How about Mansfield Park: The Musical?

I am at the midway point with my Jane Austen rereading of the Classic Six, which takes me to Mansfield Park, a novel that I feel is vastly underrated.

For one, the main bone of contention among Austen fans regarding this book is how mild mannered the leading lady is. Fanny Price stands apart from the other Jane Austen heroines in that she is not a daughter of the title household and constantly reminded that she is "not a Miss Bertram" by her horrible Aunt Norris(who we will talk about indeed!).

Being treated like a poor relation is not easy in any time period(particularly for women) and with Fanny not being prone to witticisms like a certain someone, it's hard for her to stand out but yet she does, using her inner strength to weather some rough times ahead of her.

Yet, what can be done to liven up the perception that MP is not a major player in the Austen game? Sadly, most of the film/TV adaptations have not done well by Fanny(except for the 1983 BBC miniseries) and often confuse the tone of the story.

There are few modern takes on Mansfield, including books and webseries, so I do think our best bet for a MP revival is a musical. Mary Crawford does play the harp and I'm sure a fun number can be done with that instrument!

Let's see what that might be like, in a jukebox musical fashion, and Fanny must be featured first in this regard.

Being an introspective character, finding the right song is a bit tricky for her yet I do think that "Stay(I Miss You)" by Lisa Loeb would work.

 For one Fanny opens up to very few people, one of whom is her cousin Edmund(yes, cousin marrying was the norm back then,folks,okay?) and he in turn makes her his confidante when it comes to Mary Crawford, whose savvy manner intrigues him but her slick morals do not.

 In talking his doubts over with Fanny, he's really trying to convince himself that she's the right one for him despite their vastly different outlooks on life(which is not very sensitive to Fanny, who is seriously yet secretly in love with Edmund-dude, read the room there!). I can picture her singing this after one of their talks regarding Mary in her white attic room, sweetly with a touch of sorrow:

Next on the mike is of course Mary Crawford, one half of the double trouble that arrives to Mansfield Park(courtesy of Mrs. Grant). Yes, I know many people consider her a secondary heroine but I firmly do not.

While she's not intentionally malicious, Mary's witty talk and sly sophistication hide a person who has seen a bad relationship up close and personal(her uncle bringing his mistress home after the death of his wife is so an AITA post in the making there) and refuses to be "taken in" in that regard.

Like her brother(who I have much to say about!), Mary refuses to adjust her views for anyone, even if the other person is perfectly justified in having them. She is genuinely puzzled by the fact that Edmund truly wants to become a clergyman and doesn't give that up out of love for her. To his credit, it's a true calling for him and not simply settling for second son status.

Mary, on the other hand, is good intentioned at times yet possesses a strong selfish streak that settling for anything less than what high society says is repulsive to her. Also, her social skills are more suited to the upper class game playing of London than the down to earth sweet style of country living at Mansfield. With that in mind, Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" suits her perfectly:

The second half of that dubiously dynamic duo is Henry Crawford, whose charms go a long way there. He and his sister both share a taste for snarky conversation and being unwilling to commit to someone who doesn't let them have their way.

Henry and Maria Bertram are very much alike in that neither one of them wants to make the first move towards making their on the side romance a more permanent arrangement. In fact, getting back at Maria for going through with her wedding to Mr. Rushworth is part of the reason that Henry fancies himself in love with Fanny to begin with.

I must say this now: Henry is NOT in love with Fanny; he is in love with the idea of being her romantic hero that would take her away from her ungrateful relatives and make her into his perfect on a pedestal bride. None of this takes Fanny's feelings into account at all(even Edmund fails her in this regard, transposing his thwarted romance with Mary onto her) and by people such as Mary insisting that Fanny can "reform" him is insulting in more ways that one.

At first, his ego can not abide that Fanny is not interested in him once her female cousins have left the neighborhood, making him want to "put a hole through her heart" but then upon, seeing that she is a serious minded person, decides that marriage is the best way to win her and get over Maria(bad idea all around). Is any wonder that a song like "The World's Most Handsome Man" by Robbie Williams seems to have been written for him?

Finally, we come to Aunt Norris, a villain worth a Disney song at least. My musical pick for her wasn't from that pop culture corner but I can assure you she is definitely the worst.

Her petty cruelty towards Fanny(a way of getting back at her sister for not marrying well as well as a long ago argument) combined with her bad match making skills in service of favored niece Maria is bad enough yet topped with her penny pinching ways, tendency to overstep her bounds(especially when it comes to Fanny) and quickness to excuse her own errors in judgement just makes her that much more loathsome indeed.

Hell, even the kids she does favor in the family don't like her much but they hardly hesitate to get her on their side for that play(including costume making, where she makes off with the extra cloth!). It's no wonder that Fanny dreads the idea of living with Aunt Norris once she's a widow but fortunately, that less than good lady would rather admit her former pear tree might not bear tasty fruit than keep Fanny that close to home.

Her company is barely tolerated by her ditzy sister Lady Bertram(who at times seems to be more alert than she lets on about things) and when her ultimate comeuppance arrives, it is awfully lovely to behold. Paramore's "Misery Business" just feels right for her:

 Well, who knows-we might see a musical version of Mansfield Park on Broadway in the distant future. Meanwhile, the book itself has plenty to offer in terms of  topics about family, fidelity and not underestimating the quiet folk among us.

Although, a musical certainly would be fun, especially those Lovers' Vows rehearsal scenes! Things would certainly gather up some considerable stream that might require an extra costume change or two there: