La Jolla 'Child in the Attic'
Another piece of Jane Eyre theatre history has turned up mysteriously. This is a scene from the La Jolla production of Jane Eyre: The Musical. Tiny pieces of this recording are surfacing when I least expect them to. This one is especially exciting because it is the ballad Child in the Attic which was only used for this production- and there's something peculiar about the staging...
It appears that Mr Rochester is watching from upstage left. The book she holds is Milton's Paradise Lost which plays an important role in the musical.
7 comments:
I might be able to clarity a few things in this scene (I uploaded the clip). There's a scrim-like wall that rotates (much like in the Gypsy scene) to reveal young Jane - the song's metaphor made literal, I suppose. And, of course, behind the bench near the giant piece of driftwood-object is St John.
Thank you! I'm collecting bits and pieces of this musical in the hope that I can get the full monty one day. I totally appreciate this.
Sammity...Is that St. John who got up and left the bench? If so, then, does she sing this after his proposal? Before?
Help?
I have a recording from Broadway were you can see young Jane behind the scrim quite well, and it looks like there's scenery projected upon it- something green, perhaps the Lowood glade?
Thank you for uploading this clip! I think this song is lovely.
to Kathleen:
I'm still working on that!
to anonymous:
If the links are still active, you can listen to the entire show including Child in the Attic on one of the recent Bronteana posts.
She sings it before the proposal, as you see St.John has left to tend to Mrs. Reed who is in the bed upstage right.
Oh, Bronteana! Thank you for the explanation. I see how it works now. I also see why it got cut, but that's another matter. OK - so she's connecting her childhood and her present possibility of loving, of marrying St. John.
Thank you!
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