Entertainment

Becoming 'Jane' doesn't require plot revision

The Gorilla Theatre's updated version of Jane Eyre changes nothing - and everything.

By Tom Valeo, Times Correspondent
Published October 30, 2007

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TAMPA - Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre provides the template for many modern romance novels. The inappropriate sexual attraction, the painful separation and the sizzling reunion still serve as staples of the modern bodice-ripper.

That's why Polly Teale's smart and surprisingly modern 1997 stage adaptation, at the Gorilla Theatre, comes as a delightful surprise.

The lights come up on Jane (Katherine Michelle Tanner) standing in the middle of the stage with her arms wrapped around another woman wearing only white cotton bloomers and a camisole.

The woman turns out to be Bertha, the mad woman locked in the attic of Thornfield, but early in the play, Teale cleverly insinuates this figure into the action as Jane's alter ego, or rather, her alter id, a fiery, impulsive force whose every move, as portrayed by vibrant dancer Shana Perkins, suggests unrestrained passion and sexuality.

For example, when, as a child, Jane is locked up in a room for misbehaving, it is this silent woman, hovering over her like an animating force, who seems to inspire the rage and defiance that erupt from Jane.

Thus, Jane is cleverly cast not just as Bronte's hapless, abused orphan seeking a drop of kindness in a hard-hearted world, but also as a powerfully repressed Victorian woman struggling for independence in a society that insists she be meek and submissive.

When as a young woman Jane finally evokes a declaration of love from Mr. Rochester (Ned Averill-Snell), the master of Thornfield, where she is employed as governess, she seems almost shocked by her decision to reject his overture in order to retain a modicum of autonomy.

The rest of the long story is clear and concise, never losing the narrative thread. Director Nancy Cole stages the play decisively, aided by a supporting cast that includes Ami Sallee Corley, Emilia Sargent, Gretchen Porro, Slake Counts and Harlan B. Work. Betsy Goode, the onstage cellist, provides sublime musical accompaniment.

Though it may be an exaggeration to call this adaptation a feminist take on a novel 160 years old, Teale finds a striking new dimension to this classic heroine.

Like a conductor who places a personal stamp on a symphony without changing any of the notes, Teale reveals a modern subtext running through Jane Eyre without altering the plot.

 

.IF YOU GO

'Jane Eyre'

The play runs through Nov. 11 at Gorilla Theatre, 4419 Hubert Ave., Tampa. 7 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday. $20-$25. (813) 879-2914; www.gorillatheatre.com.

 

[Last modified October 29, 2007, 23:46:08]