Asolo Conservatory finds the fun in Austen’s ‘Sense and Sensibility’
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Amid the expected depiction of decorum and propriety of Regency England, there’s a playful sense of inventive theatricality in the new FSU/Asolo Conservatory production of “Sense and Sensibility.” In fact, it’s often a rollicking good time, though not consistently.
Kate Hamill’s adaptation of Jane Austen’s 1881 novel captures much of the original story about the struggling Dashwood sisters, who lose their family home after their father’s death and then prove to be unlucky in finding eligible suitors who might help ensure their comfort and stability.
Hamill is faithful to the spirit of Austen, the challenges to male domination and the sensibilities of the characters, but it is written to be performed with any number of delightful visual surprises, which are provided by director James Dean Palmer, his actors and the design team.
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Jeffery Weber’s set features multiple levels of wooden platforms and interconnecting stairs that are transformed into a variety of playing spaces. As the Dashwoods arrive at their new home, actors hold up window frames (with tiny drapes) to try to make the depressing living room a bit more appealing. A sheet of white material is pulled taut by actors to become a dining table, while others stand behind the diners holding lanterns. Hidden wood panels are lowered from the walls to become desks or tables, and actors clop on coconut shells and spin umbrellas to suggest a brief carriage ride.
The costumes by Jordan Jeffers have their own playful qualities, looking like they fit the period but with contemporary elements to them.
These creative touches, along with some interesting casting choices that don’t allow race or gender to become a barrier, create a rousing spirit for a story that becomes serious and sometimes sad at key moments. But you may want it to go further in this production, which lacks consistent energy. You don’t necessarily feel the ebb and flow of frenzied fun to the more melancholy moments as much as the fun hits a wall and stops for a bit.
But the production features some engaging performances (along with a few actors who struggle with rhythms and accents).
Sharon Pearlman is a delight as Marianne Dashwood, the more outgoing sister who is determined, even bold, in the way she rejects the attention of the older Colonel Brandon (Falcian Page) in favor of the more exciting but dangerous choice in John Willoughby, played by Trezure Coles. You can feel a fire between Pearlman and Coles that is nicely contrasted with the chillier connection Marianne has with the Colonel. As the more reserved and common sense Elinor, Rebecca Rose Mims grows into her role after an initial stiffness as she navigates her own romantic challenges.
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I’m not sure what is gained by switching traditional gender roles, other than adding to a bit of mockery, but it’s fun to watch Mikhail Roberts acting bigger than life (but always genuine) as Mrs. Jennings, a wealthy woman who takes Elinor and Marianne under her wing, and Jackson Purdy as both the surprisingly optimistic Mrs. Dashwood and a young woman looking for a mate.
At Friday’s opening performance, first-year student John Leggett took on the role of half-brother John Dashwood at the last minute as though he had been playing the character all through rehearsals. Brooke Turner, as John’s manipulative wife, Fanny, knows how to smile broadly while stabbing someone in the back. Isáyah Phillips finds a way to play two brothers with distinct personalities.
When they’re not playing other roles, like Danielle Vivcharenko’s wide-eyed Lucy Steele, most of the cast members come together as local gossip, led by the expressive Jordan Rich, who doesn’t get to say much but lets us know what his characters are thinking.
The production drags on occasion, but it generally moves briskly through a story that serves as a reminder of the terrible inequity between men and women at the time (or through all time), and how standing up for one’s self can be the riskiest but smartest move.
‘Sense and Sensibility’
By Kate Hamill, based on the novel by Jane Austen. Directed by James Dean Palmer. Reviewed Nov. 4, FSU/Asolo Conservatory, Cook Theatre, FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Through Nov. 20. Tickets are $35 ($25 for previews). 941-351-8000; asolorep.org
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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Review: Conservatory finds fun in Austen’s ‘Sense and Sensibility’
