First Impressions

First Impressions.

First Impressions is a stage musical based on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

Cast

• Hermione Gingold - Mrs. Bennet
• Polly Bergen - Elizabeth Bennet
• Farley Granger - Fitzwilliam Darcy
• Phyllis Newman - Jane Bennet
• Christopher Hewett - Mr. Collins
• Donald Madden - Charles Bingley
• Ellen Hanley - Charlotte Lucas

Plot

Like the novel, the musical is concerned primarily with the rocky courtship between Elizabeth Bennet, a poor gentleman's daughter with four sisters, and Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, a wealthy aristocrat who arrives in Miss Elizabeth's rural village in 1813. The course of true love is hindered by minor character flaws on both sides—his pride and reserve, which look like arrogance to her, and her tendency to jump to erroneous conclusions based on little evidence, as well as her verbal assertiveness, which mildly scandalizes him. Both eventually realize that they have misjudged each other, however, and find that they are actually ideally suited for each other.

Musical numbers

• "Five Daughters" – Mrs. Bennet
• "I'm Me" – Elizabeth and her sisters
• "Have You Heard The News" (Rumour) – Mrs. Bennet and company
• "A Perfect Evening" – Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy
• "As Long As There's A Mother" – Mrs. Bennet and her daughters
• "Jane" – Bingley and Darcy
• "Love Will Find Out the Way" – Elizabeth
• "A Gentleman Never Falls Wildly In Love" – Mr. Darcy
• "Fragrant Flower" – Mr. Collins and Elizabeth
• "I Feel Sorry For The Girl (What a Day to Fall in Love)" – Jane Bennet, Mr. Bingley, and company
• "(I Suddenly Find It) Agreeable" – Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy
• "This Really Isn't Me" – Elizabeth
• "A Simply Lovely Wedding" – Charlotte Lucas, Mrs. Bennet, Elizabeth, and company
• "A House In Town" – Mrs. Bennet
• "The Heart Has Won the Game" – Mr. Darcy
• "Let's Fetch the Carriage" – Mrs. Bennet and Elizabeth