At first, it’s difficult to see the connection between Jane Austen’s final novel, Persuasion, and the Christian themes within it. But trust Acacia Theater Company, the area’s only Christian-based theater, to detect them.
The link, as one eventually discovers, is a choice made years earlier by the leading character, Anne Elliott. Against her better judgment, she breaks off an engagement at age19 in order to please her family. They are certain that Anne can do “far better” than choose a sea captain who, at the time of the engagement, is not “financially or socially suitable” for the aristocratic Elliotts. However, eight years later, a much wiser Anne again encounters her former fiance. Seeing him brings back her old feelings of love for this somewhat wooden soldier who apparently loves the sea more than he loves women. And how does the Captain handle this potentially awkward situation? He makes it worse by being completely indifferent to Anne. To cap things off, the Captain demonstrates a growing affection for Anne’s cousin, a younger, and perhaps prettier version of Anne. These words seem to make the play’s outcome all but certain. It looks like Anne will wind up a spinster.
But Jane Austen is a crafty storyteller, and adaptor Jennifer Le Blanc is a skilled writer, too. Before the evening is over, one learns that poor decisions can be set aright. Even though Anne was susceptible to the “persuasion” of a well-meaning family friend (hence the title of the book, and the play), she discovers that she must follow her heart.
This is easier said than done in the Elliott family. Led by an overdressed blowhard named Sir Walter (Eugene Rubenzer), the Elliotts exemplify social climbing at its worst. They shamelessly curry the favor of an upper crust relative, Lady Dalrymple (a beautifully subtle performance by Sharon Nieman-Koebert), while looking down their noses at anyone of lesser rank and fortune.
The production starts out at a slow pace but gradually gathers speed (and the audience’s interest) as time goes on. Director Tim Rebers does an admirable job of keeping every character’s relation to another very straightforward. This is crucial, given the play’s amount of “doubling” (almost every actor is given more than one role to play).
Although the play is set in a single year, 1814, the script shifts between a number of different locales. As it “travels” from London to a number of rural British towns, the new settings are announced by graphics projected on the set’s rear wall, or sometimes noted by the characters in their remarks directed at the audience.
Thankfully, the main characters are strong enough to hold our interest throughout. Anne is cleverly played by a fetching Susie Duecker. She brings out every nuance of Anne’s many-sided character. In the beginning, Anne is basically treated like an English Cinderella. She is assigned duties that no one else wants to perform, such as getting the manor prepared for paying guests while the rest of the family heads off to a vacation in Bath. She takes up these tasks with an uncomplaining compliance.
It turns out this situation has trained her to weather almost any calamity. We see how Anne copes with her sister’s injured child and, later, the injury caused by another relative’s fall. Some of the humor within Persuasion derives from the behavior of Anne’s sister. Her character feigns illness one moment then becomes “restored” in time to participate in family activities. Maura Atwood, a skilled comedienne, turns this character into a convincing adult brat.
The other main character, Captain Frederick Wentworth, is somewhat underplayed by Michael Jeske. Without displaying a flicker of outward emotion, Jeske does a good job of keeping a lid on the Captain’s true feelings for Anne. However, near the play’s end, these feelings are all spilled out into a fantastic love letter that would do Shakespeare proud. Anne is so moved by the Captain’s letter that the next time she sees him, she answers his questions (posed in the letter) with a long, lingering kiss.
With few sets and props to create the play’s atmosphere, the audience’s imagination must be kept at full throttle. Sound problems on opening night muddled some of the dialogue, and there were more than a few dropped lines. One finds nothing to complain about regarding the show’s lovely costumes. Most of the women are dressed in the finest fashions of the hour. Anne, however, is relegated to a simple, blue gown with an empire waist. The men’s outfits are equally impressive, especially the military dress uniforms and the somewhat gaudy attire worn by Sir Walter Elliott.
Despite its minor pitfalls, this ripping good story is told with a level of skill and artistry that does Jane Austen proud.
