[NEohioPAL] Review of CPH's "Emma"

[Bob Abelman]

Play House's 'Emma' is no plain Jane

 

Bob Abelman

News-Herald, Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times Courier

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics 

 

This review appeared in the News-Herald 3/12/10

 

The Cleveland Play House understands Jane Austen.

 

It understands that her romantic early-19th century novels-turned-plays need to unfold at a steady pace to keep modern audiences onboard, they need to be saturated with extravagant scenery to best embellish the rich and colorful wordplay, and they require fine and polished performances to bring life to Austen's delightfully textured characters.

 

The Cleveland Play House demonstrated this in its magnificent 2008 production of Pride and Prejudice.   Its appreciation of Austen's work is, again, on display in Emma, running through March 21.  This is a wonderful play, representing Michael Bloom's world premiere adaptation of the 1815 novel.  It is directed with loving care and an eye for detail by Peter Amster.  

 

Emma features one of Austen's most unforgettable heroines-a privileged, beautiful, and beguilingly mischievous young woman who spends her time finding suitable suitors for her friends without giving much consideration to her own heart.  In typical Austen fashion, however, this oversight is eventually resolved, but not after Emma's schemes go awry and she is forced to reflect on her own feelings.

 

Amster taps superb national talent and a solid core of Case Western Reserve University Master of Fine Arts third-year students to populate this play.

 

Sarah Nealis, a New York based actress, is the perfect Emma.  Her training and experience in all things Shakespeare have prepared her for this wordy expedition into Jane Austen's vivid landscape of affluence, manners and old-world morality.  She captures all of Emma's wit and warmth, and is an absolutely charming presence on stage from beginning to end.

 

Warm and charming also describe the performances of those who constitute Emma's world.  They include Patrick Clear as her doting and dithering father, Carolyn Faye Kramer as Harriet, Emma's indecisive apprentice in matters of the heart, Dana Hart and Leigh Williams as Emma's neighbors and family friends, the Westons, and Suzanne Lang as the less privileged neighbor Miss Bates.  Less featured characters and the ensemble cast are equally superb.  

 

Classically trained Mark Montgomery and locally trained Zac Hoogendyk handle the romantic male leads in fine fashion, with Montgomery's Mr. Knightley embodying the ideals of strength, substance and earnestness while Hoogendyk's Mr.Churchill epitomizes quite the opposite.

 

Robert Mark Morgan's scenic design not only captures the time and temperament of Emma's rural England existence, but paints marvelous portraits with set pieces that rise from the flooring and gorgeous scenery that drops from the ceiling.  Each scene is constructed seamlessly and adds to the fluidity of the storytelling.      

 

Press releases for the touring company of the zany musical Xanadu as well as an assortment of exotic, erotic and erratic local stage productions promote their wares as the cure for what ails us in these troubled and troubling economic times.  For those who appreciate good theater and Jane Austen, Emma at the Cleveland Play House could not be a more perfect panacea or a better way to spend an evening.

 

Emma continues through March 21 in The Cleveland Play House's Drury Theatre.  For tickets, which range from $45 to $65, call 216-795-7000 or visit www.clevelandplayhouse.com.
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