“Emma” Adaptation Lacks Coherence and Spark

Although Jane Austen is not one of my favorite novelists, she’s far and away #1 on my list when it comes to providing source material for successful adaptations. Usually that means film, but on occasion I’ve enjoyed stage takes, including a lovely Pride and Prejudice put on my Long Beach Playhouse five years ago.

So I had every reason to have high hopes for Emma, which I’ve loved in three different film/TV versions — four if you count the classic Clueless. But I’m sorry to say….

Believing herself to be the catalyst for the recent marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Weston (Jonah Goger and Andrea Stradling) and cocksure of her talent for reading people, high-spirited young Emma (Galilea La Salvia) wants nothing more than to bring more love into the world through her matchmaking prowess. But despite the caveats of lifelong family friend Mr. Knightly (Andy Justus), Emma’s blunders over the next year prove her clueless about matters of the heart — including her own.

I’m unsure what attracted LB Playhouse to Michael Bloom’s adaptation of Emma, and I don’t know whether this is all of it or if parts were cut by director Lauren Velasco. In any case, what made it to the Playhouse Main Stage is often confusing. A particularly puzzling example comes when Emma and Harriet (Vita Muccia) discuss an earlier conversation they had where Harriet intimated her affection for Knightly. Problem is, she’s referring to something that happens in the novel (and every film version I’ve seen) but never takes place onstage, making us worry that we dozed off and missed an entire scene.

This is also not the Playhouse’s strongest outing on the acting front. Velasco has aimed her cast in the direction of mannered foppery, which undercuts both the humor and pathos that Austen put on the page. And although La Salvia is charming during her many asides to the audience, there is absolutely no spark between her and Andy Justus, not early in the play — when we don’t know they dig each other but should be picking up on something — and not even once they’re saying they’re in love.

There are a few good laughs, though. Despite its obviousness, a music cue concerning Jane Fairfax’s (Amara Phelps) pianoforte prowess is cute, and there’s drollness in Emma’s metanarrative and a few well-placed tableaux. And although Velasco allows Mark Wickham only one incessantly-played note in his role as Emma’s father, he makes the most of it.

But all in all, there’s not enough to elevate this Emma above its shortcomings. File under “For Janeites only.” Then again, that’s probably who the Playhouse is going after with this one, so….

Emma at Long Beach Playhouse

Times: Fri–Sat 8:00 p.m., Sun 2:00 p.m.
The show runs through December 2.
Cost: $20 to $30
Details: (562) 494-1014; LBplayhouse.org 
Venue: Long Beach Playhouse, 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach