Catherine: Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey in Today's L.A.

The romantic fiction-obsessed heroine of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey is resurrected to 21st Century L.A. life in Stina Pederson’s enjoyable if flawed Catherine, now getting a barest bones Hollywood Fringe Festival World Premiere under Krista Amigone’s direction. Click on "Original Article" to read my full review at StageSceneLA.com... full review

Northanger Abbey is certainly the most neglected of Jane Austen’s novels. It was only published posthumously, and its characters have not, to my knowledge, been faced by zombies or forced to solve murder mysteries in their homes. But, if Catherine and her Northanger friends haven’t achieved immortality like Darcy or Emma, they have their own attractions. Something that was noticed by playwright Stina Pederson with her modern adaptation of the book, Catherine (The title Austen had chosen for the novel). Full review at "original article."... full review

The strongest aspects of this production are so clear, the writing and the casting. Pederson's script captures Austin's wit and pace. It's well written and lends itself to the stage very well. The strongest performances are delivered by the title role Catherine, Allison Powell, and her love interest Henry, Brendan Weinhold. However, the ensemble cast presents characters that elicit great reactions and convey strong points of view. The personalities of everyone are very clear. This is a piece that has heart- Powell often doing what the audience wishes they could do with the other cast members- and achieves its goal of "make[ing] you feel happy or idealistic or less alone in our metropolis."... full review

In this modern take on Jane Austen’s lesser-known work Northanger Abbey, our heroine Catherine has been transported to present-day Los Angeles. A stranger in a big city, Catherine is just beginning to carve out her space in her newfound home, encountering a broad range of characters of varying degrees of integrity. Good and kind Catherine learns to stand on her own feet and live by her convictions. Adaptations of this sort have the unique task of satisfying two audiences: those familiar with the original work and those who are not. Unfortunately, Catherine is not up to the latter task. The story seems to meander along - nods to various subplots surface and disappear with little impact on the central story.... Please read the rest o... full review

As someone who has never read Jane Austen’s ‘Northanger Abbey’ this updating the story to modern LA by Stina Pederson is silly but fun. Allison Powell is adorable as the naïf Catherine drawn into a Gothic Hollywood mad-for-success plot. She has the face of a porcelain doll and the eyes of a wondering deer in headlights. The entire cast perform with an energy and mad delight that is a relief from the too-often subtle murmurings in other shows. Jane Austen might not recognize her own work but if she lived today this might have been the tale she would tell. Reviews @theatrespokenhere ... full review