Reading Group Discussion of “Gothic Novels And Northanger Abbey”
Discussion Leader: Pauline Beard
Hostess: Pauline Beard
By Vonnie Alto, Secretary
 
 In September, Professor Emeritus, Pauline Beard both hosted and led our reading group discussion at her lovely home, Chateau Beard on “Gothic Novels and Northanger Abbey.”
 
We dined on a lovely tea spread of  finger sandwiches, chicken broccoli salad, berry pie, grapes, banana nut bread, short breads, an assortment of cheese, crackers, and gourmet cookies,.
 
Elections were held. We now have two Co-Region Coordinators. Margaret Christmann stays on board but now Marcia Hamley is Co-Region Coordinator with her. Also new on board is Sylvia Foster as Treasurer 2. Suzanne Frye remains as Treasurer 1 and Vonnie Alto as Secretary.  
 
We then discussed “Gothic Novels and Northanger Abbey.” A fascinating and intoxicating exchange of ideas followed!
 
First, we looked at Gothic Tropes from The Gothic Wanderer: From Transgression to Redemption  by Tyler Tichelaar:

• Confusing and convoluted plot devices.
• A beautiful, vulnerable heroine, who is orphaned with some secrecy about her family and who eventually becomes rich.
• The heroine’s guardian is after her fortune, which she is unaware of (often involving land and property and money.
• The heroine is often abducted and forced into frightening situations, sometimes helped by maids or ancient housekeepers.
• Exotic settings: France, Italy, etc. with forests, castles, abbeys with locked rooms and closets and dark secrets of the ancestors of the families. 
• The hero is always dashing and good looking.
• The lovers can’t get together.
• Secret passageways
• Gloomy passages.
• Clanging trapdoors.
• Evil men are often related to the heroine.
• Supernatural warnings.
• Ghosts and demonic beings.
• Women fleeing.
• Servants help/hinder.
• The secrets are revealed and the heroine is rescued by a gallant young man who falls in love instantly with the heroine but has to suffer before they're married.
  

 
This led us to examine the Gothic books that Isabelle Thorpe recommended to Catherine Morland  in Northanger Abbey (1798-1799). They are known as the “Horrid 7” in the following order of their appearance: The Castle of Wolfenbach, (1793) Clermont (1798), The Mysterious Warning (1796), The Necromancer (1794), The Midnight Bell (1798), Horrid Mysteries (1796), and The Orphan of the Rhine (1798). Interestingly, these titles were part of a heyday clustering of Gothic books published by both women and men in the 1790s.
 
Then there’s Ann Radcliffe’s influence (1764-1823). Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) was one of the most popular Gothic novels during its time. Catherine Morland is completely obsessed with reading it. Our group had a fun time comparing and contrasting the description of Radcliffe’s castle with that of Northanger Abbey. Although there wasn’t time for us to read more than a one page comparison, none of us fainted or required smelling salts to recover from our macabre dissection.
.
Lastly, we turned our attention Catherine Morland; her interest in Gothic novels, her lively imagination, and the harsh reality of her life as a Gothic heroine.  For some of us, Northanger Abbey is our favorite Jane Austen novel. We all agreed that Northanger Abbey is a more complex work of fiction than initially seems and that Catherine is a strong heroine who doesn’t faint or go into a coma
 
For more on this topic, see the accompanying handouts.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Our JASNA Oregon & SW Washington Region is thrilled that our member, Pauline Beard, Professor Emeritus is our 2019 Tribute Grant Honoree! Pauline has been an active member of our region for 30 years. She has served as Regional Coordinator, discussion leader numerous times, and co-chaired the committee that planned the 2010 AGM in Portland. She's always willing to assist and provide her expertise and knowledge of Jane Austen to discussions and other regional events.

Pauline enjoyed teaching about Jane Austen at Pacific University in Forest Grove. She presented papers at 5 AGM's! Two of her essays are published in Persuasions On-Line. Another essay on illness in Austen novels has 891 downloads in Common Knowledge Pacific University. Pauline also has a YouTube video of a satire on Pride And Prejudice And Zombies. 

We are delighted that Pauline was profiled on the back cover of JASNA News, Spring 2019 which was the final issue of former Editor, Sheryl Craig.

To honor Pauline, we photographed her at our March meeting at the elegant Portland Mirabella. Congratulations Pauline! We appreciate your many years of devotion to our Oregon/SW Washington Region!  

 Here are some fun photos of Pauline Beard, Professor Emeritus. She traveled to England and Europe this  summer 2019. Of course, she visited the Jane Austen Centre in Bath. Here she is there in period costume with her brother's family.

In the first photo, Pauline is wearing a white day hat and pink cotton dress with a short jacket over the top. Her great niece is seated, also wearing a cotton dress with a mop cap and cleverly hiding her cell phone behind her fan. Pauline's nephew is wearing a military uniform and hiding his shorts behind the chair. His wife is wearing a more silky dress with a velvet jacket and a silky day hat.

In the second photo, a Mr. Darcy look-alike poses with Pauline and her sister-in-law. A fun time was had by all!

Later, Pauline journeyed to Portugal. Here she is outside the book shop where J.K.Rowling wrote Harry Potter and got the idea for her spectacular fictional book shop. What is interesting is that Rowling taught English in Porto in the 90s, and is said to have written some of the series in the shop.

There are huge lines of 4,000-5,000 people a day! They're there to  buy tickets and then to get to the door with their ticket! The shop got so crowded that the owners had to start charging entry as fans flocked in to take photos without buying a book.

Jane Austen and the Theater
Spring Tea 2019
Fairway Village Club House
Vancouver, WA
Hosts: Nan and David Williams
Speaker: Kimberly Brangwin Milham
By Vonnie Alto, Secretary
 
For the third year in a row, our region held its annual Spring Tea at the beautiful Fairway Village Club House in Vancouver, WA on Sunday, April 28th. Nan Williams and her husband, David were the hosts.

This year, Val Bloye with Mary-Elise Diedrich assisting made the table decorations to compliment our theatrical theme. Charming baskets of fresh and dried flowers adorned the tables with miniature two-sided placards advertising Georgian theaters and plays of the era with period actors/actresses. 

Our tea table included a potluck style of scrumptious main dishes and delectable desserts which included baked ham, beef summer sausage, a cheese plate platter, tea sandwiches, shrimp, lentil salad, chicken salad,  pretzels, cherry tomatoes, banana nut bread, Devonshire scones with clotted cream, Ruby Berry Eton Mess, shortbread, chocolate chip cookies, and savory caramels.     

Many of our ton dressed in Regency and Georgian costume to celebrate our Spring Tea. Of course, we held our own emporium of Jane Austen books, merchandise, and Regency era attire which raised over $200! This helped fund our annual Tribute Grant for one person each year to attend the JASNA AGM who has never been there.

Amid our festivities, Tribute Grant Creator and former Region Coordinator, Kim Higgins, announced our 2019 Tribute Grant Recipient: Lauren Bruss.  Lauren has been a member of our region since 2015 and claims to have read all of Jane Austen's works by the time she finished high school. One of Lauren's favorite novels is Northanger Abbey, as she has always related strongly to the novel's heroine. We are delighted that Lauren was awarded our Tribute Grant so that she could delve further into the world of Catherine Morland at the Williamsburg AGM--the ideal environment for Lauren to seek a a little mischief and adventure of her own!

Our Spring Tea speaker this year was Kimberly Brangwin Milham who is an active JASNA member and a renowned expert on theater, food, crime, and etiquette. She has performed in numerous plays for regional meetings and the national JASNA AGM. We were in for quite a treat. Kimberly’s extensive knowledge of Jane Austen and the Regency ere allowed us all to experience Georgian theater.
 
Kimberly attended dressed in Georgian attire and enthralled us all with her knowledge of the risqué world of Georgian theater, its high drama both on and off the stage. She gave a lively and informative discourse with anecdotes, humor, and slide projector visuals about the actors and actresses and playhouses in London and Bath during the time of Jane Austen, including Jane Austen's love of theater.—whether performing in home theatricals with her family at holidays or attending the grand theaters of London or Bath.
 
What Did We Learn About the World of Georgian Theater?

• Plays began in the afternoon. The entire theater showing could last as long as 6 hours.  Prior to a theater showing, dancers and singers performed. Good plays were often performed twice.
•  A play’s run was approximately 1-2 weeks.  
• There was no copyright, so there was lots of stealing of plots and lines.
•  The perception of theater is “possibility.”
•  Theater is ephemeral. It’s enticing and offers illusions and dreams. The actors are not being themselves. Women show their legs. Men dressed as women.  Indeed, cross dressing for both men and women was a crowd pleaser. Age, size, infirmity, and infamous/famous reputations didn’t limit an actor’s appeal. Once you became known for a role, you could play it for decades.  
• Actors and actresses had longevity in their careers. Muted lighting of candles and lamps, rouge  makeup, and physical distance from the audience made it possible for older actors to act.
• In 1807, London had gas lamps. Actors found lamp light more flattering than oil lamps. In 1817, cold gas was used to light Covent Garden with a green light.
•  Theater was a big part of the middle and upper class and a welcome venue for them. The gentry thought that the theater was about seeing and being seen and coming and going.  
• Legitimate theater was real theater and not musical theater.
•  The audience and actors expected a participatory experience. Performances were often interrupted by guffaws and applause.  
• Fire destroyed theaters and happened frequently due to hazardous lighting and draperies. In 1808, a fire destroyed Covent Garden. It started at 4 am and within 3-4 hours, the entire theater was demolished. In 1809, Drury Lane burned.  In 1811, the theater was rebuilt which Jane Austen attended with her brother.
•  Most towns had their own theaters, in a horseshoe shape circle. The larger ones were built for 800 people and crowded.  
• The Monthly Mirror was similar to People magazine, filled with gossip about the actors and very personality driven.
•  Memoirs of actresses were greatly sought after whether or not they were true.

 
 The Actors of Georgian Theater:

• Famous actors were David Garrick (1717-1779) and John Kemble (1757-1823).  Kemble created a legacy. His older sister, Sarah Siddons achieved famed with him on the stage. His nephews and grandson continued his legacy as an actor.  
• Sarah Siddons (1775-1831) was a famous actress of Drury Lane. Women would faint away at her drama. Theater goers really thought she had died during her death scenes and moaned in terror.
• Edmund Kean (1787-1833) as Othello theatrically died in his last performance in 1833 when he collapsed into the arms of his son, Charles who played Iago. Kean died 2 months later.  
• Mrs. Dorothea Jordan (1761-1816) had several pregnancies during 20 years while acting. People loved her best in low cast roles of country maids because of her sassy humor.

 
Playwrights that Jane Austen Saw:

• Susannah Centlivre (1667-1723) was an English poet and actress and also “the most successful female playwright of the 18th century.” She published 17 plays.    
• Hannah Cowley (1743-1809) was an English dramatist and poet. She wrote 13 plays including the romantic comedy, The Belle’s Strategem about marriage and how women strive to overcome the injustices imposed by social customs and traditions as well as family life.
• Elizabeth Inchbald (1753-1821) wrote Lover’s Vows (most famous because Jane Austen made it famous when she referred to it in Mansfield Park),  
• Richard Sheridan (1751-1816) wrote The Rivals and School for Scandal which are his most popular plays which are still performed today.

 
Jane Austen’s Love of Theater:

• Jane Austen’s writings have a modern feel which makes it easy for adaptation. Jane understood dramatic elements. She also understood the structure of plays into acts. She used to read plays aloud with her family. One of her brothers noted that he thought her talents far exceeded the written works and sometimes the performances.  
• Jane Austen’s writings were inspired from her visits to the theater.
•  In 1799, Jane attended her first professional play with her brother, called Lover’s Vows which she referred to in Mansfield Park.  Jane liked farce and saw The Devil to Pay by Charles Coffey.

Reading Group Discussion of “Jane Austen: Myth, Reality, and Global Celebrity”
Online Course from Futurelearn.com
at Mirabella Retirement Community
Hostess: Ceil Huntington
Discussion Leader: Marcia Hamley
By Vonnie Alto, Secretary
 
Ceil Huntington hosted our March meeting at the elegant Mirabella Retirement Community on Bond Avenue and SW River Street in Portland. It was beautifully catered by the resident chef which included gourmet hamburgers, fresh vegetables, caviar, and coffee. Members added to the buffet by bringing clementine cake, oranges, tarts, cookies, breads, and other pastries as well as grapes, cherry tomatoes, olives, tea sandwiches, petite quiches, and mini strawberry croissants.
 
Pauline Beard, Professor Emeritus, was acknowledged as our 2019 Tribute Grant Honoree for her many years of contributions to our region.
 
We received an update on the Jane Austen garden plaque at Chawton House that we’re co-sponsoring with the Southern Oregon JASNA region. The quote on the plaque is from Pride and Prejudice: “As the weather was fine, they had a pleasant walk of about half mile across the park.”
 
Jane Austen enthusiast, Marcia Hamley, led a most engrossing discussion on what we learned from the 3 week online course, “Jane Austen: Myth, Reality, and Global Celebrity” given at Futurelearn.com by Jane Austen experts Gillian Dow and Kim Simpson. Marcia gave a culturally erudite in depth overview of the course, complete with a handout of recommended reading, the course outline,  portraits of Jane Austen, and the article, “A New Portrait of Jane Austen” by Melissa Dring: <https://www.janeausten.co.uk/the-jane-austen-portrait/> 
 
Marcia noted that the course puts events into the context of Jane Austen’s life and how it affected her and her artistry--such as war, bank failures, French Revolution, American Revolution.
 
An insightful discussion followed where we both learned and gave input on female education and reading in the 18th century and in Jane Austen’s novels, what Jane Austen means to us and others, the places that mattered to Jane Austen, what Jane Austen would have read, what Jane Austen’s reading tells us about her novels, artistic and financial influences on Jane Austen, her legacy, and how Jane Austen has been described to the world through biographies, portraits, and film.
 
Much time was spent discussing what Jane Austen actually looked like. How intriguing it was to analyze the various portraits of Jane Austen! We looked at how Jane’s sister Cassandra’s sketch of her grew and evolved from an unfinished grimacing, "cranky" face into the finished portrait now on the new ten-pound bank note. We all agreed that her family promoted an image of the Victorian ideal when in fact, Jane probably looked different from the portraits.  
 
The commentary flew fast and furious among our group. So lively was it that nearly every subject imaginable was addressed. 
 
Insights gleaned from our discussion produced a melange of interesting tidbits and even oddities:

• The early translations of Jane Austen’s works (first in French) were rewrites that did not contain the true meaning of her text. Subsequently, Pride and Prejudice was abridged, with a few excerpts printed as a magazine serial! Sense and Sensibility was rewritten, including the ending! And Emma was promoted as a guide to English manners! Since Jane lived across the channel, she probably knew nothing about them.
• Marcia noted that, “Jane focuses on characters.” Both Marcia and Arnie Perlstein agreed that Jane Austen depicts a "beautiful world.”
• The silences in Jane Austen’s novels allows artistic interpretation, especially when translated to film.
• Passion summarizes the course. Jane didn’t write for dull elves. She expected her readers to interact with her text.
• Lauri Conway said that Pride and Prejudice is a good entry into Jane’s books. “It’s bright and sparkly,” Marcia noted.

• Regarding theater, Arnie said that Jane wrote about seeing this play or that play. Pauline Beard noted that the early writings of Jane was geared towards the theater.

 
We explored Jane’s world of finance:

• Jane Austen valued love over money, a reoccurring theme in her books. Member, Bill Boyd noted that, “You could have love without money” which creates a problem. Therefore, Jane was not an idealist but practical.

• It was also noted that Jane wasn’t impoverished but poor.

 
We also discussed if Jane was a feminist or not.

• Jane wanted to make sure that her heroines ended up well off within the accepted confines of society.
• Once again, Bill Boyd offered an enlightening perspective. There are “no Cinderella heroines” in a Jane Austen novel. “They didn’t marry princes. They married relatively ordinary people.”

 
In terms of education, women had to learn to play music and learn other accomplishments while young men studied classical subjects and went on grand tours. Women didn’t go on grand tours unless they were wealthy.

• Marcia noted that Jane, Cassandra, and Cousin Jane Cooper hated boarding school and appreciated the importance of a liberal education at home.
• Jane got quite a liberal upbringing. She was educated by her father and had her father’s library at Godmersham. She read women novelists, and also Shakespeare, and Richardson. Arnie Perlstein said she read everything.
• Most of Jane’s education was at home. Her father took in boys to educate. Jane was inquisitive and read what they read. 
• Arnie pointed out that Jane was mistress of all she surveyed. She was fortunate to live in a home with a gigantic library, probably holed up reading all that she found there. She likely digested enormously her father’s library in order to  have written her parody, A History of England.

 
Regarding Lady Susan:

• Marcia noted that Lady Susan is “a fabulous book. Jane Austen disapproves of her behavior but makes you love her.” 
• Pauline Beard added,”Look at the love child, the couple’s love child, the elopements. Jane was with it.” Pauline further noted that in an essay on Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf observed, “Of all great writers she is the most difficult to catch in the act of greatness.”

 
Of course, we delved into love and marriage.

• In 1802, Jane got engaged to Harris Biggs-Wither, the brother of close friends but then then backed out of it. She was pressured from her family to marry rich.
• Sylvia Foster said that the reason why Jane didn’t marry him is that she didn’t respect him.
• Our Region Coordinator, Margaret Christmann added that he was 7 years younger than Jane and more involved with his hounds.
• Why did Jane decide not to get married? Marcia pointed out that “Jane wanted a career as a writer. Pregnancy could kill her.”

 
The dark side was also explored.

• Arnie said that Jane Austen wrote about families and that there’s an undercurrent of abuse in Jane’s novels. Jane was into the dark place.
• Arnie recommended Read Jane Austen for Dummies. There’s also an online article in Persuasions about Fanny as a victim of circumstances. 
• Marcia recommended the biography, Jane Austen, by Claire Tomlin which focuses on Jane Austen’s family and community.
• Arnie mentioned the theory that Jane was poisoned by her sister in-law. A lock of Jane’s hair was discovered with arsenic. This serves as the premise for the film, Miss Jane Austen Regrets. See also The Mysterious Death of Miss Jane Austen by Lindsay Ashford.
• Suzannah Fulton wrote, Jane Austen in Crime, in which the darker side of Jane Austen’s world is explored.  During the time of Jane Austen, criminals were left hanging on hooks on highways.
• For more on the dark side, see Arnie's blog, Sharp Elves Society...Jane Austen's Shadow Stories  http://sharpelvessociety.blogspot.com/

 
We discussed the cult of sensibility.

• Apparently, a lot of literature popularized sensibility, defined as committed to over reacting. People, especially women should be in touch with their emotions to ridiculous degrees. Kim Higgins called them “drama queens.” Marianne in Sense and Sensibility was committed to over reacting over everything. Both Marianne and Elinor have things to learn and both learn from each other. Marianne is the more dramatic example.   
• Cads could be saved. Women could convert them instead of staying away from the Willoughbys of the world.

• Sylvia Foster pointed out that “sense” is equal to the American Revolution while “sensibility” is what the French Revolution was about.
•  Deb Rossi recommended, Jane And Dorothy: A True Story of Sense and Sensibility: The Lives of Jane Austen and Dorothy Wordsworth by Marian Veveers. 

A lively discussion followed on film adaptations:

• Generally most people hate Kiera Knightly in Pride and Prejudice.
• Marcia said that younger women really like the 1995 Kiera Knightly version.
• Marcia is a great fan of the Pride and Prejudice version of Colin Firth and Emma Thompson.
• Marcia noted that it’s very interesting to watch Jane Austen movies now that she’s read the books.   

 
Arnie Perlstein asked, what did you learn that you were surprised?

• The section on money and capital is new to Future Learn which addressed Austen's finances, the harsh reality of the marriage market, attitudes toward money and class through the different characters in her novels, and currency conversion to see what different characters would be worth today.
• Education and women in the period was enlightening. Mary Wollstonecraft advocated that women are rational creatures and should be educated like men. Arnie said that Mary Wollstonecraft lived an unconventional life, lived independently and did what she wanted.
• We also discussed museum exhibits and how Jane Austen displays are curated--particularly the wonderful artifacts from the Jane Austen House Museum: her very small writing desk, her turquoise ring, and most personal of all, a cutting her hair! It was noted that the cutting of hair was a common tradition among families after a death.
• Marna Tisdel said that all databases are interesting with enlightening articles and we can find out who was buying Jane’s books and where.
• Sylvia Foster appreciated the many links to follow. 
• Marcia collected links to read later and made sure she read the course. For more information, see the handout on Recommended Reading. Fortunately, the course will be offered again 2-3 times a year at FutureLearn.com.
• Kim Higgins noted that the course forced us to go out of our comfort zone to look for things in the future.
• Arnie’s tip: Make all files digital. He printed out boxes of files for his study on Jane Austen which gathered dust. Now he has everything digitized which is easier to search and find.
• Marcia saved everything in the course and created a master file of it. However, when Marcia first took it, she reviewed the course without the comments and discussion because there were so many links in the discussions.

 
Thank you, Marcia Hamley for suggesting this topic and leading the discussion. What a fun way to explore Jane Austen!

Review of Kate Hamill's Sense And Sensibility
Portland Center Stage Armory
By Vonnie Alto, Secretary

After our pre-talk Happy Hour of Jane Austen, our members adjourned to the theater where we sat together for a Sunday matinee of Kate Hamill’s adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, performed on February 3, 2019. What a fun performance of comedy and creative staging with spinning furniture and a mercurial cast who played multiple characters regardless of gender, generation, size, and shape!  
 
Early on in a time travel twist, the cast wriggled out of their modern day garments to transform into the 19th century characters of Sense and Sensibility. They did not disappoint our sensibilities. The cast was constantly but sensibly in motion and also emotion back and forth fluidly across the stage spinning their chairs and tables to denote scene and character changes. There was so much to see that if you didn’t eyeball the myriad movements all at once, you could easily miss the gossip that was all abuzz in this lively production.
 
Then there was the sound effects. The delightful Mrs. Jennings constantly buzzed her gossip. Other characters disappeared off stage and into the aisles to interject their gossipy conversation. The crashing of glasses for dramatic emphasis and scene changes kept the audience alert to the unexpected.
 
Similarly, if you knew in advance that a line from Emma was inserted into the play, you looked for it. Sure enough one was in Edward’s engagement speech when he says to Elinor, “If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.” Sigh! What a romantic thing to say and so apt!
 
Professor Emeritus, Pauline Beard caught the pilfering. “This is Mr. Knightley’s lovely line in Emma. (Chapter 49). No wonder the playwright used it. Edward’s engagement request is written in the third person with a remarkable distance from what was actually said. Clever move on the playwright’s part.”    
 
What else did our JASNA group think about the play? What were some of the reactions?
 
Of course, we raved and gushed about the characters, their wit, the acting, the setting, and everything in between.
 
Stephanie Vardavas said, ”I thought the adaptation and staging were extremely clever, and I found myself howling with laughter many times. The actress who plays Mrs. Jennings is wonderful, and both Marianne and Elinor are terrific.”
 
Erudite JASNA scholar, Arnie Perlstein offered, “"This production of Kate Hamill's adaptation of Sense & Sensibility was spectacular in every way-- the writing, the staging and the acting." 
 
Longtime member, Dula Baker said, “Anyone not familiar with the novel would have been lost in the fast pace of the play. I found the quirkiness of the quickness, the wheeled props, and the trading of roles (even while both characters were on stage) fascinating. The actress who played Mrs. Musgroves was outstanding. The choreography was amazingly executed; no one sailed off the stage or crashed into anyone or anything. Though the novel is not funny, this play was hilarious; even the actors succumbed to silent laughter at times. This event was an afternoon well spent! Also, the Happy Hour provided by the theater and Margaret Christmann's presentation were well received.”
 
Another longtime member Ceil Huntington affirmed, “The synchronization was amazing! I never seen so much movement in a play. It’s incredible, almost like a ballet. I’m impressed with the mechanics.”
 
English Professor Emeritus, Pauline Beard agreed, “It was light hearted and fun rather than farcical. I also appreciated that this production kept fairly closely to Austen’s text. I loved the fact even the wine for Marianne was mentioned correctly: Constantia…which Elinor promptly quaffs!  I disliked the way Lord Middleton’s dogs were shown in the Ashland production...far too confusing and loud, but here I laughed out loud at the line about pointers...referring to the dogs...but using the stretched out finger pointing off stage where three men pointed back.... I also loved the bed scene with the lamp and teacup...ingenious. The use of chairs and door frames was amazing...how anyone did not get in the way I can't imagine. When Edward came in at the end did he really mean to fall? The actors applauded him…but I think it was a mistake yes?  Maybe they had many such slips and trips in rehearsals with all the movement...it seemed almost choreographed at times.”
 
Conversely, a few of our members offered some enlightening criticisms that puts the performance into perspective:
 
Ceil Huntington noted, “They’ve taken liberties with the text. This is slapsticky.”
 
Pauline Beard added, “My only criticisms are to do with acting...I think Mrs. Jennings went on too long about Chapman (?) in her bedroom…and it turns out to be her wolf hound…it was funny at the beginning but she drew it out so lengthily (playing for the limelight after The Oregonian review maybe?) that the actor playing Brandon had to get back into his serious role and lost it. Also the actress playing Anne Steele was too high pitched and spoke so rapidly that half of her lines were lost. Her lines are important because she lets out the secret of Lucy’s engagement. I think that might have been lost on anyone in the audience who does not know the text.”
 
There you have it! Both thoughtful and off the cuff reactions to Kate Hamill’s Sense and Sensibility in Portland! If you’re curious to know more about this intriguing play, read the script available at Multnomah County Library or online at Amazon and elsewhere.