While there is an interesting parallel drawn between the gossip-filled 1790s of the Dashwood sisters and the constantly connected world we currently live in, that’s not enough to make this adaptation of Sense and Sensibility interesting.
Adapted by Kate Hamill and directed by Sarah Rasmussen, Jane Austen’s social commentary centers around Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, sisters looking for love while their newly widowed mother (Christie Vela) prays for their security and a bonus uptick in social standing. It’s a romantic story peppered with feminist ideals, as the feisty Marianne often speaks her mind and has no qualms about breaking societal convention when in pursuit of love.
Elinor, on the other hand, is staid and prim, the ideal of a proper lady in comportment and speech. It seems perfect that Marianne should fall for John Willoughby (Daniel Duque-Estrada, dashing if vacant) while Elinor pines for Edward Ferrars (Alex Organ, stiff but still charming). What’s disappointing is that this quietly passionate tale never stokes its own fire, making the romantic entanglements duller than parlor talk.
Morgan Lauré bubbles her best as Marianne, with Jason Allen’s ringleted wig punctuating each declaration and impulsive action. Laura Gragtmans has the harder task as Elinor, a woman so reserved and in her own head it’s difficult to make her seem anything other than a blankly-staring porcelain doll. But Gragtmans finds nary a whit of personality in Elinor, and when Edward is rumored to be engaged to the vivacious Lucy Steele (Allison Pistorius), you almost can’t blame the man.
A dreary set by Andrew Boyce curiously features a large cut-out in the back. Sometimes there’s a projection of clouds drifting by when the action heads outdoors, but it’s such an under-utilized element—and so distractingly different from the molded walls studded with brass wall sconces—that it mostly serves as a gaping hole. Rather than repeatedly haul a large dining table on and off the stage (a large chunk of the action takes place during supper parties), Rasmussen has the actors sit facing the audience and mime eating and drinking as they converse. Logistically it makes sense, but the dearth of furniture overall makes the Kalita’s stage cavernous instead of suffocating.
There are a few bright spots, namely Julie Johnson and Brandon Potter as the well-meaning but meddling relatives who whisk the Dashwood girls from the country to London. Vanessa DeSilvo is deliciously snippy as Fanny Ferrars, the grasping sister-in-law who inherits the Dashwood money through her husband (Justin Lemieux), the son from the departed Mr. Dashwood’s first marriage. DeSilvo also has fun as the stuffy and not terribly bright Lady Middleton, creating two fully realized characters trapped in a sea of mediocrity.
