Few books have achieved the staying power of those by Jane Austen. Over time, “Pride and Prejudice’ and “Sense and Sensibility” have basically become an industry unto themselves. According to expert sources, the book of “Sense and Sensibility,” first published in 1811, has never been out of print. There have been too many film and TV treatments to list them all.
Acacia Theater’s version of Sense and Sensibility begins with a loss – that of an uncle, then a father. Those most affected by the loss of these male relatives are a widow and her three daughters. Since the estate has been willed to a son from the father’s first marriage (thus denying the mother and girls access to the family home they have known since childhood), the women must pack up and move.
While Sir John Middleton, the brother and new estate owner, encourages the women to take their time in relocating, his scheming wife Fanny knows how to make the women feel very unwelcome. Although John (Ben Daniel Parman) was advised in his father’s will to “provide for” the now-homeless women, his wife (Alicia Rice) gets him to change his mind.
This patriarchal view of society was very much on Austen’s mind as she writes what now has become a classic. The mother and daughters display dignity and civility as they gather up their belongings and quietly relocate to much less-substantial quarters. Still, the love between them never wavers. Indeed, in these modern times, filled with all sorts of distractions, it is nearly impossible to believe that a world like Austen’s ever existed. People seemed to generally care about others (except for the stingy Fanny).
It is doubtless that a sense of love and charity first attracted Acacia Theater, Milwaukee’s only Christian-based theater company, to stage this play. While their intentions are admirable, some wayward directing and a poor adaption written by Kate Hamill do this company no favors.
It is important to look back on Acacia’s past successes to understand why Sense and Sensibility is such an anomaly. Earlier this year, the company launched a superb production of the two-person play, Last Train to Nibroc. Other years have yielded excellent results, particularly their production of Tuesdays with Morrie staged in pre-pandemic 2019.
They have successfully produced large-cast shows as well, such as A Laura Ingalls Wilder Christmas in 2016.
To be fair to Hamill’s treatment, all of the main event of Sense and Sensitivity, remains intact. The three Dashwood sisters are placed front and center, as they are in the novel. The oldest, Elinor. is bracingly played by Brittany F. Byrnes. Most of the action, however, centers on the playful, witty and musically talented Marianne (Bekah Rose). At first, she scoffs at the attentions of Colonel Brandon (Marcel Alston), who is “too old” for her (he’s 35, and she’s 16). Instead, she falls for a charming, handsome, well-dressed John Willoughby (Josh Scheibe), who rescues her after she falls sick and carries her all the way back to her home. John continues his interest in Marianne by arranging daily visits to check on her health. When Marianne begins to recover, she is further impressed by John. At this moment, it seems as though the “old” colonel will wind up as a bachelor. For her part, Mrs. Dashwood (Elaine Wyler) attempts to stop some of Marianne’s “unseemly” interest in John, before things go too far.
Elinor also seems to have a suitor in the form of Edward Ferrars (Ben Yela). However, since Yela must also serve as Edward’s brother, Robert, it becomes tricky for the theater audience to keep everything straight.
Further muddling a sometimes overcrowded stage are other characters (mostly distant relatives) who play a role in the Dashwood’s lives. There’s nosy Mrs. Jennings (Reva Fox, playing this character to the hilt), and two unruly cousins, Lucy Steele (Cara Johnston) and Anne Steele (Marlia King).
The play’s abundance of minor characters cause some cast members to double or even triple their roles. Furthermore, the unwelcome addition of five “town gossips” make some scenes less appealing than they could be. Under Erin Nicole Eggers’s direction, the gossips often file on and off the set in a somewhat random fashion. Most of the time, the gossips are mute observers. Occasionally, they will gasp or make unkind comments about the events unfolding before them. However, in one scene they are also forced to portray a household of noisy dogs, and they imitate a team of horses in another.
As Austen enthusiasts know, things turn out all right in the end. A number of the characters (especially the two oldest Dashwood daughters) grow wiser during the course of this play. One could only wish that the characters received better treatment than they do in this adaptation.
