Virginia Stage Company mines Austen’s ‘Sense and Sensibility’ for comedy gold

By DAN DUKE
The Virginian-Pilot
January 30, 2020

The Virginia Stage Company’s production of “Sense and Sensibility” tells you immediately that Jane Austen is in for a modern makeover. Hip-hop music blasts as the cast pours out of every nook and cranny of the Wells Theatre, loudly jabbering. After a few disconcerting moments, they hit the stage and things begin to take shape.

Yes, this will be Austen’s familiar tale of the Dashwood sisters, who must navigate the waters of wealth, class, heartbreak and love in 1790s England. But it will be told in a raucous way that aims for laughter more than drama, and gets plenty of it.

We learn that poor Mr. Dashwood has died. His body is right there on the table! (Don’t be alarmed, it’s just a stuffed dummy.) He has left his wife and daughters, Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret, under the care of their stepbrother and his greedy wife. That pair quickly agrees to trample on his wishes, even as his “body” also is crushed, literally and merrily.

But what is this arch Greek chorus that clusters around the principal characters, hanging on every word and reacting so emphatically? The program lists them as “Gossips,” and they are one of the delights of this adaptation of Austen’s classic by Kate Hamill.

The Gossips are a constant presence — peeking through windows and around corners, creeping close by the main characters. In one hilarious bit, as the sisters transition from indoor conversation to an outdoor stroll, the Gossips transform instantly from people to sheep, bleating and chewing imaginary grass, yet still listening intently and reacting as gossips would to any juicy dialogue. Their timing was excellent, their mugging was intense, and they got big laughs.

Every now and then during the play, someone in the audience would break out in laughter for no apparent reason; no doubt it was the Gossips carrying on in the background.

The Gossips were more than a comic device, however. Shame is a major driver of the plot, in which the older Dashwood sisters try do the only respectable thing a woman in their time and place can do – marry well. The Gossips are a constant reminder of shame’s power and of how that power is exercised.

As the audience realized that this “S&S” was no quaint, comedy of manners, and the cast tucked in with boundless energy and enthusiasm, the laughter began to flow.

Ally Farzetta (Elinor) and Brendan Hoyle (playing Edward, Rich Eligible Bachelor No. 1) were effective, and not subtle, in playing for laughs as they convey the awkwardness of reserved characters who find an instant attraction, including when they write letters together and he needs to dip his pen in her inkwell.

Marianne’s chance meeting with Rich Eligible Bachelor No. 2, John Willoughby, brought gales of laughter as the ladies, and Gossips, go into a dreamily lit, slow-motion vogue-ing fit over his presence. His long, self-satisfied, spotlight-milking exit is equally fun, but we note that Willoughby might be too high on himself to be a good catch.

The second act has more drama than the first, as things become dire for the Dashwoods and their love lives. Some will miss all the silliness, some will appreciate a deepening of the story that must occur to make the ending hit home.

This production is filled with delightful, and dramatic, moments of synergy from the acting, the music, the lighting and the set — a minimalistic wonder that features a couple of doors, a few large windows, some chairs and a travel trunk that all are on wheels to be glided about as needed.

Director Jessica Holt and the entire crew deserve credit for the attention to detail needed to pull off a complex show that mixes drama and comedy, tweaks a beloved author’s novel while preserving its heart, gives Merry Olde England a pop/rock/hip-hop soundtrack, puts nine of its 11 actors in multiple roles, and requires that cast to wheel around the set, and often each other, with grace, bravado, drollery, suspense, insouciance, or whatever effect the moment required.

As the sensible, eldest Dashwood daughter, Farzetta avoided becoming a mere “straight man” amid all the lunacy, showing that a dignified exterior can hold a fiery soul. And Manna Nichols gave her Marianne, the daughter with more sensitivity, an open-hearted friendliness that made her more sympathetic as her passions drove her to extremes.

The other performers found opportunities in their multiple roles to shine: M. Elizabeth Dickerson, as the loose-tongued friend of the family; Julian Stetkevych, as Sir John Middleton, whose exuberance simply could not be denied; Maggie Hatfield, as the liveliest Gossip, and that’s saying something; Sean Patrick Grady, as the preening cad Willoughby and the preening cad John Dashwood; Drew Hirshfield, both a noble colonel and a ludicrous Lady Middleton; Sara Beth Schaeffer, the long-suffering little sister; Katie Hartke, as the ingratiating acquaintance with operatic tendencies; and Nandita Shenoy, who spoke volumes with her eyes alone as Elinor’s insidious rival.

Austen fans, and even folks who can’t tell the difference between Sense and Sensibility, will find plenty to enjoy in this lively production.