The executive producer of “Sex in the City” once said his show was about love, and “the battlefield of trying to be in love, whether it be with another person or with yourself.”
Strange words to describe that show, perhaps, but a perfect description of TheatreWorks’ new musical, “Emma.”
The musical, adapted from Jane Austen’s novel, follows the spirited young Emma as she plays blindly at matchmaking, inspiring mishaps and mayhem in the name of a good old-fashioned romance. She’s clever and well-intentioned, but hopelessly naive. Much of the comedy derives from the girl’s romantic myopia which, when mixed with a healthy dose of arrogance, yields consistently amusing (if disastrous) results.
The wit and modern sensibilities of Austen’s novel have lent it to easy adaptation, and the story has been turned into several stage productions as well as four films, among them the pop-culture gem “Clueless.” Now, for the first time, it returns to the stage as a musical, under the artistic direction of TheatreWorks veteran Robert Kelley.
It’s hard to overstate the success of this play. The music throughout is fantastic, Broadway-quality stuff: funny, moving, catchy, and somehow it manages to do all that without drifting into caricature or melodrama. Adaptor and composer Paul Gordon infuses his songs with the hooks and riffs of pop music while keepings the lyrics emotionally sophisticated and the score musically so.
The production values are similarly top-notch, with elegant and understated period costumes and a set which perfectly complements the emotional tenor of the scenes, both in lighting and design. In one especially lovely interlude, the stage was bedecked with candelabras as yellow stars twinkled in the backdrop and leaves drifted down from the rafters. The human stars waltzing below were pretty in pink under the shifting stage lights.
Even with all these assets, “Emma” might have been par for the course without just the right title character — which was found in Lianne Marie Dobbs.
Playing Emma poses a serious acting challenge. Because of her impudence and unchecked self-assurance, the girl makes for a nightmarish Cupid. She flounces blithely about the stage, leaving a trail of wrecked relationships in her wake. Her good intentions cannot save her from reproach; nor can her artlessness, which could be taken for idiocy.
How to make this girl likeable? Yet, if Emma fails to charm in spite of herself, the play fails with her.
Dobbs rises to this challenge. A magnetic presence on stage, her mischievous eyes glimmer as she croons her Cupid song, “He likes her / she likes him / I could be — a genius!” She is self-possessed, certainly. But we are as taken with her as she is with herself.
Charisma aside, Dobbs gives Emma a believable emotional range, which she develops and expands over the course of the play. When Emma errs badly, her pretty face falls, brow knitting together in worry as the force of her mistake settles in. There is a dark timbre to her voice as she sings, achingly, against a lone violin, and a certain weathered sophistication that comes over her, drawing her out of her busybody caricature. She is all the prettier for her understanding.
Then the moment passes and she falls back into her wily ways — a little wiser, perhaps, but just as saucy as ever.
That is the fun of Emma. As much as we laugh at her for her harebrained scheming, we relish her naivete. Emma has all the sensibilities of a modern girl, without the requisite dose of cynicism. “I thought I understood my heart,” she moans, to titters from the audience. She’s convinced herself that love is a pragmatic pursuit. We sigh — the poor girl.
Dobb’s winning performance is perfectly complemented by that of male lead Timothy Gulan, who plays the dashing Mr. Knightley with pluck and hilarity. Emma and the incorrigible bachelor sing and out-sing each other in perfectly orchestrated, teasing duets. The chemistry is everywhere palpable.
The supporting cast also turns in strong performances. Dani Marcus, as Emma’s beleaguered companion Harriet, has a knack for scene-stealing. Brian Herndon, as the unflappable vicar, and Travis Poelle, as the winsome Frank Churchill, are other standouts.
INFORMATION:
What: TheatreWorks presents “Emma,” a musical adapted by Paul Gordon
Where: The Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St.
When: Tuesdays and Wednesdays 7:30 p.m.; Thursdays and Fridays 8 p.m.; Saturdays 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. (evening show only Sept. 8); Sundays 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. (matinee only Sept. 2 and 16, evening show only Sept. 9); through Sept. 16.
Cost: $25-$61.
Info: Call (650) 903-6000 or visit www.theatreworks.org.
E-mail Melody Dye at mdye@mv-voice.com
