Emma at Parker Theatre

My friend Karen recommended the play Emma at Parker Theatre so, because I trust her and because I am a huge fan of Jane Austen, I decided to check it out last night. I am glad that I did because I was incredibly impressed with both the production and the theatre and I will definitely be back! After Emma Woodhouse (Ariana Bagley, a wealthy young woman who has no desire to get married herself, is successful in matching her former governess Miss Taylor (Eden Benson) with Mr. Weston (Michael Hohl), she decides to take Harriet Smith (Taylor McKay Barnes), a young woman of unknown parentage, under her wing. She encourages Harriet to reject the proposal of Robert Martin (Sam Schmuhl) because he is a farmer and not worthy of her and sets her sights on the vicar Mr. Elton (Seth Larson) as a suitor instead.  However, he mistakes Emma's interest in him and declares his love to her. Then she selects Frank Churchill (Ren Cottam), whom everyone tries to match with her, but he is secretly engaged to someone else. Finally Harriet falls in love with Mr. Knightley (John Hayes Nielsen), a Woodhouse family friend, but chaos ensues when Emma realizes that she has loved Mr. Knightley all along! There are some other delightfully eccentric characters in the village of Highbury, such as her hypochondriac father Mr. Woodhouse (David Glaittli), a chatty old maid named Miss Bates (Abbie Webb), the long-suffering Jane Fairfax (Liz Nielsen), and Mr. Elton's snotty wife Augusta (Madeline Thatcher), and I absolutely loved the amusing projections that introduce and describe the dramatis personae! This adaptation, much like the one I recently saw of Pride and Prejudice at HCTO, does not include everything but it captures the essence of the novel in a way that feels fresh without sacrificing any of my favorite lines ("If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more."). I am normally a purist when it comes to changing the source material but I really liked having Robert Martin propose to Harriet first before Knightley declares his feelings to Emma because this allows the play to end with a touching moment between the two main characters. Bagley is wonderful in the title role, especially when she breaks the fourth wall to address the audience because it seems like we are all in on her schemes, and so is Barnes as Harriet because she is so physically awkward (I loved a scene where she is described as graceful while she slaps a bug on her arm and then wipes the guts off her sleeve). I also enjoyed Glaittli as Mr. Woodhouse, because he is hilariously overwrought, and Cottam as Frank Churchill, because he is such a foppish rake. However, there isn't a lot of romantic chemistry between Bagley and Nielsen (I think there should be a spark between them from the beginning and not just at the end) but that is my only criticism of the performances. The impressive set features an elegant drawing room at Hartfield that moves forward when needed, a backdrop with board and batten paneling that, with the addition of a few Regency furniture pieces, is used for the other houses in Highbury, and arches that come in from the wings to represent outdoor locations. The period costumes are a lot of fun but, strangely, I preferred the ones for the men over the ones for the women because they are more embellished. I loved this thoroughly entertaining show and I highly recommend getting a ticket for one of the three remaining performances (go here).