By CARRIE NEAL
A Seat on the Aisle
Indiana Repertory Theatre (IRT) opens its 50th anniversary season with a production of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, adapted by British playwright Jessica Swale.
Austen’s novels have been delighting readers since the 19th century, and the first stage adaptation of her work was mounted just after the turn of the 20th century. The question then arises, what created the enduring popularity of a female author with little formal education, who was largely unknown during her lifetime?
Austen’s leading ladies, much like the writer herself, lived in a time when women had no rights, no financial independence, and no way of earning a living. And yet she created situations in which her heroines were given agency and a say in their own futures. Although the only life choice these Regency-era women will ever get to make is whom they shall marry, Jane Austen makes the scenario feel fresh and urgent time and again.
For the uninitiated, Sense and Sensibility revolves around the four women of the Dashwood family. Mrs. Dashwood (Elizabeth Laidlaw) and her daughters Elinor (Helen Joo Lee), Marianne (Cereyna Jade Bougouneau), and Margaret (Claire Kashman) have just lost their beloved husband and father. As the only male heir, Mrs. Dashwood’s stepson John (Ron E. Rains) controls his father’s estate, and John’s greedy wife Fanny Devon Mathias insists that the ladies be evicted. They relocate to a cottage in Sussex, where elder daughters Elinor and Marianne navigate the emotions of first love, with all its elation and heartbreak.
The company is composed of a cast of 11 fine actors. A majority of these players portray one character for the duration of the piece, but four hardworking company members (Caroline Chu, Casey Hoekstra, Devan Matthias, and Ron E. Rains) play three, four, or even five characters throughout the course of the play. At times this creates confusion. One actor switches characters with such rapidity and consistency that he often has only a few seconds to make wig and costume adjustments offstage. Even as an audience member greatly familiar with Jane Austen’s work, I’d occasionally be reminding myself who he was supposed to be in a given scene.
The leading players shine brightly. Nate Santana is a perfectly dashing and caddish John Willoughby, and La Shawn Banks’s caring, mature Colonel Brandon is a perfect foil for his shallowness. Casey Hoekstra’s dual portrayal of brothers Edward and Robert Ferrars is alternately heartwarming and hilarious. As the two leading ladies, Ms. Lee and Ms. Bougouneau give emotionally grounded performances as Elinor and Marianne that at times moved me to tears. A particular highlight was the return of IRT favorite Priscilla Lindsay after a long hiatus. Her flawless comedic delivery as Mrs. Jennings delighted the audience again and again.
As expected, the production design for this piece was just about perfect. Deserving of special mention are Tracy Dorman’s costumes and Mike Tutaj’s projection design. Projections can often seem cheap or distracting, but these elevated the play most ingeniously. The only real quibble to be found with the entire piece is that sometimes Helen Joo Lee’s Standard British Dialect was difficult to understand, and in situations where line delivery was speedier or blocking caused her to be facing away from the audience, almost unintelligible. This was a real surprise from an institution such as IRT, which always employs a dialect coach.
But this is a production well worth seeing as it created a dazzling afternoon of entertainment. For the first time since the spring of 2020, COVID restrictions are gone from almost every theater in our city and our nation. Vaccine cards are not required, masks are optional, and there was a genuine air of festivity in the building. This seems like a cause for celebration, with a sweeping romance that will not disappoint.
Sense and Sensibility, ably directed by Peter Amster, runs at the Indiana Repertory Theatre through Oct. 9. Tickets can be purchased at the Box Office by calling (317) 635-5252 or online at irtlive.com.