The Annual Theatre Column

I LUUUVVVV live theatre. I simply adore it. That's why I always make an effort to get out and see some at least once a year. This time it's 'Pride and Prejudice' which currently is playing at the Grand Theatre until April 3rd.

Apparently it's an adaptation of the movie 'Bridget Jones Diary,' which starred Renee Zellwger in 2001. Renee plays this prim and proper English spinster babe who has to choose a rich husband because she has no dowry and that was the lot of poor single women back in the 1990s.

Will she choose Hugh Grant or Colin Firth? One is a rich cad. The other is the dark brooding Mr. Darcy - who she really likes but is always getting mad at because they keep having misunderstandings and he's a bit of a twit. Anyway, by the end, like all good romantic comedies, one of them proposes to her in the rain.

I haven't seen the sequel, 'Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason,' but I hope playwright Jane Austen puts some of its plot elements into her stage adaptation at the Grand. I've checked out some of the Pride and Prejudice-related literature and it could make for a really great night of theatre.

Some of the books take their cue from things that were only hinted at in the original Bridget Jones source material.

One such work is 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,' published last year by Quirk Books. Another, entitled 'Dawn of the Dreadfuls,' comes out this month from the same publisher. It is actually a 'prequel' and explains how Elizabeth Bennet (the Bridget Jones character) becomes a zombie hunter and explores her martial arts training and previous romantic misfortunes.

Two other 'P&P' books which also came out last year explore Mr. Darcy's mysterious and secretive nature. Amanda Grange's 'Mister Darcy, Vampyr' and Regina Jeffers' 'Vampire Darcy's Desire' deal with the Bridget Jones character slowly coming to the realization that her new husband is a vampire, one of the undead. Now, you might think that she would have noticed such a thing on her wedding night. That's why foreplay was invented. Just the same, both books contain all the bodice-ripper/heaving bosom elements that can only enhance any theatrical production.

So, I have high hopes for seeing 'Pride and Prejudice' at the Grand. I just hope Austen hasn't left out any of my favorite scenes from the movie. Mind you, I don't expect an exact remake in her 're-imagining.' But if she remains faithful to the *spirit* of Bridget Jones, then I will be happy and wish her well with her next project.

Rumour has it that she is adapting Alicia Silverstone's 1995 movie 'Clueless' for the stage. Its working title is 'Emma.'