Twenty-four hours. That’s all the time it took for Patti Murin to audition and win the lead role of Emma Woodhouse in The Old Globe’s musical stage production of Jane Austen’s Emma.
When the New York City-based actress auditioned for the role last October, she never expected to be cast so quickly. Finding the right actress for such an important part typically takes weeks, not hours, but Murin’s ability to harness the similarities between herself and the character helped her quickly claim the role.
“I’ve never had another part that was as perfect for me,” said Murin, a musical theater graduate of Syracuse University. “Which is weird to say, because Emma is very self-centered and she lives in her own world, and doesn’t have the capacity to see what’s right in front of her. But she loves making people happy and I think that’s what I really just latch on to about her.”
As one of Jane Austen’s most beloved books, Emma has fascinated readers for nearly two decades primarily thanks to the charismatic and spunky title character.
For those unfamiliar with the book, Emma is a sweet and well-intentioned young lady, who declares she has no desire to marry and instead vows to play matchmaker for her friends. Along the way, her stubbornness and inability to see what’s right in front of her leads to a few blunders. Although various love triangles emerge, in true romantic comedy fashion, all the mistakes are eventually straightened out.
“Everyone turns out happy in the end,” Murin said. “It’s really special and funny but also very touching and charming. The end really gets a lot of people emotional in a good way.”
“It’s two and a half hours of feeling good,” Murin continued. “We have a lot of people walking out holding hands at the end and feeling in a romantic mood.”
Although the play is set in 1815 England, director Jeff Calhoun managed to give it a contemporary vibe and the universal story of falling in love continues to resonate with the modern audience. The set and costumes are bright and colorful and highlights the whimsical feel of the period.
“It’s not a stuffy old British play that no one would want to go see,” Murin said.
The majority of the stage version follows the storyline closely, only cutting what is necessary to trim the 400-page novel into a two and a half hour play. A few similar incidents were combined into one scene and two characters from the book were omitted aside from referencing them.
“We’ve had people come who love Jane Austen and her books and they have traveled from so far away to see the show and they have no complaints about it,” said Murin.
While stage performances of Emma are nothing new, the musical version is only in its fourth venue. The lively musical numbers, composed by Tony-award nominee Paul Gordon, enhance the playfulness of the story and the mixture of sweet ballads and comedic songs weave seamlessly into the dialogue.
Although a few cast members have reprised their roles from earlier editions, about two-thirds of the cast is new to The Old Globe production. Combining the new actors with the new director, Calhoun, gave this version a fresh feel, according to Murin.
Emma continues its six-week run at The Old Globe through March 6.
“We’re having the best time out here. San Diego cannot be beat,” Murin said. “A lot of us (working on the musical) are from New York and we’re missing the winter of a lifetime right now so we count our blessings every single day that we’re out here.”
Tickets can be purchased online at theoldglobe.org, by phone at 619-23-GLOBE or at the box office. Prices range from $39 to $94.
Out at The Globe
The Old Globe also welcomes the LGBT community to attend Out at The Globe, a pre-show mixer for gay and lesbian theater fans, on Feb. 24 at 6:30 p.m. Enjoy a hosted wine and martini bar, appetizers and door prizes. The event costs $20 in addition to the theater ticket.
