The Rep Announces SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, Opening 12/11

From the author of Pride and Prejudice comes this heartwarming, humorous tale of two sisters struggling to move past a family disaster. Sensible, reserved Elinor and passionate, impulsive Marianne find the road to true love beset with dashing suitors and well-meaning relatives, devoted friends and devious rivals, and scandalous secrets and unexpected twists in a period-perfect adaptation that captures all of the deliciousness, flirtation and folly of Jane Austen's well-loved novel. The play is adapted from the book by Mark Healy. Making his Rep debut, Art Manke will direct the play. The cast features Associate Artists Jonathan Gillard Daly and Laura Gordon, and guest actors John-Patrick Driscoll, Nick Gabriel, Kate Hurster, Ben Jacoby, Victoria Mack and Meaghan Sullivan. Rep Artistic Intern Ensemble Members Jonathan Altman, Emily Berman, Jess Prichard and J.R. Yancher are featured in the Ensemble as well as Anna Cline and Brandon Herr. The Associate Producers for this production are Steve and Nancy Einhorn and James and Pati Ericson. Sense and Sensibility runs in The Rep's Quadracci Powerhouse from December 11, 2012 – January 13, 2013 and opens on Friday, December 14, 2012.

"Sense and Sensibility is my favorite of Jane Austen's wonderful works," says Artistic Director Mark Clements. "I love the relationship between the two sisters – their contrasts, their journeys, their growth throughout – and how this 200-year-old story still resonates. We all fall in love, we all have our hearts broken, we all go through periods where our lives are suddenly turned upside-down, and Austen's beautiful prose manages to get right to the heart of those moments and makes us feel and say 'wow, I know that, I felt that, I understand that.'"

"Our production of Sense and Sensibility features a bravura Acting Company – with most playing multiple roles – to bring all of Jane Austen's multiple characters to life," added director Art Manke. "The design is a feast for the senses, with the scenery based on the Picturesque Art movement of the time that featured crumbling, antique architecture in lush natural gardens. The costumes are sumptuous period pieces, all set to swirling movement with an original musical score. Sense and Sensibility is the perfect holiday treat: a classic story that appeals to all ages, filled with songs, dances and plenty of romance and comedy."

Written in the closing few years of the 18th Century, Sense and Sensibility is Jane Austen's earliest full-length novel and was published in 1811 in London. All six of Austen's completed novels have been adapted a number of times for film, television and the stage. Mark Healy's adaptation of Sense and Sensibility premiered at Northcott Theatre, Exeter, England on March 16, 2001; it was commissioned and directed by Ben Crocker.