If Jane Austen didn’t exactly invent the contemporary romantic comedy, she came pretty darned close, proof positive of which can be found in Jane Austen’s Emma: The Musical, Paul Gordon’s magical stage adaptation of Miss Emma Woodhouse’s misadventures in matchmaking circa 1815, now getting a picture-perfect Orange County Premiere at Chance Theater.

 Modern-day romcom lovers will find all the elements of their favorite literary genre here, from the initial sparring that makes it clear that Emma (Mandy Foster) and estate-owner-next-door Mr. George Knightley (Jeff Lowe) are quite simply made for each other, to the cast of quirky characters who surround them, to the eleventh-hour crisis that makes it seem that all is lost for our heroine and hero, to the final fade-out where true love triumphs after all.

Taking center stage throughout is our titular heroine, a precocious 20-year-old who, convinced that she will never find herself walking down the aisle with her Prince Charming, takes it upon herself to find mates for the single souls around her.

 Take for instance Miss Harriet Smith (Zoya Martin), the “natural daughter of nobody,” whom Emma is convinced might well be the illegitimate child of royalty, and therefore entirely too blue-blooded a spouse for bumpkin farmer Robert Martin (Kristofer Buxton).

Emma therefore picks her own match for Harriet, a well-mannered but dull vicar named Philip Elton (Coleton Ray), who unfortunately for Miss Smith only has eyes for Emma, who unfortunately for Mr. Elton does not return his feelings in the slightest, leaving the young vicar no choice but to marry elsewhere—enter the pretentious but well moneyed Augusta (Carlene O’Neill).

 Further complicating the romantic mix are the much-talked-about Frank Churchill (Gavin Cole), a handsome Londoner who excites not just Emma’s curiosity and Miss Jane Fairfax (Megan McCarthy), a comely orphan who plays the piano entirely too well for Emma’s liking.

Add to that a half-dozen or so of Emma’s friends and family members with at least as many quirks as Amy Heckerling gave Cher’s entourage in Clueless, her 1990s Emma update, and you have one marvelous (and in the case of Emma: The Musical) melodious mix.

Paul Gordon’s catchy, tuneful songs run the gamut from Emma’s witty “I Made The Match Myself” to Harriet’s hilarious lament “Humiliation” to Mr. Knightley’s uber-romantic “Emma,” and no one knows the value of a reprise or two better than Gordon.

 His book, meanwhile, manages to compact Austen’s novel into a brisk two-and-a-half hours, maintaining a delectably tart Austenian tone while peppering it with just enough wink-wink humor (Robert Martin has been reading “Pride And Prejudice” and is not all that impressed) to keep it fresh and delightful for a contemporary audience.

Directing masterfully on the kind of storybook-pages-backed set that gave his Anne Of Green Gables, Little Women, and The Secret Garden their distinctive shared look (kudos to production designer Masako Tobaru), Casey Long keeps Emma surrounded by the entire cast of featured characters until suddenly she’s not, just one reason his direction impresses. (There’s also the scene where Emma manipulates her “victims” like a master puppeteer, and another where she imagines three different versions of the yet unseen Mr. Frank Churchill.)

And since casting is reputed to be 90% of direction (though in this case Long’s staging merits much more than 10%), here too Jane Austen’s Emma: The Musical scores a bulls-eye beginning with its luminous leading lady.

 Never ever leaving the stage, Foster’s Emma is as endearing as she is insufferable, as mesmerizing as she is meddlesome, and ignites sparks every step of the way opposite Lowe’s stealth weapon of a Mr. Knightley.

The captivating Martin makes a particularly auspicious Chance Theater debut as the wide-eyed Harriet opposite fellow first-timers Buxton (an absolute delight as local yokel), Cole (dashing as can be as “the esteemed” Frank Churchill), Lulu Mack (warm and winning as Mrs. Weston), and O’Neill (a hoot as the hilariously henpecking Mrs. Elton).

Chance returnees McCarthy (a silver-throated Jane Fairfax) and Ray (engaging as the ambitious Mr. Elton) complete the cast’s youthful contingent, with veteran Chance champs Sherry Domerego (Mrs. Bates), Glenn Koppel (Mr. Woodhouse), Shannon Page (Miss Bates), and Robin Walton (Mr. Weston) adding their own bits of magic along the way.

 Musical director/pianist Bill Strongin not only elicits all-around splendid vocals but serves as a pitch-perfect one-man orchestra throughout, whether accompanying songs or several Long-choreographed Austen-era gavottes.

Tobaru’s vivid lighting, Kristin Campbell’s watercolor projections, costume and Bruce Goodrich’s elegant Empire fashions, and Ryan Brodkin’s expert sound design complete a topnotch production design.

Jordan Jones is stage manager. Laurie Smits Staude is dramaturg.

Sparklingly tuneful, witty, and romantic as all get-out, Jane Austen’s Emma: The Musical proves a perfect companion piece to Chance Theater’s previous, frequently revived holiday offerings. I couldn’t have loved it more.

Chance Theater, 5522 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim Hills.
www.chancetheater.com

–Steven Stanley
December 1, 2018
Photos: Benjamin Busch

Tags: Chance Theater, Jane Austen, Orange County Theater Review, Paul Gordon