In all honesty, I was expecting somewhat of a stuffy production when I arrived at the O’Reilly Theater last week: I’d read Pride and Prejudice in high school; I’d seen the Kiera Knightly movie version; I’d jokingly quoted its over-the-top dialogue to friends.

I should’ve known better with a Pittsburgh Public Theater Production. As soon as the actors ran on stage, I knew I was in for something wildly different. Yes, the classic dialogue remained the same. But the actors’ body language, presentation, and a few other twists kept the entire two-hour production modern, relatable, and extremely enjoyable.  Written by Kate Hamill and directed by Desdemona Chiang, this is the first show chosen by PPT’s new artistic director, Marya Sea Kaminski. And it was a good choice.

The 200-year-old story follows a handful of characters all looking for different things: love, independence, peace and quiet. The Bennet daughters sit at the center of it all while their overbearing – but albeit still somehow endearing – mother parades them around attempting to play matchmaker. What follows is an absolutely ridiculous story of characters struggling to deal with the identities forced upon them as children. And instead of the normal one player to one character ratio, many players portray multiple characters, adding an extra layer of hilarious absurdity.

Overall, PPT’s production is a classic turned on its head in the best way. It’s simply not the same book you had to read in high school. But it should be required that you see it. Get tickets here.