Company member Chris Hutchison scores two firsts in the Alley Theatre production of Jane Eyre, now on stage. It’s the first time he’s playing Edward Rochester and perhaps more impressively, the first time he’s been set on fire on stage.
Jane Eyre, of course, is the book by Charlotte Brontë, published in 1847 under the pseudonym Currer Bell. It tells the story of an orphan mistreated in her youth and adolescence who goes to work as a governess in the household of Mr. Rochester. Eventually she falls in love with him, but finds that in his isolated manor he is the keeper of many unsettling secrets.
As anyone knows who’s read the books (or even just the Sparks notes) Jane Eyre is a sprawling hunk of a novel, The two-act adaptation by Elizabeth Williamson covers the ground by using flashbacks and narrative to explain some of the compelling points that better establish who Jane actually is.
As for Rochester, Hutchison is definitely of two minds about him, first noting what a complex character he is to play. Rochester, of course, lies to Jane right up until their marriage ceremony is broken up by the brother of Rochester’s first wife, Bertha, who, as it turns out, is alive and locked into the attic upstairs because of her worsening and sometimes violent mental illness.
“He’s just incredibly complex,” Hutchison says of playing Rochester. “There’s so many different ways to take the novel now. Through the lens of when it was written. Through the lens of a feminist awakening of the 20th century.
“No matter what, whether you come down on the side of him being a good guy or a not so good guy, he’s a delight to explore as an actor — the layers, the secrets that he’s keeping, the ability to compartmentalize and his genuine ability to fall in love and want to try to make a life for him and Jane. And to be able to exist in the world with some normalcy.”
Hutchison compared Rochester to Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights written by Charlotte’s sister Emily. “Both men have secrets that make it impossible for them to engage fully in the world. They live in kind of two worlds and they incapable of fully existing in one or the other.”
While saying that he is not one of those actors who defend every character that they play, Hutchison adds, however “I think that my way this adaptation is set up and my way into this character is to believe in the love story, believe that he cares about Jane and Jane cares about him. And to have that be the starting point.
“So whatever his flaws and faults he is able to be genuine in this place. I think I come down on the side of having some sympathy for him while recognizing his failures and weaknesses and rooting for he and Jane to be able to have some kind of normalcy and to love each other fully.”
Other Alley Company cast members include Melissa Molano as Jane Eyre, Melissa Pritchett as Grace Poole/ Mary Ingram/ Bessie, and Todd Waite as John/ Colonel Dent/ Mr Carter/ Mr Wood. Remaining cast members include Susan Koozin (Pictures from Home, Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd) as Mrs Fairfax/ Lady Ingram/ Mrs Reed/ Bertha, Joy Yvonne Jones (As You Like It) as Leah/ Blanche Ingram/ Diana Rivers, Ana Karen Miramontes Loya as Adele/ Young Jane, and Gabriel Regojo (Sense and Sensibility) as Mr Mason/ John Reed/ St John Rivers. Eleanor Holdridge (Ken Ludwig’s Lend Me A Soprano) directs.
“One of the things that struck me re-reading the novel how epic the novel feels in terms of its emotional breath and the journeys of these characters through their stories,” Hutchison says. ” It all happens inside 50 square miles of remote English countryside with very few players. But somehow there’s this whole world that’s created inside this quiet, rural corner of the planet.”
Although the stage adaptation does not show Thornfield Hall burning to the ground, there is still fire on stage, Hutchison says. “There is fire depicted in the play. Bertha, the wife, tries to set me on fire. It’s a really cool effect. People really think it looks beautiful.”
Asked why he thinks audiences will welcome this production, Hutchison says:
“In this sort of Bridgerton world, this Sense and Sensibility world, we’re kind of in a moment for that. I think the Brontë sisters and this novel in particular is such a monumental achievement in that realm. The language is there. It’s a great novel with great chunks of text that are beautiful to speak.”
Performances continue through May 5 with previews and Opening Night on April 17 at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Alley Theatre, 615 Texas. For more information, call 713-220-5700 or visit alleytheatre.org. $29-$81..
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
