Professor Dabundo and her students attending the play at the Mary Gray Munroe Theatre, Emory University.
Read some of their reviews below.
How to handle the many changes of location? There were many scene changes in the two act play. We attended the play on the last day and these were all done flawlessly. But I wouldn't be surprised if there had been some mis-haps in the first few performances, with actors and techies moving furniture about in the semi-darkness.
How to handle all the letter-writing ("You pierce my soul.") and how to show the repressed turmoil in the hearts and minds of the characters? Much of this was done through soliloquies, especially by the lead actress playing Anne. For example while she was reading the letter from Wentworth in the stage front, the captain was in the background on an elevated platform, speaking the written words. Anne also makes impassioned speeches directly to the audience. This aspect of the staging reminded me of the Marriage of Figaro with its 'letter duet' and some other scenes. So it was appropriate that the final scene with the Wentworth-Elliot kiss should take place while an aria played. Afterwards, the effectiveness of these soliloquies was debated in our group, but I didn't join in. Like the person sitting two over from me, I was one of the ones who had to sneak a wipe at the eyes - especially after the speech where Anne is outraged and determined against Mr. Elliot upon learning of his true character from Mrs. Smith.
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Of course there will always be debate about anyone's interpretation of a work by an author as popular as Jane Austen. Read some of the reviews by students of Kennesaw State University who are studying in an upper level English class devoted to Jane Austen and taught by Professor Laura Dabundo.
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Review by Julie
I have been fervently reading the complete works of Jane Austen since September this year and had just finished her last novel, Persuasion, before attendingEmory University
With regards to the performance itself, I was particularly interested in how the play would be staged to sustain the audience’s attention, knowing that Persuasion is the most serious of Austen’s novels. For me, the play was successful in a number of ways.
There are a number of soliloquies throughout the novel that give the reader a glimpse into the innermost thoughts of Anne Elliot. This literary device was translated to the stage by the actress’s use of a technique known as breaking the fourth wall. The background lights were dimmed and a spotlight was directed to Anne’s face. She addressed the audience directly. The actress’s facial expressions, body language and hand gestures helped to communicate the sense of suffering Austen gives us in her novel. The second thing that I thought worked well was how the director organized the reading aloud of the letters that exist in the story. In particular, Anne began reading the letter addressed to Charles Smith from Mr Elliot when the lights dimmed and the focus was directed to the actual character of Mr Elliot. He began to speak the words of his own letter. The audience could see the shift in character that we expect of Mr Elliot through his body language and tone of voice. I was especially impressed with the playwright’s decision to blacken the room at the moment of Louisa’s fall. It was appropriate that the audience should imagine for themselves the details of the fall as we are encouraged to do in the novel.
The director did a great job of staying true to the novel except in one instance. I do not believe that Anne’s sister Mary is a humorous character in the novel. She certainly says some ridiculous things, but her character is not as witty as the performance made her out to be.
Overall, I think the playwright did a great job of re-creating Austen’s world. The simplistic set, the authentic costumes and the theatrical techniques employed all added to the overall success and believability of the play.
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Review by Abbie
I have been fervently reading the complete works of Jane Austen since September this year and had just finished her last novel, Persuasion, before attending
With regards to the performance itself, I was particularly interested in how the play would be staged to sustain the audience’s attention, knowing that Persuasion is the most serious of Austen’s novels. For me, the play was successful in a number of ways.
There are a number of soliloquies throughout the novel that give the reader a glimpse into the innermost thoughts of Anne Elliot. This literary device was translated to the stage by the actress’s use of a technique known as breaking the fourth wall. The background lights were dimmed and a spotlight was directed to Anne’s face. She addressed the audience directly. The actress’s facial expressions, body language and hand gestures helped to communicate the sense of suffering Austen gives us in her novel. The second thing that I thought worked well was how the director organized the reading aloud of the letters that exist in the story. In particular, Anne began reading the letter addressed to Charles Smith from Mr Elliot when the lights dimmed and the focus was directed to the actual character of Mr Elliot. He began to speak the words of his own letter. The audience could see the shift in character that we expect of Mr Elliot through his body language and tone of voice. I was especially impressed with the playwright’s decision to blacken the room at the moment of Louisa’s fall. It was appropriate that the audience should imagine for themselves the details of the fall as we are encouraged to do in the novel.
The director did a great job of staying true to the novel except in one instance. I do not believe that Anne’s sister Mary is a humorous character in the novel. She certainly says some ridiculous things, but her character is not as witty as the performance made her out to be.
Overall, I think the playwright did a great job of re-creating Austen’s world. The simplistic set, the authentic costumes and the theatrical techniques employed all added to the overall success and believability of the play.
Review by Abbie
As someone who is studying Jane Austen, of course I was ecstatic to see her novel being brought to life by real people. I jumped at the first opportunity of seeing Persuasion on stage, and at Emory, no less. I had been planning all week to get ready for the show on Sunday, November 13 to see Emory’s interpretation of this wonderful work of art. As I walked into the Black Box Theater, I was stunned by the amazing set they had built. Unfortunately, we were not able to take a picture on the steps of the stage, but we did manage a picture outside on the steps with Captain Benwick.
The play itself was very exciting and several of the characters did exceptionally well. However, their interpretation of Anne Elliot was not really how I pictured her in Austen’s novel. As I said in our Jane Austen studies class, I paralleled Anne Elliot with the quiet servitude of Fanny Price in Mansfield Park
My only concerns were with some of the liberties taken to show Anne Elliot’s and Captain Wentworth’s relationship. Anne had a moment on stage that was a bit awkward and nowhere to be found in the novel. She relates a story in her childhood about a horse that she took care of. I don’t believe that this story was necessary to Anne’s character, but it rather falls into the dramatic nature that they were going for. However, the final scene, when Anne and Frederick Wentworth finally get to be together, there was a wonderful scene of a kiss, that my other classmates found to be a bit over-the-top. I, on the other hand, loved this dramatic moment, because it shows all of the emotion that went into eight years of suffering in both Anne and Frederick. This interpretation of the novel was amazing to see and they did such a great job with it.
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Review by Brooke
Emory's production of Persuasion has certainly persuaded me that, like Captain Wentworth says of Anne, they are most “capable” of putting on a splendid performance. The setting was exquisite and the actors were superb (my personal favorite was Admiral Croft), all the making for quite an enjoyable experience, but this adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic novel was not as true as I would have liked. Persuasion is my favorite novel of Austen’s, so I was looking forward to seeing it dramatized, but I found myself seeing too many parallels to Pride and Prejudice. Anne’s heartbroken and gentle demeanor was turned into a happy and easily amused Elizabeth Bennet-like character, while the Miss Musgroves seemed to be channeling the spirits of Kitty and Lydia
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Review by Jeremy
I watched Emory University ’s production of Jane Austen’s Persuasion on Sunday, November 13, 2011 in the Dobb University Center
Key to the play’s success, Emily Kleypas provides an emotionally memorable performance as Anne Elliot. Whether interacting with other actors, reading letters, or performing monologues about the character’s inner turmoil, Kleypas’ Anne Elliot portrays a woman who regrets a lost love and a past of satisfying others despite her own desires. Even a viewer who did not know the story of Persuasion would sense her emotional register and take her thematic cues to heart.
At the center of Anne’s story is Captain Frederick Wentworth. Brian Kimmel’s performance as the confidant captain is tempered with regret like Kleypas’ Anne Elliot. Wentworth’s representation is that of the heartbroken man. The play juxtaposes the outwardly confidant Frederick with his own insecure side, showing a man in love and afraid to be hurt again.
Captain Wentworth and Anne Elliot’s story is made believable by the actors’ skilled performances. The last scene in which Anne and Frederick’s story concludes is handled masterfully. The acting, set design, and soundtrack in this concluding scene combine into a memorable ending to this well-crafted play. This adaptation is a love story done right, just like Jane Austen’s stories themselves.
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Review by Brittany
"I … am not … well” groans the hypochondria-ridden version of Mary Musgrove. These words uttered by the inaccurate depiction of Mary sum up my feelings throughout the play. Running over three hours, one would think the play included the monumental moments within the novel, such as Anne’s conversation with Captain Harville and the sound unification of the characters in the novel’s close. However, this play proved to be quite the contrary, closing with an overly-dramatized scene between Captain Wentworth and Anne Elliot, complete with archaic opera music, snow falling from the sky, and a never-ending kiss that had as much passion as a bowl of cereal. Though the play was comical at times and appealed to those that accompanied me who had never read the novel, it remains a disappointment. Its inaccuracy, exclusion of the novel’s key events, ill-portrayal of Austen’s characters, and superfluously theatrical and cliché ending left me believing the production only damaged the work. Emory’s adaptation of Persuasion only persuaded me to trust Austen’s masterpiece as she intended it: tangible, printed, and bound into a book.
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Review by Carly
Theater Emory presented a production of Persuasion by John Ammerman based on Jane Austen’s book Persuasion. Those who love the book came to the play with expectations, and for some they just were not met. While the script was not bad and the stage direction good, there were some actors that did not meet the standards held for them by the characters that Austen created.
All the characters were not badly performed. Sir Walter Elliot displayed excellently his egotism as he more than once was caught looking at himself in a pocket mirror. Admiral Croft’s good humor was felt and seen by all as well as the sweetness of his excellent wife Sophy. No, these characters were well done and enjoyable to watch. It was the overly sweet performance of Anne Elliot and the un-emotional Captain Wentworth that made their love story unbelievable.
In Austen’s novel Anne is portrayed as a woman past her prime but still one who has an intelligent and sound mind, a great knowledge of literature, a sweet spirit and an unassuming nature. In the play, however, there seemed to be more emphasis on the sweetness of Anne than anything else and at times she came across as silly as either Henrietta or Louisa (here the scene specifically thought of is when Anne is first noticed by Mr. Elliot). As for Captain Wentworth, his admiration for Anne did not come across as real. Nothing seemed different from the time that he was not talking to her till they were kissing in the rose light with snow falling around them.
Jane Austen is a difficult undertaking for a stage production as its drama is not intense and open but is contained more in the subtleties in language and behavior. Anne’s opinion of all that goes around her and her thoughts are really what sets the tone of the book. Unless there is someone dictating all her thoughts and emotions while the play was going on, there is not a great way of doing this and their attempt is at least commendable.
Review by Mallory
While Emory’s staging of Persuasion on November 13, 2011 certainly played up the dramatic moments in the novel—notably, Louisa’s fall and Anne’s reading of Captain Wentworth’s letter—the production seemed to employ Hollywood-esque staging at times that appeared to be more apt for the big screen. This quality emerged most often in Anne’s scenes. Instead of letting the audience know Anne’s thoughts about and analyses of Captain Wentworth, the production relied primarily on music to express Anne’s thoughts. When Anne realizes that she might never be together with Wentworth again, violins suddenly begin playing; likewise, when she and Wentworth are re-united at the end of the play, a dramatic opera song plays as they kiss. This final scene displays typical Hollywood qualities: the hero and heroine, finally together, share a kiss while music plays and the production concludes. Although this is perhaps the ending to Persuasion that some people desire, the production cuts the final conversation Anne and Wentworth have about their dedication to one another. Without this conversation, their relationship seems lacking. Nevertheless, the production did an excellent job of bringing other characters to life through their letters: the author of each letter read their letter in character as the recipient “reads” it. While we do not see Anne and Wentworth’s final exchange, the play offers us a chance to see some more of the characters’ qualities through their readings of their letters, creating a balance between the play’s depiction of the other characters and Anne and Wentworth.
While Emory’s staging of Persuasion on November 13, 2011 certainly played up the dramatic moments in the novel—notably, Louisa’s fall and Anne’s reading of Captain Wentworth’s letter—the production seemed to employ Hollywood-esque staging at times that appeared to be more apt for the big screen. This quality emerged most often in Anne’s scenes. Instead of letting the audience know Anne’s thoughts about and analyses of Captain Wentworth, the production relied primarily on music to express Anne’s thoughts. When Anne realizes that she might never be together with Wentworth again, violins suddenly begin playing; likewise, when she and Wentworth are re-united at the end of the play, a dramatic opera song plays as they kiss. This final scene displays typical Hollywood qualities: the hero and heroine, finally together, share a kiss while music plays and the production concludes. Although this is perhaps the ending to Persuasion that some people desire, the production cuts the final conversation Anne and Wentworth have about their dedication to one another. Without this conversation, their relationship seems lacking. Nevertheless, the production did an excellent job of bringing other characters to life through their letters: the author of each letter read their letter in character as the recipient “reads” it. While we do not see Anne and Wentworth’s final exchange, the play offers us a chance to see some more of the characters’ qualities through their readings of their letters, creating a balance between the play’s depiction of the other characters and Anne and Wentworth.
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And finally, Emory's student newspaper review: The Emory Wheel
