Musical version of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ coming to Northwest stage April 10-12

April 4, 2025 | By Kathleen Harner, communication assistant

Theatre Northwest will present the beloved novel "Pride and Prejudice" in musical form, taking audience members through the love story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy.

Northwest is staging "Pride and Prejudice: A New Musical," adapted by Paul Gordon and based on the novel by Jane Austen, with performances at 7:30 p.m. April 10-12 and at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 13, in the Mary Linn Auditorium at the Ron Houston Center for the Performing Arts.

Tickets are $12 and may be reserved online at www.nwmissouri.edu/finearts/theatre/. Pending availability, tickets also may be purchased by credit card at the box office beginning one hour before each showtime.

Dr. Rachel Day, the chair of Northwest's Department of Fine and Performing Arts found the musical when she was researching productions for the University's biennial musical and passed it along to Dr. Paul Hindemith, an assistant professor of music who is directing the Northwest show.

With standout songs that include "Bravado," "Headstrong," and "Happiness in Marriage," Hindemith was fascinated by the musical version Day found.

"The more I started getting to know it, the more I was going, 'This fits our program really well' because it's the Jane Austen novel adapted," Hindemith said, noting the BBC series and the 2005 film starring Keira Knightley, in addition to the well-known book. "So, it's interesting comparing all of those things to what Paul Gordon did with this."

"Pride and Prejudice" is a classic novel that delves into the themes of love, marriage and societal expectations through the complex relationship between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy in Regency-era England.

Gordon's credits as a composer include music for "Emma," "Sense and Sensibility" and "Jane Eyre," for which he received a Tony Award nomination.

Michael White, a freshman theatre performance major from Omaha, Nebraska, plays Mr. Darcy and spent considerable time outside of rehearsals researching how other actors have portrayed the character. 

"One of the big things I am doing is just constantly rereading through my script and trying to see how the writer portrayed him to then put that into my acting as well," White said.

Genevieve McCalla, a freshman business management major from Atlantic, Iowa, said she admires her character, Elizabeth Bennet, and looks forward to bringing her family-oriented and stubborn nature to life. 

"I am so excited for the costumes and the set pieces," McCalla said. "My high school had a very small theatre budget, and I'm not used to having such elaborate sets and costumes, so I'm living for it. I'm also just generally excited to be performing again, and it's such a beautiful show."