Photo Flash: TheatreWorks' SENSE & SENSIBILITY

Two charming sisters sail the unpredictable seas of courtship in a captivating adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, presented in its American premiere by TheatreWorks, the nationally acclaimed theatre of Silicon Valley. Sensible, reserved Elinor and passionate, impulsive Marianne find the course of true love beset with scandalous secrets, shocking betrayals, dashing suitors, and devious rivals in a dazzling, period-perfect tribute to everything Austen. Featuring Katie Fabel, Thomas Gorrebeeck, Jennifer Le Blanc, Lucy Littlewood, Michael Scott McLean, Mark Anderson Phillips, and Stacy Ross, with TheatreWorks Founding Artistic Director Robert Kelley at the helm, this delicious romance plays August 24-September 18, 2011 (Press night August 27) at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. For tickets ($19-$69), call (650) 463-1960 or visit theatreworks.org.

Following the runaway success of its production of Austen's Emma, TheatreWorks continues a rich tradition of bringing literary works to life on stage with another Austen favorite. Called "a wholly engaging, funny and enjoyable evening" by What's On in London, SENSE AND SENSIBILITY follows the travails and triumphs of the destitute but affable Dashwood sisters. Turned out of their family home and cheated of their inheritance by greedy in-laws, Elinor and Marianne find generosity and compassion in a boisterous distant relative, Mrs. Jennings, who offers them a modest cottage for rent. Soon Mrs. Jennings introduces the Dashwoods to her coterie of neighbors, including the kind and respectable Colonel Brandon, the young rapscallion Willoughby, and the seemingly sweet Lucy Steele. Marianne becomes infatuated with Willoughby, whose impetuous sensibilities match her own, while Elinor continues her staid affection for the quiet and intelligent Edward Ferrars, son of a wealthy family which intends him to marry well above her class. When Willoughby's rascally past catches up with him, and Lucy Steele swears Elinor to secrecy on a scandalous bit of news, the Dashwood sisters' opposite natures bring them to a crossroads in this delectable tale of romance found, lost, and found again. British playwrights Andy Graham and Roger Parsley are practiced and inventive adapters of timeless masterpieces, including Brideshead Revisted and Brave New World. Their version of Hanif Kureishi's My Beautiful Laundrette recently completed a run at the Above the Stag Theatre in central London.

Andy Graham (Playwright) formed and developed his own theatre, SNAP Theatre Company, creating more 120 projects and involving over three and a half million young people in plays, workshops/courses, and community projects covering themes on many aspects of life. He has also held the office of Mayor of Bishops Stortford, developing projects and scholarships for young people. Graham also founded an international theatre consortium with theatre companies from Italy, Portugal, France, Germany, Greece, Ukraine, and Bulgaria, developing training programs for artists, exchange programs, tours, and festivals.

Roger Parsley (Playwright) took a teaching degree at Exeter University, and after serving as Head of Drama and Head of English for a few years at Secondary level, he trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. He then became a Drama Adviser in Essex, being based at The Playhouse Theatre in Harlow, where his theatre writing became an important part of his life. He has worked as a director and writer in both Theatre-In-Education and Youth Theatre, and was closely associated with the nationally-touring SNAP Theatre Company, as a writer and director, for more than 20 years. His many classic adaptations include Brideshead Revisited, Howards End, and A Room with a View, among many others. His adaptation, with Andy Graham, of E.M. Forster's Maurice recently had two successful runs in London and Chicago, and will be presented next February at the New Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. His version of Hanif Kureishi's My Beautiful Laundrette (also written with Andy Graham) ran in London earlier this year.

TheatreWorks welcomes back many returning actors to the cast, including Jennifer Le Blanc as "Elinor Dashwood," Thomas Gorrebeeck as "Edward Ferrars," Mark Anderson Phillips as "Colonel Brandon," and Stacy Ross as "Aunt Jennings." Le Blanc made her TheatreWorks debut as "Grace" in Opus, and has been seen elsewhere in the Bay Area with the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, Marin Shakespeare Festival, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Word for Word, and Center REPertory Company. Gorrebeeck made his TheatreWorks debut as "Danny Saunders" in the critically acclaimed The Chosen. Other credits include roles with Aurora Theatre Company, City Lights Theater Company, Foothill Music Theatre, Broadway By the Bay, Palo Alto Players, and Bus Barn Stage Company. Phillips was widely acclaimed for his recent portrayal of "Richard Hannay," the dashing protagonist in The 39 Steps at TheatreWorks, where he has also appeared in Snow Falling on Cedars, Opus, Theophilus North, As You Like It, The Grapes of Wrath, Proof, and Charlie's Aunt. Other credits include roles at Aurora Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Center REPertory Company, Marin Theatre Company, the Magic Theatre, and San Jose Repertory Theatre. Ross, last seen at TheatreWorks in Dolly West's Kitchen, has appeared in roles at Marin Theatre Company, Berkeley Rep, Aurora Theatre Company, A.C.T., Cal Shakes, SF Playhouse, and San Jose Rep.

TheatreWorks newcomers include Katie Fabel as "Marianne Dashwood," Michael Scott McLean as "Willoughby," and Lucy Littlewood as "Lucy Steele." Fabel has played roles in West End productions of Sound of Music, Arsenic & Old Lace, La Boheme, and others, as well as roles in US regional productions of Taming of the Shrew, Noises Off, and Amadeus. McLean has played roles in various regional houses, including Denver Center Theatre Company. Littlewood has been seen on the stages of the Bus Barn Stage Company, Tabard Theatre Company, Foothill Theatre, California Theatre Center, and Broadway West Theatre Company.

TheatreWorks founding Artistic Director Robert Kelley, who helmed the multi record-breaking World Premiere musical Emma, directs SENSE AND SENSIBILITY. Kelley received the Bay Area Theater Critics Circle (BATCC) Paine Knickerbocker Award for lifetime achievement as well as BATCC awards for TheatreWorks' productions of Caroline, or Change; Ragtime; Rags; Another Midsummer Night; the West Coast Premiere of Jane Eyre; and the Sondheim classics Sunday in the Park with George; Pacific Overtures; Into the Woods; and Sweeney Todd. Additionally, he is the recipient of Bay Area Drama-Logue Awards for his direction of Pacific Overtures, Ah, Wilderness!, and Once in a Lifetime; and Back Stage West Garland Awards for his direction of Side Show and Sunday in the Park with George. Since founding TheatreWorks in 1970, Kelley has directed over 150 productions for the company.

With nearly 8,500 subscribers and 100,000 patrons per year, TheatreWorks has captured a national reputation for artistic innovation and integrity, often presenting Bay Area theatregoers with their first look at acclaimed musicals, comedies, and dramas, directed by award-winning local and guest directors, and performed by professional actors cast from across the country. A home for artists developing new works, it was at TheatreWorks that Memphis, the 2010 Tony Award-winning musical (now playing its second year on Broadway, recently released as a feature film, and starting a National Tour in Fall 2011) was first workshopped and received its world premiere.

Photo credit: Mark Kitaoka- 1-4

Tracy Martin- Photos 5 & 6

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