Production Assistant: John Carpino; Assistant to the Director: Abigail Mulgrew

CAST (in alphabetical order)

Lucy Austin as Lydia Wickham

Delphi Borich as Elizabeth Darcy

Carson Elrod as Mr. Collins/ Major Hudson Lowe

Mathias Goldstein as Lieutenant Melville

Kristine Nielsen as Lady Catherine de Bourgh

Tony Roach as Fitzwilliam Darcy

Reg Rogers as Napoleon Bonaparte

Allison Wick as Anne de Bourgh