Emma

Emma is a firecracker, a whirling ball of energy. She is far smarter than any of her peers. She is a loyal friend and a loving daughter. But what she is NOT is allowed to do anything with all that she has to offer. She lives in a time and society where she is not allowed to make any use of her education or of her whip-smart intelligence; in a time where she cannot vote or own property or have a job of any kind. So… she meddles, she matchmakes, she primps and she flirts. Because she is not allowed to DO anything! As playwright Kate Hamill put it so brilliantly in our first rehearsal, “A sheepdog with no sheep to herd will just chew the furniture.”

Kate’s adaptation of Emma is a joyous, fast-paced romp in conversation with the classic Austen. The production highlights my love of multigenerational work, and I have treasured making it at major regional theatres across the country these past four years. Seeing mothers bring their daughters so that they could experience Emma’s frustrated, hilarious journey together has been so moving. I also delight in meeting the groups of teenage girls that come to laugh and rage—as we premiered the show at the Guthrie Theater on the night that Roe v. Wade was overturned, they sadly now personally identified with the struggles of this feminist whose rights were being denied. Together with these generations of women, we have looked at Emma’s struggles and questions and foibles through today’s feminist lens: What does it mean to be a woman far smarter than all of the men around you and yet have no power? How do you fight back? I will never forget the joy I have experienced rejoicing with audiences as Emma finds her voice, standing up for herself against the patriarchal society that was trying to hold her back. She would not be held down and neither would we!

With a production filled with anachronistic music and dance, we have created a world for Austen-ites and Boyz II Men lovers alike, for those who love Lucille Ball and for those who love Clueless—and a party that inclusive is exactly the kind of theatre I want bring to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Welcome to Emma, a celebration of the power of women!

—Meredith McDonough