Lifeline Theatre Presents EMMA Review – Misadventures in Matchmaking

Deeply Human Lead Anchors Show

“Vivacious and charming” could also just as well describe the show’s eponymous Miss Woodhouse, brought sprightfully and delightfully to life by Emma Sipora Tyler. Tyler infuses her character with both joie de vivre and reckless self-confidence. While it certainly does appear in individuals of every age and social class, this kind of confidence often seems to be least tarnished by experience in young people from well-off backgrounds. Tyler keeps Emma’s sense of nigh-infallibility carefully balanced on the border of endearing and exasperating.

The character’s assurance is not entirely unfounded: as the story starts, her dear friend and former governess Miss Taylor has just wed the widower Mr. Weston after Emma herself had introduced them.

Naturally, she concludes, she must have have a rare and splendid talent for matchmaking, and to refrain from exercising it further (on every eligible individual she encounters) would be grave negligence. The notion that her instincts for romantic compatibility might be less than flawless does not cross her mind.

“I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like,” wrote Jane Austen of this proud, headstrong young woman. While it is true that among Emma’s many amiable qualities are some distinct weaknesses of character, Austen’s words, Lifeline company member Elise Kauzlaric’s direction, and especially Tyler’s nuanced portrayal yield a protagonist audiences may find impossible not to like.

Lifeline Theatre Actors Juggle Roles Dizzyingly, Brilliantly

For all the main character’s vividness and charisma, though, the play would be nothing, in this writer’s view, without its supporting cast, and the other actors deliver in spades. In Timberlake’s adaptation, just four actors portray the other characters, about a dozen of them in all.

What is remarkable about this is that, save a handful of roles played exclusively by one actor, most of these characters are bounced around to whichever performer happens to be available in a given moment. So while Mr. Knightley, Emma’s close friend and (attempted) voice of reason, is always played by Cory David Williamson, in another scene Williamson might be Mr. Weston or hilariously loquacious family friend Miss Bates. Jeri Marshall is principally Emma’s genial yet envied contemporary Jane Fairfax, but at the drop of a hat could herself be Miss Bates or the rich and vulgar Mrs. Elton.

Some viewers may find this rapid switching about of the supporting parts a touch perplexing for the first scene or two. Yet as the conceit becomes familiar, the flexibility with which Williamson, Marshall, Peter Gertas, and Madeline Pell jump from role to role, coupled with the remarkably consistent details of manner and speech used to distinguish each role, allow the four of them to create a richly varied community.

Set amidst the pastures and parlor rooms of Regency England, Emma’s relationships with each of these individuals give both life and depth to her misadventures in matchmaking. While the title character at times is preoccupied with the superficial, Lifeline Theatre gets right to the heart of a comedy that is all about digging under the surface.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

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(Author)

Emma Sipora Tyler (Actor 1/Emma Woodhouse)

Cory David Williamson (Actor 2/Mr. Knightley and others)

Peter Gertas (Actor 3/Mr. Elton/Frank Churchill and others)

Madeline Pell (Actor 4/Harriet Smith and others)

Jeri Marshall (Actor 5/Jane Fairfax and others)

Aissa Guerra (Understudy: Emma)

Royen Kent (Understudy: Mr. Knightley)

Jonathan Michael Lourie (Understudy: Frank/Elton)

Jamie Sandomire (Understudy: Harriet)

Sana Selemon (Understudy: Jane)

Phil Timberlake (Adaptor)

Elise Kauzlaric (Director/Dialect Coach)

Kate Reed (Stage Manager)

Aly Renee Amidei (Costume Designer)

Becky Bishop (Asst. Stage Manager)

Andrés Enriquez (Casting Director)

Diane Fairchild (Lighting Designer)

Andrew Hansen (Original Music & Sound Designer)

Persephone Lawrence (Props Designer)

Sarah Lewis (Scenic Designer)

Maren Robinson (Dramaturg)

Jennifer McClendon (Production Manager)

Joe Schermoly (Technical Director)

Jonah White (Master Electrician)

When:

Now through Sunday, July 28

Thursdays at 7:30pm
Fridays at 7:30pm
Saturdays at 4:00pm & 8:00pm

Sundays at 4:00pm

Audio Description and Touch Tour:

Sunday, June 16-
Touch tour at 2:30pm;
Performance at 4:00pm

Open Captioning:

Saturday, June 15 at 4:00pm
Friday, July 12 at 7:30pm

Running Time:

Two hours with one intermission

Where:

Lifeline Theatre
6912 N. Glenwood Ave.
Chicago, IL 60626

TICKETS:

Regular: $40.00

Senior: $30.00

Active and retired military personnel (with ID): $30.00

Student (with ID): $20.00

Rush tickets (available half hour before show time, subject to availability): $20.00

For tickets call (773) 761-4477 or visit the Lifeline Theatre website.

Photos:  Suzanne Plunkett

Note: Picture This Post reviews are excerpted by Theatre in Chicago