Photo Credit: Lucy Bouman
Sense and Sensibility
Acacia Theatre Company continues its exploration of the endurance of faith and love amid life’s setbacks and tragedies with its ambitious production of the Jane Austen classic, Sense and Sensibility. It’s “ambitious” for taking on such a beloved epic with such a large cast (16), juggling English accents and spanning time and geography.
The good news? It works due in large part to a very solid acting ensemble and the intimate charm Director Erin Nicole Eggers brings to the story of the Dashwood family in England in the late 18th Century. Newly widowed Mrs. Dashwood and her three unmarried daughters are forced to move from their large home to a small cottage. Back then, women could not inherit. Anything. Only male heirs. So, half-brother John Dashwood and his scheming, manipulative wife, Fanny, send them on their way.
This adaptation by Kate Hamill showcases the inherent humor layered within the strict Georgian etiquette of the times. Romance, or at least the search for it, is timeless. And as those Dashwood sisters get their hearts broken, the themes of betrayal and loss are oh so familiar.
Acacia’s perspective with this production of S&S is that there are no true villains, just flawed characters that can still find redemption. But it is so much fun to watch the shrewish Fanny (a great performance by Alicia Rice) connive and scheme while hiding behind the facade of the genteel upper classes. Ditto her well-meaning but bumbling husband John (Mark Neufang) and the Dashwood sisters, the practical Elinor (Brittany F. Byrnes) and emotional Marianne (Bekah Rose). Taking on challenging dual roles of brothers, Ben Yela showcases his full range as an actor; first as the insecure, lovestruck Edward and then as the dramatic flamboyant Robert. For as simple as the two brothers initially appear, there’s a lot going on beneath the surface and Yela does a fine job in making Edward, in particular, more than he actually seems.
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While love eventually finds its way in Sense and Sensibility, it takes plenty of twists and turns in the journey to get there. But then, it’s more about the journey than the destination itself, which makes love’s eventual arrival that much much enjoyable to watch— and welcome.
Sense and Sensibility runs through July 31 in Concordia University’s Todd Wehr Auditorium, 12800 N. Lake Shore Drive, Mequon. For more information, call: 414-744-5995, or visit the Acacia Theatre Company website.
