“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” Such is the opening of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, and one of the most recognizable first sentences in literature. Are the Bennet Girls OK? starts on a different note.
Mrs. Bennet (Zuzanna Szadkowski ’01), in hand gloves and frilled chiffon, opens the show mid-gripe: “Well, it’s a truth universally acknowledged, that a girl with a sister must be in want of another sister, so they can complain about the first sister together,” she tells an off-stage neighbor. “And each of my girls has four sisters, so…”
In a cultural landscape that can’t seem to move on from Pride and Prejudice adaptations, Are the Bennet Girls OK? offers something that will please Austen haters and devotees alike. The show, the latest production from New York-based theatre company Bedlam, cares little for the Misters — Darcy, Bingley, Wickham, and Collins are all played by a single actor, who is billed simply as “Men.” More time is spent creating textured portraits of the Bennet sisters and their mother, all of whom are sharp, biting, and skeptical of over-eager romantic gestures.
“Mrs. Bennet is a full person in the script,” said Szadkowski, who has worked with Bedlam on several productions over the last decade. “She loves her daughters, but she has her own internal demons and conflicts. It’s a relatable maternal struggle. We might not be chasing the same carrot as she was in the 1800s, but people understand making hard decisions for their children and being hated for it.”
Szadkowski is the consensus breakout star of the show, which has now been extended for a third time through December 21. In October, The New York Times singled Szadkowski out as an “exquisite” performer. “In her rich performance, Zuzanna Szadkowski makes us see the gritted desolation at the heart of Mrs. Bennet’s bustling desperation,” the reviewer wrote, selecting the show for the newspaper’s “Critic’s Picks.”
“I’ve never seen anyone work the way Zuzanna works,” said Shania Pahuja ’24, assistant director of Are the Bennet Girls OK?. “The first few weeks of rehearsals, I watched her come to every scene as a completely different character until she landed on the right approach. It was unbelievable to watch her process — a masterclass in real time.” Szadkowski and Pahuja bonded over their Barnard connection, along with another alumna working behind the scenes, Bedlam’s development director Susannah Millonzi ’05.
“My understanding of what theatre is — what it can do, and how it can change people — came from Barnard, and not just because I was a theatre major,” said Szadkowski. “I entered the acting world exposed to a range of different courses from amazing professors. It informed the kind of artist I am to have been educated in such an intense academic setting that expects excellence.”
Szadkowski has now lived and worked as an actress in New York City for over 20 years, best known for her iconic role as Dorota on the TV show “Gossip Girl,” the eccentric maid in Blair Waldorf’s Upper East Side penthouse. Others might recognize Szadkowski as Hannah Horvath’s classmate in “Girls” or the secretarial assistant to a monied patriarch in “The Gilded Age.” Despite finding success onscreen, she has continued to prioritize theatre as both a performer and playwright.
In March, Barnard Theatre premiered Fox Toss, a play Szadkowski wrote for New Plays at Barnard, commissioned by the Theatre department. Chair of Theatre Alice Reagan, who directed the show, initiated the collaboration after watching the Off-Broadway play Fall River Fishing in 2023, which Szadkowski had co-written.
Reagan found Szadkowski’s writing to be “so free, and funny, and dark,” leaning into themes that she knew would resonate with Barnard students like growing up and discovering newfound independence. The zaniness of Fox Toss turned out to be a natural fit for Barnard Theatre, and a near-instant success.
Reagan and Szadkowski have remained in contact since the end of Fox Toss.
“I feel like I have all of these Barnard artists in my corner,” said Szadkowski.
She was touched to see that one of her theatre professors at Barnard, Denny Partridge, was sitting in the audience at a recent performance of Are the Bennet Girls OK?.
“Sometimes, as an artist, you can feel untethered,” she said. “But the community goes with you.”