Stage Review: 'Emma' pulls lightness from austere Austen

Skip Hooper

Morgan Harriman is Emma Woodhouse, with Jason Spitzer (left) and Brian Everson in Jane Austen's "Emma" at Theatre Memphis through Oct. 23.

Jon Jory, the playwright and former director of the Actors Theatre of Louisville, has a knack for teasing warmth and lightness out of fusty dialogue gleaned from the novels of Jane Austen.

Set in the late 18th century, Austen's "small society" romances could easily be overwhelmed by verbosity and ostentation when brought to the stage. But Jory's adaptations, which stress minimalism, capture the atmosphere of the British countryside using simple brushstrokes of lighting, costume design and refined acting styles.

In "Emma," which opened last week on Theatre Memphis' Lohrey Stage, the backdrop is the Georgian facade of a country estate. A hardwood floor is painted upon the stage, lending casual elegance to the space. The costumes aren't over-rich, and evoke a bucolic plainness of time and place.

Director John Rone takes pains to domesticate this lighthearted country romance about folks of marrying age trying to land the most suitable spouses.

The comedy of manners centers around the young Emma Woodhouse, who fancies herself a matchmaker while resisting her own feelings for an attractive older bachelor, Mr. Knightley. The plot is buoyed by a lively cast of eccentric characters.

The main trouble with this production is partly a matter of precedence. In 2008, Rone staged Jory's version of Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" on the Next Stage, which was an exquisite show. The black box theater was the perfect venue for Rone's tender directing style that creates lovely sociological contrasts between men and women. His female characters are like impressionistic streaks across a backdrop of masculine classicism. His women exert a frenetic yet genteel influence upon a world where men are rigid, formal and very serious.

With several top-notch actors from that production also appearing in "Emma," and a design concept carried over from the first, one might expect a gem of similar beauty. But there are a few distracting flaws.

Rarely outside of farce can you find an actress capable of making a different facial expression for every word in every sentence (including other actors' sentences), but Morgan Harriman, as Emma, manages to do so. Rone might have encouraged more refinement in a leading lady who should indeed sparkle a little brighter, but never ring false. Caricature is best in small doses, and excellent character actors such as Emily F. Chateau (as Mrs. Elton), Jason Spitzer (as Mr. Woodhouse), and Jo Lynne Palmer (as Miss Bates) bring the right amount of humor and vitality to their scenes.

Others, such as Brian Everson as the Hugh Grant-ish Mr. Knightly, and Lauren Yates as Emma's matrimonial guinea pig Harriet Smith, are able to garner laughs and sympathy through more discreet means. Yates, especially, is an actress whose artless character grows on you.

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'Emma'

Performances continue at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 23 at Theatre Memphis, 630 Perkins Ext. Tickets are $23 adults, $15 students, and $10 children. Call (901) 682-8323.

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