Sense and Sensibility
Paul Gordon (Book, Music & Lyrics)
Based on the Novel by Jane Austin
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley
For those who have experienced even a few of the 175 plays and musicals that Robert Kelley directed during the first fifty years of the Tony Award winning company he founded – Theatreworks Silicon Valley – there are much appreciated and beloved commonalities shared among those productions. A soothing gentleness tends to surround the steady flow of scenes, providing time to reflect and enjoy without a sense of rush the story unfolding. The goodness of the human spirit, the genuine expression of deeply held emotions, the gasping surprise of a first love, the healing power of community, the integration of all visual and aural aspects of the production to tell a story not soon to be forgotten – these are the Kelley trademarks. And Robert Kelley as director is at his best when he brings to the stage an audience-favorite novel of the past in all its period-dressed glory – especially when he teams with celebrated playwright, composer, and lyricist Paul Gordon as he did with Emma (2007) and Pride and Prejudice (2019).
Returning from his retirement of 2020, Robert Kelley now directs the West Coast premiere of Paul Gordon’s Sense and Sensibility to complete the Jane Austen cycle for himself and for TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. The result is a mesmerizing musical that is replete with another key, Kelley trademark that has been true for more than fifty years: a stunningly talented, racially diverse cast that soars individually and collectively.
Please continue to Talkin’ Broadway for my complete review of this “MUST-SEE” production.
Rating: 5 E, MUST-SEE
Sense and Sensibility continues through April 3, 2022 in production by TheatreWorks Silicon Valley at Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, CA. Tickets are available at www.theatreworks.org or by calling 877-662-8978.
Photo Credit: Kevin Berne
