In a town as small as Meryton, it’s every woman of a marrying age for herself. Now, add to that you’re competing with four beauties from one household alone — The Bennet sisters, Jane, Elizabeth, Kitty and Lydia (notice I didn’t include sweet, plain Mary in that line-up — and every other gal in town has to work doubly hard on her flirting and feminine wiles. Then you have Charlotte Lucas. Moving quickly toward her prime, even sporting a title won’t get her what she wants: a husband. Or will...

Love. Longing. And relations that can be liabilities. All of these issues play into Composer-Lyricist Rita Abram’s song, sung by the four leads of Pride and Prejudice the musical: ELIZABETH BENNET, JANE BENNET, CHARLES BINGLEY, AND FITZWILLIAM DARCY. This is Josie Brown, Librettist of Pride and Prejudice the Musical. In this episode, I have the joy of interviewing Rita about her process for putting the myriad feelings of this quartet in harmony.   On our next podcast, we’ll be listening to...

Connive, Contrive, and Plot. You’d think this describes the villain of a play, wouldn’t you? Instead, this is how Mrs. Bennet in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE THE MUSICAL describes her role in marrying off five daughters with no entailed estate and minuscule dowries. But when her beautiful eldest, Jane, catches the eye of the rich and eligible Charles Bingley Rita Abrams’ song, “A HUSBAND,” — sung by this always anxious mother — aptly sums up her scheme to ensure that Jane’s visit to at Charle’s...

Gossip set to music? How delicious! It’s what composer-lyricist Rita Abrams does in THE ASSEMBLY BALL BUZZ, Song 4 of Pride and Prejudice - the Musical.  Its librettist, Josie Brown, discusses with Rita her goals with this song, how and why dialogue is interspersed between its stanzas, and why it encapsulates the emotions of its main characters so brilliantly. At the end of the episode, you will also hear the whole song. On our next episode of Pride and Prejudice - The Musical Podcast,...

In this episode, Josie Brown, librettist, and Composer Rita Abrams discuss the importance of the fourth song in the production, FIVE DAUGHTERS, and how it establishes the personalities of those characters singing this duet — Mr and Mrs Bennet. Rita also divulges her process for marrying (perfect word use here) lyrics to music. You'll also hear the full song at the end of the broadcast. Can’t wait to hear more of the musical's songs? Go to our website—PrideAndPrejudice The Musical dot...

Those familiar with Jane Austen's classic novel, Pride and Prejudice, will recognize its very first line of narration: "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."  In the second episode of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE - THE PODCAST, librettist Josie Brown and lyricist-composer Rita Abrams discuss how they bring this phrase to life in the second song in their musical, and why it comes out as a duet between Darcy and Bingley --...

You're listening to Pride and Prejudice - The Musical's first song, Welcome to Our Neighborhood.  In this first episode of Pride and Prejudice - The Musical Podcast, librettist Josie Brown and lyricist-composer Rita Abrams break down the how and why of this song’s conception.  Not only will you hear this song in its entirety, but you’ll also learn about another musical number, A Pleasant Little Life, that was actually slated to be the opening number—and why it was decided that this one fit...