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Pride and Prejudice A New Musical is a wonderful and hilarious family friendly musical by Paul Gordon featured on Amazon Prime Video.
Is there a Musical of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE?
Yes! There are several in fact. One such musical is Paul Gordon’s beautiful and hilarious Pride and Prejudice A New Musical.
Pride and Prejudice A New Musical had its world premiere at Theatre Works in Silicon Valley, in December 2019, where it was filmed and premiered on Streaming Musicals and Amazon Prime Video in 2020.
Paul Gordon’s Hilarious Book for PRIDE AND PREJUDICE A NEW MUSICAL
Paul Gordon is known for his comedies such as EMMA the Musical. He does not disappoint here either. He has written a hilarious and at often times dry-witted book with music to echo the show’s sentiment.
The Strong Cast of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE A NEW MUSICAL
MARY MATTISON (Elizabeth Bennet) did a great job serving both as a leading lady and narrator. She is a young, feisty, independent, wry and modern version of Lizzie. Where she really excels is in her comedic delivery of Gordon’s lines both spoken and sung. One of the online audience’s favorite moments had to be when she delivered the aside “That felt fantastic!” after telling Wickham off. Mattison truly did a great job helming the show.
Her leading man, JUSTIN MORTELLITI (Mr. Darcy), looks like I’d imagine Sam Claflin would in regency breaches. And has a rich tenor voice that excels at the rock enthused anthems he is given.
Supporting actors are all strong too including the beautiful (and pregnant) SHARON RIETKERK (Jane Bennet) who is sympathetic and perfectly delivers the show’s most beloved song, TRAVIS LELAND (Mr. Bingley) is everything you’d expect from Jane’s suitor.
Meanwhile, at the Bennet home, CHRISTOPHER VETTEL is a strong and likable Mr. Bennet and especially has great moments during the second act with CHANEL TILGHMAN (Kitty Bennet), MELISSA WOLFKLAIN (Mary Bennet) is a favorite with her deadpan scene change announcements and HEATHER ORTH (Mrs. Bennet) is not a victim of her nerves quite so much as in previous incarnations.
MONIQUE HAFEN ADAMS (Caroline Bingley) may have had a small role but hilariously exudes sarcasm and condescension whenever addressing the Bennet sisters, LUCINDA HITCHCOCK CONE shows her strength by doubling in two very different roles of Lady Catherine and Aunt Gardiner, TAYLOR CROUSORE is superficially charming as Wickham and BRIAN HERNDON (Mr. Collins/Uncle Gardiner) is hilarious in his interactions with Elizabeth as her unwanted suitor.
The Memorable Musical Numbers from PRIDE AND PREJUDICE A NEW MUSICAL
Unlike the one musical that made Paul Gordon a household name – his lush and romantic Jane Eyre, this musical has hits and misses more in keeping with his comedic Emma. [Edited: Watching the show’s free encore performance on YouTube, I am beginning to appreciate the music more and more especially during the second act when we get more classical ballads.]
A few favorite songs [excuses if I misquote a song title since no song list was provided]:
Darcy’s first song “The World We Live In” recommends him to the audience as sympathetic from the get-go. [In fact, this Darcy is much more sympathetic than previous incarnations making it harder to understand where Elizabeth’s disdain comes from.]
Jane’s touching lament “A Man of My Acquaintance” after Bingley leaves Netherfield is the show’s highlight. The online audience was very grateful for her Act Two reprise.
Elizabeth Bennet’s “That’s Not the Man That I Know” when she first hears about how benevolent Mr. Darcy is perceived at Pemberley. At first, it starts off with a pop gaiety but transitions into a beautiful ballad.
Darcy’s second act “Because of You” is a great piece demonstrating vulnerability on the part of Mr. Darcy.
Elizabeth’s anthem “He Sees My Disgrace” after Darcy leaves when she announces Lydia’s fall from grace.
Some of the show’s funniest numbers deserving of mention were: Caroline Bingley’s brief letter song (to Jane), Lizzie’s rejection of Mr. Collins and Lady Catherine’s duet with Elizabeth in Act One (with a reprise featuring Elizabeth in Act Two).
Who Would Enjoy PRIDE AND PREJUDICE A NEW MUSICAL?
Fans of Jane Austen. Fans of Pride and Prejudice. Fans of Paul Gordon’s Emma. You will love this musical. The cast is strong. The book is hilarious. The music (especially in the 2nd act) is gorgeous and worthy of a soundtrack.
I just wish costuming had been perfected, and that Gordon gave both Mr. Collins and Mr. Darcy a song for their proposals similar to Bernard J. Taylor‘s Pride and Prejudice (another fabulous musical version of Pride and Prejudice) that I grew up listening to in the 90s.
How Long is the Pride and Prejudice Musical?
Pride and Prejudice a New Musical runs 2 hours and 8 minutes on Amazon.com.
Where to Buy or Rent PRIDE AND PREJUDICE A NEW MUSICAL:
Rating: PG, with swearing and thematic elements
More Jane Austen Posts:
- 10 Memorable Jane Austen Friendship Quotes to Inspire
- Book Review: Jane Austen’s Genius Guide to Life (2022)
- 6 Jane Austen Adaptations to Read that are Clean and Charming
- Death and Sensibility (2021) – a Jane Austen Book Review
- Austenland (2013): How do the Movie and Book Compare?
- Aquila Theatre: Pride and Prejudice (2022) is Hilarious!
Sharing is Caring
My girlfriend loves pride and prejudice and she made me watch pride prejudice and zombie edition. She must not know about the musical version because I would have heard about it already so I will let her know.
This looks good! I love Pride and Prejudice. Definitely going to check this out!
I love Pride and Prejudice. I would definitely love to check this out. Thanks for sharing.
my pleasure! i hope you enjoy the show. it was truly very entertaining.
Thank you for the review. Good to know that there is a website we can visit.
my pleasure. i am so glad you liked the review. i would definitely recommend the musical.
Pride and Prejudice was one of my favorite books to read as a child! I cannot wait to checkout this stream based on your review
yay. glad you liked the review Elicit! the musical really grew on me. i hope you enjoy it.
I have to check this out! I’m a fan of Pride and Prejudice. Hope it’s good!
it really is very good. i was pleasantly surprised and impressed. enjoy!
Based on your review of Paul Gordon’s Hilarious PRIDE AND PREJUDICE on Streaming Musicals, I may give it a watch. This is a great genre.
it really was a great show. I was surprised by the great music and terrific acting. and it was so funny and clever.
I love musicals, this is a nice twist on the classics. A very good review!
Thanks Nina. I appreciate the support. I hope you get a chance to see the musical. Available for rent and purchase on streamingmusicals.com.
This was a lovely review. I am just wondering how I did not know that there was a website called streamingmusicals.com, I know what my upcoming weekend will consist of! 🙂
hehehe!! it does seem like a great way to spend some time on lockdown. they also have Paul Gordon’s EMMA available to stream and from what I hear it is a show you need to see (versus hear).
I had seen different versions of this, I still remember i had this book back in the days. Mr Darcy who can swoon any women. It’s good to know that they are running some streaming on Musicals as well, good initiative. We need good literature nowadays!
What is your favorite version of P&P? My favorite 2 are with Greer Garson, Laurence Olivier and David Rintoul, Elizabeth Garvie
We are definitely going to have to check this out. What a fun way to spend time! My daughter mentioned she wanted to watch some musicals.
this would be perfect! i hope you ladies enjoy it.
For whatever reason, this novel was never on my list of books to read as a child — not even in school! This was a fun review but I would definitely have to read the story first!
i’m surprised! it’s not my favorite jane austen novel but i know it’s her most popular and very common in british literature classes.
Pride and Prejudice – the name brings back my childhood. I used to love reading the book. And now when you talk about the musical, it interests me. I need to check out.
it is a classic read! if you like the book and enjoy musicals i am sure you’ll love this too. i know i did (especially after the 2nd viewing).
Pinning this post for future reference! My friend is recommending this to me and she really loves the book! Hopefully I can experience this, too.
yay. thanks for pinning! I am glad your friend enjoyed the musical too.
This was an enjoyable review. I do love a good musical, so this one I may have to check out. I would definitely want to read the book first.
Ashlee | ashleemoyo.com
i would definitely recommend reading the book first. enjoy both!