"I'm on a mission to adapt all of Jane Austen's work in the order she wrote them, minus Juvenilia, which I probably won't do, but who knows?" says Hamill, who is based in New York. "I wanted to write Emma specifically because I thought it was a really interesting portrait of a woman with a lot of intelligence, fashion, fire and capability in a time before she was allowed to work. She's sort of a border collie without any sheep. Emma has ambition and go-getterness, but she has nowhere to put it."
As Hamill thought about what form the play should take, she says she remembered that screwball comedies are all about what happens when "someone puts all their energy in the wrong places." So she began writing Emma as a wild, wacky, fourth-wall-breaking madcap comedy in the style of I Love Lucy and Hello, Dolly!
"Emma is modeled on those slightly flawed yet relatable heroines that the audience both roots for and sees getting into scrapes," Hamill says. "I believe there's no point in adapting anything unless you're creating something that brings a lot of your viewpoint to it. I came at it from a new-play approach, so it's a collaboration between myself and Jane Austen. I don't worry about being dramaturgically rigid — I focus on creating a new thing that celebrates being a play and is not a re-creation of a novel."
Based on Austen's novel published in 1815, Emma follows the adventures and misadventures of Emma Woodhouse, a clever, wealthy and somewhat meddlesome young woman in early-nineteenth-century England. She takes it upon herself to play matchmaker for her friends and acquaintances, which often leads to humorous misunderstandings. Along the way, she must navigate her own romantic revelations with her longtime friend, George Knightley. As Emma embarks on a journey of self-discovery, she learns the value of genuine love and friendship, as well as the dangers of meddling in others' lives.
"We knew that we wanted to create something joyful while also getting to some real sources of female frustration and rage," Hamill explains. "One of the premises of Emma is that Emma was born at a time when women, even privileged ones, have very few rights. There is both joy and frustration in her banging up against this crystal ceiling."
"I hope people come away with less judgmental attitudes about ambitious women," Hamill says.
Courtesy of Harper Anne Finch
"We wanted to make sure that everyone had access points," McDonough says. "If you're an Austenite, there are lots of little cookies there for you. If you've never read Jane Austen in your life, maybe Madonna's ‘Material Girl’ is your entrance point. Clueless is another adaptation of Emma, and nothing in the world looks like Clueless, but energetically, it's similar."
The collaboration between a playwright and director can often lead to unique interpretations of a script. Such is the case with Hamill and McDonough, whose work on this production has culminated in a special "director's cut" of the play, distinctively tailored for her vision.
"I have a version of the script that is just for the production that Meredith directs, informed by her music choices," Hamill says. "I also incorporate an alternate scene that only Meredith versions get to have. ... We're all very grateful to the Denver Center for bringing us together again, because I was able to work on the script and we changed some things, like the beginning of the act."
Hamill adds that she wanted to stage the show in the area because of how "smart" and "open-minded" Colorado's theater-going audiences are. "Denver has a great new-play festival here and is less traditionally minded," she notes. "I think they appreciate the classics but are willing to see new perspectives, and that is a credit to the great work that Denver Center does. Audiences are going to enjoy how Emma is a new work and not trying to be some museum piece."
In addition to bringing people to the theater for an irreverent take on a well-known story, Hamill hopes Emma will challenge audiences' perceptions of women as well as invite a more inclusive conversation around classic literature in today's world.
"I hope people come away with less judgmental attitudes about ambitious women, because we still live in a society where people are very judgmental of these quote-unquote 'unlikable women' in stories," Hamill says. "Emma is a play in which women are allowed to be fallible, messy and crazy. They don't have to be sexy; granted, our cast is full of beautiful humans, but it’s not catering to some foreign gaze. It's complicated female friendships and watching women enjoy eating, gossiping, dancing and flirting."
Emma begins previews Friday, April 5, opens Friday, April 12, and runs through Sunday, May 5, Wolf Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex, 1400 Curtis Street. Get tickets at denvercenter.org.
