SENSE AND SENSIBILITY
A WORLD PREMIERE
BY JANE AUSTEN
ADAPTED BY KATE HAMILL
DIRECTED BY ERIC TUCKER
THE STORY.
When their father dies, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood lose not only their home and fortune, but the freedom to determine what their lives might become.
The two sisters meet their new circumstances in radically different ways. Elinor believes survival depends upon restraint—on mastering what she feels and revealing only what the world can safely be allowed to see. Marianne refuses such compromises. She believes love should be absolute, passion should be spoken, and a life without either is hardly worth living.
Both are about to discover the cost of being wrong.
In a society where money determines possibility and marriage can mean the difference between security and ruin, the Dashwood sisters must navigate desire, betrayal, secrecy, class, and the relentless judgment of other people. Around them, everyone watches everyone else—and private feeling becomes public currency.
Kate Hamill’s adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense & Sensibility finds both the enormous comedy and the genuine danger in a world governed by appearances. Beneath its courtships, gossip, dances, and drawing rooms lies a harder question: how much of ourselves must we surrender in order to survive?
For Elinor and Marianne, growing up means discovering that neither sense nor sensibility is enough on its own.
THE WORD.
WINNER — 2016 Off-Broadway Alliance Award
Best Unique Theatrical Experience
NOMINATION — 2016 Lucille Lortel Award
Outstanding Director — Eric Tucker
NOMINATION — 2016 Lucille Lortel Award
Outstanding Choreographer — Alexandra Beller
NOMINATION — 2016 Drama League Award
Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play — Sense & Sensibility.
The New York Times — Critic's Pick.
Time Out New York — Critic's Pick.
8 HELEN HAYES AWARD NOMINATIONS
4 HELEN HAYES AWARDS, including
OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION · OUTSTANDING DIRECTION · OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE · OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY
WASHINGTON POST YEAR END FAVORITES
2 IRNE AWARD NOMINATIONS
Best Visiting Play
Best Choreography
“Irresistible theater.”
“An enchanting romp with buoyant
spirits, cunning stagecraft and
enlivening insights.”
“This production is a triumphant joy.”
NEW YORK TIMES
“A nonstop delight.”
TIME OUT NEW YORK - 4 STARS; CRITICS PICK
“Goofy, joyous and deeply moving.”
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
“What a theatrical gift.”
“This production is an absolute delight on
many levels.”
“Tucker makes nothing but right choices.”
“One of the most innovative theater
directors in the business.”
SHAKESPEAREANCES
#1 Non-Shakespearean Theatrical Moment of the Year
“A high-energy, inventively staged
production.”
“Jane Austen is alive and well and
rolling on casters at the American
Repertory Theater.”
THE BOSTON GLOBE
“Among A.R.T.'s blockbusters and Tony winners,
Sense & Sensibility may be the brightest gem
yet.”
THE BOSTON HERALD
“Wonderfully conceived and flawlessly
executed.”
“About as close as you are likely to get to theatrical
nirvana on a Boston stage.”
THE ARTS FUSE
“Ingenious staging and choreography.”
“Wonderfully animated.”
“Miraculously swirl[s] and flip[s] characters and
scenes.”
BOSTON ARTS DIARY
“The choreography is incredible, and the cast
executes it perfectly.”
BROADWAY WORLD PORTLAND
PEOPLE.
1. World Premiere — The Sheen Center, New York City — 2014
Bedlam presented the world premiere in repertory with The Seagull at the Sheen Center, 18 Bleecker Street. Performances began October 30, 2014, Sense & Sensibility opened November 9, and the repertory engagement ran through December 2014.
Original repertory company: Laura Baranik, Nigel Gore, Kate Hamill, Andrus Nichols, Jason O'Connell, John Russell, Vaishnavi Sharma, Samantha Steinmetz, Eric Tucker and Stephan Wolfert.
Creative team
Eric Tucker — Director
Alexandra Beller — Choreographer
John McDermott — Scenic Design
Les Dickert — Lighting Design
Angela Huff — Costume Design
Katharine Whitney — Production Stage Manager
Amanda Quaid — Dialect Coach
2. The Gym at Judson — New York City — 2016
Bedlam remounted the production at The Gym at Judson, 243 Thompson Street. Previews began January 24, 2016 and it opened February 4. What was initially announced as a seven-week engagement repeatedly extended and ultimately closed November 20, 2016, after 15 previews and 262 regular performances.
Opening company
Laura Baranik
Jessica Frey
Kate Hamill
Edmund Lewis
Andrus Nichols
Jason O'Connell
John Russell
Samantha Steinmetz
Stephan Wolfert
Gabra Zackman
The cast evolved during the long run. By the final months it consisted of:
Laura Baranik
Kelley Curran
Jessica Frey
Kate Hamill
Carman Lacivita
Nicole Lewis
Jason O'Connell
John Russell
Samantha Steinmetz
Stephan Wolfert
Creative team
Eric Tucker — Director
Alexandra Beller — Choreographer
John McDermott — Scenic Design
Les Dickert — Lighting Design
Angela Huff — Costume Design
3. Folger Theatre — Washington, D.C. — 2016
September 13 – November 13, 2016
Cast
Maggie McDowell
Erin Weaver
Lisa Birnbaum
Nicole Kang
Caroline Clay
Jacob Fishel
Michael Glenn
James Patrick Nelson
Jamie Smithson
Kathryn Tkel
Creative/production team
Eric Tucker — Director
Alexandra Beller — Choreographer
John McDermott — Scenic Design
Mariah Anzaldo Hale — Costume Design
Jesse Belsky — Lighting Design
James Bigbee Garver — Original Music & Sound Design
Diane Healy — Production Stage Manager
This incarnation went on to receive eight Helen Hayes Award nominations and four wins, including Outstanding Production, Outstanding Direction, Outstanding Ensemble and Outstanding Choreography.
4. American Repertory Theater — Cambridge, Massachusetts —
2017–18
Loeb Drama Center, Harvard University
December 10, 2017 – January 14, 2018
This company is especially interesting because it became a deliberate hybrid of the production's history: actors returned from New York, Folger and the original Sheen Center production, alongside new company members.
Cast
Maggie Adams McDowell — Elinor Dashwood
returning from Folger
Jessica Frey — Marianne Dashwood
returning from the New York production
Lisa Birnbaum — Mrs. Dashwood / Anne Steele
returning from Folger
Violeta Picayo — Margaret Dashwood
returning from the Off-Broadway production
Nigel Gore — Mrs. Jennings
returning from the original 2014 Sheen Center production
Benjamin Russell — John Willoughby / John Dashwood
returning from Off-Broadway
James Patrick Nelson — Colonel Brandon
returning from Folger
Jamie Smithson — Edward Ferrars / Robert Ferrars
returning from Folger
Ryan Quinn — Sir John Middleton
Katie Hartke — Fanny Dashwood / Lucy Steele
Creative/production team
Eric Tucker — Staging & Direction
Alexandra Beller — Choreography
John McDermott — Scenic Design
Angela Huff — Costume Design
Les Dickert — Lighting Design
Alex Neumann — Sound Design
Aubrey Snowden — Associate Director
Brett Anders — Production Stage Manager
5. Portland Center Stage at The Armory — Portland, Oregon — 2019
U.S. Bank Main Stage
January 12 – February 10, 2019
Previews January 12–17
Opening January 18
Cast
Danea C. Osseni
Quinlan Fitzgerald
Lisa Birnbaum
Violeta Picayo
Lauren Modica
Chris Murray
Ryan Quinn
Darius Pierce
Kelly Godell
Jamie Smithson
Creative/production team
Eric Tucker — Staging & Direction
Alexandra Beller — Choreographer
John McDermott — Scenic Designer
Alison Heryer — Costume Designer
Sarah Hughey — Lighting Designer
Alex Neumann — Sound Designer
Amanda Quaid — Dialect Coach
Violeta Picayo — Dance Captain
Kristen Mun — Stage Manager / Fight Captain
Molly Shevaun Reed — Production Assistant
Will Cotter — Local Casting
Brandon Woolley — Local Casting
Production photography: Patrick Weishampel / blankeye.tv, courtesy of Portland Center Stage at The Armory. Flickr