Sense and Sensibility

Heartbreaking and heartwarming, Austen’s classic explores young women navigating their choices in an intensely patriarchal society. This energetic and fast-paced production is well suited for middle and high school students.

The Angus Bowmer Theatre is outfitted with an elevator that takes patrons to either Row E or Row K.

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is committed to accessibility. We recognize the needs of persons with disabilities and strive to make our facilities and productions accessible to all. OSF offers a variety of accommodations, outlined here.

Esta adaptación animada del brillante romance de Jane Austen está llena de sorpresas cómicas y comentario deliciosamente malicioso. Se basa en la premisa de que el verdadero amor une tanto a los corazones como a las mentes – y que las mujeres deben ser vistas, escuchadas y valoradas. La vida se cambia de repente cuando la Sra. Dashwood (Kate Mulligan) y sus tres hijas pierden el hogar, expulsadas por el egoísta medio hermano. Prácticamente sin dinero, las posibilidades de matrimonio para las hermanas son muy poco prometedoras. Cuando el amor – o lo que parece ser el amor – les visita a Elinor (Nancy Rodríguez) y a Marianne (Emily Ota), ellas se envuelven en un enredo de chisme, escándalo y fortuna inesperada. Esta jubilosa adaptación de Kate Hamill está dirigida apasionadamente por Hana S. Sharif, uniendo las sensibilidades de ellas con su ardiente amor a Jane Austen. 

Desgarradora y conmovedora, esta clásica obra de Jane Austen estudia a las mujeres jóvenes navegando las opciones de una sociedad intensamente patriarcal. Esta producción dinámica y de paso rápido es idónea para los estudiantes de secundaria y preparatoria.

El Teatro Angus Bowmer cuenta con elevador que lleva a los patrones de teatro a la Fila E o la Fila K.

El Oregon Shakespeare Festival se compromete a la accesibilidad. Reconocemos a las necesidades de los patrones con discapacidades y nos esforzamos a asegurar que nuestras instalaciones y producciones les sean accesibles a todos. OSF ofrece una variedad de acomodaciones, aquí descritas here.

The 1811 publication of Sense and Sensibility, when Jane Austen was 35, marked the start of her life as a published novelist. It was not the start of her literary life. She had been writing since childhood and had completed an early version of the novel when she was 19. During the long period between first conception and publication she revised it repeatedly, composing two other novels as well: a version of Pride and Prejudice, which a London publisher rejected sight unseen, and one of Northanger Abbey, which was bought but never issued. When Sense and Sensibility finally appeared in print, it sparked a new burst of creativity. In the six years that remained before her death, Austen would finish three more novels and begin a fourth.

Austen was so determined her work should see print that she took a financial risk and published Sense and Sensibility on commission. That is, she agreed to pay for the novel’s production, advertising and distribution and keep the remaining profit, agreeing to cover any losses. The upfront cost was substantial for a woman of limited means: about £180, more than 40 percent of Austen’s annual household income. Fortunately the first edition sold out its 750 copies, a modest success that netted her £140. She would sell the copyright to Pride and Prejudice shortly after for a smaller but more certain £110. Writing to her brother Francis, she declared her earnings “only mak[e] me long for more.”

The longing for financial success did not mean a longing for fame. Publicity—and, worse, writing for profit—were generally thought disreputable for well-bred women. As a result, “Jane Austen” never appeared on her title pages during her lifetime. Austen also appears to have taken a certain pleasure in privacy. She was reportedly amused, during a visit to a local circulating library, when her niece Anna picked up a copy of Sense and Sensibility and, unaware of its authorship, tossed it aside, saying “Oh that must be rubbish I am sure from the title.”

Apart from a brief period after Austen’s death, the novel has never been out of print.

—Judith Rosen 

Reprinted from OSF’s 2018 Illuminations, a 64-page guide to the season’s plays. Members at the Donor level and above and teachers who bring school groups to OSF receive a free copy of Illuminations.