Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Opens At Summit Playhouse

The Summit Playhouse, now in its 92nd year, will open its 295th performance, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie on November 6. Kate Schlesinger directs and Betty Kaus is the producer. The play is a stage adaptation by Jay Presson Allen from a novel of the same name by Muriel Spark.

Jean Brodie takes place in a girls’ boarding school in Edinburgh, Scotland between 1931 and 1938. The title character is a teacher who, according to Schlesinger, “has some unorthodox views, to say the least.”

Schlesinger notes that the play’s themes are many-layered.

“On a big-picture, global level, it’s (about) the destructive effects of a repressed society,” she said. “Individualism, passion, creativity, at least in Edinborough and in the school particularly, is not to be encouraged; in fact, it’s frowned upon. Conformity, conservativism is what the school is about and I think to a large extent, what society was about at that time, too.”

But like any good work of art, Jean Brodie delves into issues more personal and transcultural.

“The play is also about the destructive consequences of labeling a child,” said Schlesinger. “One of the girls, Sandy, believes that she is unlovable, and that affects her entire life. That’s because a child’s impression can be so lifelong…a child’s impression can also be uncharitable, see things in black and white, loveable or unlovable, good enough or not good enough, pretty or ugly. In the directorial choices I’ve made, I have been influenced by that theme, very much so. “

Schlesinger, whose mother was an actress, has appeared in over 60 stage plays. She made her directorial debut at the Summit Playhouse in 1986 with The Diary of Ann Frank, and has since directed more than 20 plays. She said both roles, directing and acting, have their merits.

“It’s a difference for me between being a parent and being a child,” said Schlesinger, a Summit resident for over 30 years. “I think it is much more creative being a director but much more fun to be an actor.

For more information about the historic Summit Playhouse, or to purchase tickets, please go to www.summitplayhouse.org.