Philadelphia Premiere
From the novel by Jane Austen
Adapted by Michael Bloom
Directed by Kathryn MacMillan
September 19 - November 3, 2013

Emma Woodhouse is Jane Austen's most maddening, endearing heroine. Clever and effervescent, young Emma is also a bit too accustomed to having her own way, although only her friend Mr. Knightley seems to notice. Nearly 200 years after its publication, Emma continues to delight, both as a coming-of-age tale and a lively satire of Austen's elegant and quirky characters. This sparkling adaptation features a spectacle of Regency dance, revelry, and romance that will welcome audiences into Austen's witty, captivating world.

Jake Blouch as Frank Churchill/Robert Martin  •  Peter DeLaurier as Mr. Woodhouse/Ensemble  •  Trevor William Fayle as Mr. Elton  •  Nathan Foley as Mr. Weston  •  Lee Minora as Jane Fairfax/Ensemble  •  Charlotte Northeast as Mrs. Weston/Miss Bates  •  Mary Beth Shrader as Dancer  •  Angela Smith as Harriet/Mrs. Elton  •  Harry Smith as Mr. Knightley  •  Lauren Sowa as Emma Woodhouse

Meghan Jones, Production Manager  •  Dirk Durossette, Scenic Designer  •  Alisa Sickora Kleckner, Costume Designer  •  Shelley Hicklin, Lighting Designer  •  Christopher Colucci, Original Music & Sound Designer  •  K. O'Rourke, Choreographer  •  Monique Gaffney, Wig & Makeup Designer  •  Anthony Giruzzi, Properties Master  •  Mark Valenzuela, Associate Sound Designer  •  Marla Burkholder, Dialect Coach  •  Gigi Naglak, Dramaturg  •  Rebecca Smith, Stage Manager  •  Elaina Di Monaco, Assistant Director

"The production is ambitious, full, and rich, and every second is thoroughly engaging. Director Kathryn MacMillan captures all the detailed observations, upper-class spectacle, and lively characters of the novel with satiric wit and 19th-century British decorum. A light and airy pleasure in every way, and a brilliant start to the Lantern's landmark season." –Phindie  more

"A blast of an evening in Austenland! The thrill of the production is in the playful nature of the actors. Emma is hilarious and at times touching, but it's screwball fare – first rate screwball fare, sure, but it's closer to the stuff of Bringing Up Baby than to the stuffy, upper-class stereotype of the nineteenth-century classics. As such, it works best when the performers are having fun with each other onstage. Lantern's actors don't just refuse to disappoint; they don't have time to even think about it. They're having too much fun." –Phindie  more

"Lauren Sowa...makes an excellent Emma, transmitting all the coyness, naiveté and judgmental qualities the character embodies. She's just a girl who can't stay out of other people's business although she hasn't really got her own in order – a paradox you can see in Sowa's body language, but mostly in her eyes." –WHYY NewsWorks