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A Stunning New Look at a Strindberg Classic Now Thrilling Audiences at Carnegie Stage


When I tell a certain friend that I’m planning on going to see a play I’ve already seen in the past, he asks in amazement why I’d possibly want to see something I already saw. To me the answer is obvious – different actors, different set, costumes, director, technical elements. It’s almost like seeing something completely different.

It’s even said that, if you go to the same play during its run, you can experience different nuances, shades, tones and distinctions every time you go.

To prepare myself for the Sunday matinee of “Miss Julie,” now getting a staging by Pittsburgh International Classic Theatre at Carnegie Stage in Carnegie, I watched the film “Miss Julie” on YouTube the evening before. The film, directed and adapted from August Strindberg’s original play by Liv Ullmann, stars Jessica Chastain as Miss Julie, Colin Farrell as John and Samantha Morton as Kathleen.

Ullmann set her adaptation in Ireland in contrast to Strindberg’s original setting in Sweden. Both are three-character dramas set on Midsummer’s Eve in the late 19th century.

The PICT production uses an adaptation by award-winning playwright, screen writer and historian Amy Ng, currently based in London via Hong Kong. Ng sets her adaptation in her native city just after the end of World War Two, when the British have reasserted their colonial predilections and regain control of city with American assistance.

Interestingly, “Miss Julie” has proven so admired that it has found its way into countless stage productions, several films and even an opera by Ned Rorem. On reflection, this sparked an idea in my mind that it might make for an interesting experience to attend a festival-like event that featured as many films and stage productions you can find that deal with the same original work. “Miss Julie” obviously fits into this scenario, and I’m sure there are others. So hang the idea of eschewing seeing something you’ve already seen.

As to the PICT production, I’d have to say it’s one of the best things I’ve seen in town during the past six months or so. With PICT’s artistic director, Elizabeth Elias Huffman handling the directorial role, I’m not a bit surprised. My star-dar (something akin to gaydar) alerted me to the woman’s formidable talent the first time I encountered her in a one-woman show at Carnegie Stage titled “Not My Revolution.” It’s one of the few productions I’ve seen more than once, despite what I said above about the value of experiencing “different nuances, shades, tones and distinctions.”

I must admit that I had ambivalent feelings about the show I was about to see during my drive to Carnegie Stage. On one hand I was hopeful for a stellar experience, but I’d been disappointed by other promising cultural outings before and have an adverse reaction to the dreariness of disappointment.

Things, however, began marvelously soon after I took my seat when I gazed upon one of the most beautiful sets I’d ever encountered at Carnegie Stage. Multi-layered, serene and vividly colorful, the set by Tucker Topel is ingenious and a worthy vehicle for what turned out to be stunning array of acting on the part of Shelby Garrett as Miss Julie, Trieu Tran as John, Yan Pang as Christine and Mimi Jong as Auntie.

For ninety minutes, Ng capsulates quite a slew of topics in her script, class and social status, the breaking of social norms, gender roles, the dynamics of sexual dominance and submissiveness, betrayal, guilt, cruelty and broader issues like neocolonialism, race and cultural differences.

One element of her own Huffman added to the production is the  inclusion of Mimi Jong as the specter like Auntie, who serenely watches the narrative from a distance and plays the ehru, an ancient Chinese stringed instrument that adds so much in the way of melodic atmospheric background.

This incredibly dramatic and potent play runs just one more week, with a staging this evening, Monday, April 28. This Wednesday, April 30, PICT will join with Pittsburgh Playwrights Theater Company in a special event that includes a video screening of Mark Clayton Southers’ “Miss Julie, Clarissa and John” at 7:30.

The event includes a pre-show talkback with the creative teams of both productions on adapting a play, plus complimentary popcorn, beer, wine and soft drinks. The pay-what-you-can event is a fundraiser for both theater companies. For tickets, go to https://pictclassictheatre.ludus.com/select.php.

PICT’s “Miss Julie” runs through May 4 at the Carnegie Stage, 25 W. Main Street in Carnegie, through May 4. For tickets, go to www.picttheatre.org.


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