SPIRITS OF REDEMPTION; A REVIEW OF ‘JANE EYRE’
A review of the outstanding Schmeckfest musical ‘Jane Eyre’ | BY JEREMY WALTNER
Let’s reach into our bag of words and see what we can find.
Engaging. Sure, but we can do better.
Enthralling. Yes, absolutely. But still not quite right.
Mesmerizing. Definitely. But what about …
Spellbinding. That’s it!
Spellbinding, as in — according to Merriam-Webster — “holding the attention as if by a spell.”
But it wasn’t the spirits of Thornfield Hall that held the audience in its binding grip, but rather the talent and delivery of the entire cast, crew and production team of “Jane Eyre,” the musical drama presented in conjunction with the 64th annual Schmeckfest last week.
The musical adaptation by Paul Gordon and John Cairo of the 1847 novel by English author Charlotte Brontë — “Jane Eyre: An Autobiography” — took the Schmeckfest stage Thursday, Friday and Saturday, April 3, 4 and 5 under the leadership of first-time director Jill Hofer, and boy did it deliver.
Was it the most dazzling of Schmeckfest musicals? Not even close.
Was it the most delightful of Schmeckfest musicals? Another hard no.
Was it the most enjoyable of Schmeckfest musicals? Define enjoyable.
But what unfolded beneath that familiar proscenium arch in Freeman Academy’s 75-year-old Pioneer Hall is one of the most talent-filled display of musical excellence we have seen since “The Red Mill” kicked off the annual tradition of Schmeckfest stage productions in 1967.
Folks were visibly moved in the moments following the opening-night production on Thursday, and on both Friday and Saturday, through the scent of the foods that have made Freeman’s big little festival famous and the sweet camaraderie that keeps people coming back for more, I heard several say it may have been one of the best Schmeckfest musicals they have ever seen.
That’s a stunning and somewhat unexpected claim given the uphill battle “Jane Eyre” was facing since the moment it was announced as the 2025 Schmeckfest musical last July. It was and is, after all, a relatively unknown musical with a story that is thick with nuance, complexity and heavy undertones — a far cry from the heartwarming and inspiring rhythms of the likes of “Oh What a Beautiful mornin” and “Seventy-Six Trombones” that fill peoples cups with idealistic (and oft unrealistic) imagery and optimism.
“Jane Eyre” is a different kind of show entirely, and hats off to Jill Hofer, not only for taking it on, but also for having whole-hearted faith that it would fit perfectly into Schmeckfest’s musical cannon and be something that people would be talking about — for all the right reasons.
BEING STILL
As I took in the Thursday night performance halfway back in a three-fourths filled house, not only did I observe the outstanding sounds and sights of the performance, but also how the audience was reacting as the story unfolded — as Jane found her way from childhood abuse in the Gateshead Hall and Lowood School to newfound optimism in Thornfield Hall to, finally, redemption through faith and love. And, as I looked around, I was surprised by what I noticed.
The house was still. Quiet. Locked in. There was no applause following the beautiful “In the Light of a Virgin Morning” sung by Clara Beseman and Kelsey Pidde, playing the parts of Jane and another would-be love interest in Thornfield Hall, Blanche Ingram. Why? Because, so engaged was the audience that it had the collective sense to stay in the mood without the clatter of clapping breaking it. I’ve always said that, in theater, silence can be loudest of all.
There was an audible gasp midway through Act 2, when Edward Fairfax Rochester, the owner and master of Thornfield Hall played by Elliott Graber, admits at his wedding ceremony with Jane that he is already married.
And it didn’t take but a few seconds after the curtain call began that the audience was standing in overt and enthusiastic approval of what they had just witnessed, the 10:10 p.m. hour be damned.
I looked over at Stacey.
“Phenomenal,” she told me, brushing aside any skepticism she may have had given the show’s heavy mood and unfamiliar score. “Maybe the best I’ve seen.”
I have thought long and hard about how the audience reacted that Thursday night, and in the nights that followed, and I believe the positive response was for two reasons.
1. For most, because this was an unfamiliar show with a layered storyline, they were forced to pay attention or get lost along the way.
2. Paying attention was easy because it was just so well done.
And, in those two things, a powerful connection — a spiritual journey — was formed in a gymnasium-turned-theater, the unlikeliest of spaces, a surprise to behold.
Elliott Graber and Clara Beseman on the “Jane Eyre” stage.
TALENT UNMATCHED
All of that to say, “Jane Eyre” isn’t for everyone in the same way that “Shrek the Musical” last year, or “State Fair” the year before that, or any one of the 42 other musicals that have been staged for Schmeckfest, aren’t for everyone. It’s impossible for any production to be all things to all people.
But even those who may have felt restless with “Jane Eyre” must unequivocally admit that the vocal performances were, without question, the finest you will find in community theater anywhere, and may have collectively been the best Schmeckfest has ever seen.
Hyperbole? Perhaps. But find me a small-town soprano with a sweeter, clearer, more pure voice than Kelsey Pidde, who as Jane Eyre left the stage only one time — for a quick costume change. Or a soprano that commands the space with a spine-tingling vibrato like Clara Beseman brought to her role — a breathtaking follow-up to last year’s breakout role of Princess Fiona in “Shrek the Musical.” Or a home-grown tenor like Elliott Graber, who took the complicated and overworked character of Rochester and sold it like it was hot.
There is inherent intimacy in an ensemble show like “Jane Eyre,” and you could certainly feel that in the chemistry displayed by the cast of 17, like the sole comic relief of the show portrayed by Sonja Waltner’s performance of Mrs. Fairfax, the space-cadet housekeeper of Thornfield Hall, and her relationship with the hall’s obliging but annoyed butler so well played by Paul Balzer. Or, early on, in the relationship formed by Young Jane and a classmate at the abusive school they attend, Helen Burns, played by Maddie Anderson and Estelle Waltner.
Or the grinding wickedness of Jane’s cousin John Reed and Jane’s aunt, Mrs. Fairfax, tightly wound together by Liam Ortman and Lois Wollman, or the hard cruel nature of the master of Lowood School, Mr. Brocklehurst, played a menacing Dan Graber.
Schmeckfest’s “Jane Eyre” was peppered elsewhere with supporting actors who played their parts as though it was the most important show in which they had ever been, a nod to the outstanding casting by the director. I loved seeing Bailey Carlson play crazy and bring mystery to Thornfield Hall through Rochester’s diseased wife; Maria Paff play the gentle role of housekeeper and caretaker and level out the spirits in the space; Jason Mehlhaf make the most of his time as an old acquaintance of Rochester’s, Richard Mason, whose surprise appearance at Thornfield Hall creates an unwelcomed element; and Brennan Waltner’s gentle, idealistic interpretation of St. John Rivers, who upon Jane’s return from Thornfield to Gateshead proposes marriage and a shared experience with Jane as a missionary to India, only to be denied when Jane hears Rochester’s voice calling out to her, setting up the show’s redemptive finale.
And I loved the juxtaposition of a first-timer on the Schmeckfest stage — Adaline Graber — and this community’s most steadfast Schmeckfest rock — Monte Waltner.
Adaline, a fourth grader at Freeman Academy, daughter of Dan and Tina Graber and granddaughter of another Schmeckfest stage veteran, Steve Graber, was delightful in her role as free-spirited Adele, Rochester’s child living at Thornfield, while Monte, appearing in his 47th Schmeckfest musical, fit his bit part perfectly, this time as a member of the clergy which he can now add to his roster of previous supporting roles.
I loved them all.
But, fittingly given their lead roles, it was Pidde and Graber who stole the show, not only vocally but as a sum of all their parts. The demand required of both Jane and Rochester is fierce in terms of both stage time and energy, with Pidde’s part filled to the brim with dialogue and song and Graber’s role exceedingly complex in terms of emotion and physicality.
Graber’s willingness to return to his home community from Minneapolis to take on such a challenging role was a gift to this year’s Schmeckfest musical, and I only hope he has felt that gift returned to him in spades.
PARTS EQUAL
A strong cast does not a successful musical make, and “Jane Eyre” benefited from a production team that checked all the necessary boxes.
With one of the most minimalistic sets Schmeckfest has ever seen, effective lighting was critical to keep the visual want stimulated, and lighting designer Michelle L. Hofer nailed it in terms of both mood and timing.
By nature of the show, the costumes that helped tell the story of place and time didn’t exactly dazzle, but they were on point in terms of period accuracy, and tastefully and convincingly done; kudos to Kris Carlson — who always does a bang-up job — on that front.
Big kudos also to Chris Glanzer, who has been bringing his equipment and immense talent from Hillsboro, Kan., to the Schmeckfest stage every year for the past 26 years, and has in that time given the musical a quality of sound found on the biggest of stages and in the grandness of theaters — anywhere in the world.
Rolf Olson had his 14-piece orchestra dialed in from the downbeat, and I loved seeing the professionals brought in from outside of this community complemented by some of our own “novices” — Craig Wollman on bass; Sherilyn Ortman, Amy Hofer Vetch and Sharla Unruh on keyboards; Beth Kaufman on flute, piccolo and recorder; and Donna Ries on trumpet.
A live orchestra at a community theater production is unheard of anymore, and not only does Schmeckfest benefit from that ongoing effort, but the quality of the accompaniment as presented matches the excellence from the actors on the stage, which in “Jane Eyre” included an ensemble that supplemented the outstanding lead voices. Shout-out to Hofer Vetch for getting everybody so well prepared for a very difficult musical score.
Jill Hofer made it clear she wanted all involved in her show to take ownership, and that includes other members of the team: Cindy Graber as an assistant director, Margie Waltner assisting with costumes, Maurice Waltner on set construction, Libby Miller and Aprille Birkey on hair and makeup, Jeffery Preheim as a lighting technician, Deb Beier on properties with assistance from Lynnell Allison, Ben Carlson on sound and Brad Carlson as stage manager, Rebecca Hofer as co-chair of set painting along with Maria Paff, and a host of others rolling up their sleeves behind the scenes.
In her director’s notes, Hofer called her crew a Dream Production Team and the actors on stage her Most Beautiful Cast, and together they pulled off something of a surprise, giving great life to a musical drama that had the audience reveling in the best community theater available, and maybe even contemplating redemption stories of their own.
“We are all the same, each one of us searching for freedom, for liberty and what that means and how we find that is different for each one of us,” Hofer wrote. “We are all called to a higher place, where we seek liberation, not only for ourselves, but for those whose paths we cross.”
To that end, not only was “Jane Eyre” the right show for the 2025 Schmeckfest, it was the perfect show — a measure of hope in a complicated time.
Bravo, Jill Hofer. Bravo, everybody.
