A musical bonbon

‘Emma’

Emma Woodhouse (Lora Lee Gayer) and Mr. Knightley (Brad Standley) in Emma at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. (Photo by Liz Lauren)
Emma Woodhouse (Lora Lee Gayer) and Mr. Knightley (Brad Standley) in Emma at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. (Photo by Liz Lauren)

4 stars

In an age when social media has usurped our lives, it’s refreshing to visit a time when people actually spoke to each other, and with eloquence. As in all her stories, Jane Austen’s fourth novel is an 1815 comedy of manners set in Georgian-Regency England. The title character, however, is unlike Austen’s other heroines in that Emma is pretty, smart and rich, but also strong-minded, overindulged and rather full of herself.

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