A woman’s story always feels timeless and timely, no matter the era, because the experience of women is so intertwined in its universality.
Thus Emilia, currently running in the Studio Theatre in the Santa Rosa Junior College’s Burbank Auditorium through Oct. 10, is a powerful play that has a high relatability factor for a female audience.
It’s a historical ode to Emilia Bassano, a poetess and Elizabethan courtier, who may or may not have been Shakespeare’s muse and subject of his “dark lady” sonnets.
Under the direction of Emily Hansen, an all-female and female-identifying cast, sometimes tentatively, sometimes confidently, tackles this gorgeous script by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm. Theater seems to be awash in self-aware homages, memory plays and, in the worst cases, bad fan-fiction scripts that blend real historical events and people with very modern circumstances and language. Emilia is a self-aware memory play homage, but it is not bad fan-fiction.
The ensemble is wonderfully diverse and features riveting work by Gina Alvarado as Lady Mary Clifford. The cast of up-and-coming student actors is under the tutelage of a gifted performer here and will hopefully benefit from watching her at work. Mercedes Murphy, as the older version of Emilia (three performers play the character at different stages of life), has a strong closing denouement for the audience, and handles it well.
Other notable work is done by Liliana Vera and Jeremias Castillo as the younger and mid-life versions of Emilia, and both performers have solid moments. Vera shows lovely defiance as the child Emilia, and her energy carries the first act. Castillo started off strong but lost a lot of vocal power as the second act progressed.
The production values at SRJC have always been high, and that quality is showcased in this production by the simply stunning costumes by Reynalda Cruz. Set designer Jem Kriegler Allen makes use of projections but doesn’t go overboard. The lighting design by Sarah Sherod is mainly effective except for a few distracting moments in the second act.
Some of director Hansen’s blocking choices don’t always keep the action flowing smoothly and make the actors work harder to keep our attention.
While there were hiccups, I don’t feel like an opening night performance is often the absolute strongest representation of a production’s potential. I think this show will only grow in power and punch throughout its relatively short run as the company gains more confidence.
‘Emilia’ runs Wed–Sun through Oct. 10 in the Frank Chong Studio Theatre in Santa Rosa Junior College’s Burbank Auditorium, 1501 Mendocino Ave. Wed–Sat, 7:30pm; Sun, 2pm. $12–$25. 707.527.4307. theatrearts.santarosa.edu.
