Staged Reading of Austen's Pride to Feature Mamie Parris, Bobby Conte Thornton

Producers R. Erin Craig, Daniel Wallace, and Trish Whitehurst have announced that the new musical Austen's Pride will hold a staged reading on Friday, October 19, at 1:30pm and Monday, October 22, at noon.

Austen's Pride is described as follows: "Imagine being able to step into the mind of one of the world's greatest authors as she completes her masterpiece. Austen's Pride springs to life as Jane Austen transforms her rough draft into a beloved classic. As the characters of Pride and Prejudice come to life around her, Austen learns to see both the story and herself in a new light."

The musical features a book, music, and lyrics by Lindsay Warren Baker and Amanda Jacobs, with music supervision by Kevin Stites, music direction and dance arrangements by Greg Jarrett, choreography by Andrew Palermo, and direction by Igor Goldin.

The company will feature Mamie Parris (School of Rock) as Jane Austen, Bobby Conte Thornton (A Bronx Tale) as Fitzwilliam Darcy, and Heather Botts (My Fair Lady) as Elizabeth Bennet. Rounding out the ensemble are Delphi Borich, Karl Josef Co, Kaitlyn Davidson, Samantha Cho Grossman, Jacob Haren, Victoria Huston-Elem, Javier Ignacio, Nehal Joshi, Greg Maheu, Kevyn Morrow, Manna Nichols, Justin Prescott, Brittany Santos, Marguerite Willbanks, and Dre Woods.

Austen's Pride previously held a developmental lab in New York City with the 5th Avenue Theatre in 2017, was included in the Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival in Rochester, New York, in 2016, and was presented at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts in April 2015.