You can watch the Canadian debut of the musical Charlotte Lucas is 27 and Not Dead at Yellowknife’s NACC on Friday and Saturday night.
Chelsea Thacker started Pickle Jar Productions hoping to create a theatre space for queer and trans performers and stories. “I want people to feel safe to learn to try new things,” they said.
“My company, because it is so new and I’m running it with people that I really love and care about, we have the ability to be open and try those new things.”
After working with different theatre production companies in Yellowknife, Thacker felt it was time to see if they can do it on their own.
For their first play, they chose a musical that features a character from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
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“In the original film and story, Charlotte Lucas marries Mr Collins and they go on to have a very pious life together and live happily ever after,” Thacker told Cabin Radio Thursday night show Clams ‘n’ Moose, hosted by Camilla MacEachern and Sarah Erasmus.
The musical, however, explores other avenues.
“What if she didn’t give in to compulsory heterosexuality and explored her options instead,” Thacker asked, “and fell in love with maybe another main character.”
Thacker said audiences don’t need to be familiar with the source material – Austen’s 1813 novel – before seeing the show, calling it a classic love story. “You’re still going to have a good time,” they said.
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Jessie Field and James Martinez Salem, who wrote the script and score, agree with that sentiment. They said the plot from the book may surprise you if you’re not familiar with it, but it’s not the main focus.
“It’s for everyone, but I think it’s especially for queer people who have never seen themselves reflected in the work, people of colour who have never seen themselves reflected in reading romance, and people of all body sizes who maybe feel like they can’t be a part of romances,” Field said.
This weekend’s production is the show’s Canadian debut. It’s the second staging following a run in New York City.
Field and Martinez Salem have made the trip to Yellowknife to see it. Martinez Salem was pleasantly surprised to immediately see the aurora after stepping off the plane. The two have never seen the show staged before without their input.
The production came together after the two discussed Charlotte Lucas’ spinster character in Pride and Prejudice.
“She’s a little older than the other characters in Pride and Prejudice. She’s – God forbid – 27. So way too late for marriage,” Field said.
“She’s not the main character of the novel. She’s a side character. But she makes some choices that you might scratch your head at,” Martinez Salem said.
“They make more sense if you subscribe to the idea that Charlotte is actually queer.”
Charlotte Lucas is 27 and Not Dead is produced by Pickle Jar Productions. The musical appears at NACC on Friday, October 16 and Saturday, October 17.
