Emma

West Coast Premiere
by Michael Fry
From the novel by Jane Austen
directed by Jeffrey Bihr
November 12, 2004 - December 19, 2004

Of all Jane Austen’s fictional heroines, Emma Woodhouse is the most infuriating, the most flawed, and all the while the most endearing. Fancying herself a young matchmaker, Emma comically meddles in the lives of her friends and neighbors, generally botching their chances at romance rather than improving them. But love does find a way, and this clever play is an absolute delight.

In this fresh, sparkling theatrical adaptation, the classic novel’s web of characters is ingeniously spun by a cast of five. Though Austen herself described Emma as “a heroine whom no one but myself will much like,” the world and time have proven her wrong. Of this adaptation, Time Out wrote, “Jane Austen herself would surely applaud.”

"A delightfully clever game of make-believe" - Contra Costa Times (read the full review)