Emma
Full Length Play, Comedy / 6m, 6f
"A delightful retelling of a comedy." - TalkinBroadway.com
"Joyful… " - Cleveland Plain Dealer
Read more +Emma
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Cast Size
6m, 6fDuration
120 minutes (2 hours)Subgenre
Adaptations (Literature), Romantic ComedyAccolades
Not ApplicableTarget Audience
- Adult
- Senior
- Pre-Teen (Age 11 - 13)
- Teen (Age 14 - 18)
Additional Info
A highly theatrical adaptation of one of Jane Austen's greatest novels. Pledging never to marry, the mischievous Emma Woodhouse is nevertheless the "matchmaker of Highbury." Her newest project, Harriet Smith, has already received a proposal, but Emma insists she marry the eligible vicar Mr. Elton, while, an older family friend, Mr. Knightly, warns her to give up matchmaking. When Emma discovers Mr. Elton is more interested in her, she is forced to fend him off and find another suitor for Harriet. Highbury welcomes two new guests, a mysterious Jane Fairfax and the charming Frank Churchill, and Emma finds herself falling just a little in love with him. Ultimately, she decides that Frank is better suited to Harriet, but when she suggests the match, Emma is astonished to discover that Harriet has fallen for Mr. Knightly. A horrified Emma suddenly realizes she has always been in love with Mr. Knightley. In the end, all is set right as Frank reveals his secret engagement to Jane, Harriet receives a second offer from her first beau, and Mr. Knightley proposes to the deliriously happy Emma.
Reviews
"A delightful retelling of a comedy." - TalkinBroadway.com
"Joyful!" - Cleveland Plain Dealer
Considerations
Performing Groups
- High School/Secondary
- College Theatre / Student
- Community Theatre
- Dinner Theatre
- Professional Theatre
- Senior Theatre
- Reader's Theatre
- Shoestring Budget
- Outdoor
- Large Stage
- Blackbox / Second Stage /Fringe Groups
Cautions
- No Special Cautions
License details
- Minimum Fee: $90 per performance
Production
Details
- Time Period: 19th Century
- Duration: 120 minutes (2 hours)
- Setting:
The parlor and grounds of Emma Woodhouse and other locations.
- Additional Features: Not Applicable
- Features / Contains: Period Costumes
Music
- Musical Style: N/A (Not a musical)
- Chorus Size: No Chorus
Casting
6m, 6fCast Attributes
- Ensemble cast
- Expandable casting
- Flexible casting
- Room for Extras
- Strong Role for Leading Woman (Star Vehicle)
Casting Notes
Plus ensemble
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Authors
Michael Bloom
Michael Bloom is a writer and director and the former artistic director of Cleveland Play House. In addition to Emma, his plays include The Fagin Effect (based on Oliver Twist) and adaptations of Lessing’s Nathan the Wise and Ostrovsky’s Artists and Admirers. His latest play is Christmas Freud, a holiday comedy base ...
View full profileEmma received its world premiere at Cleveland Play House in 2010.
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