For three nights (and one afternoon), the stage of Harvey Powers Theatre in Coleman Hall will be transformed into a dramatic Recency-Era scene. “Sense and Sensibility,” the fall mainstage show put on by Bucknell’s theatre department, opens today, Friday, Oct. 24, at 7:30 p.m. Additional performances will take place on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m., with the final curtain call on Monday at 7:30 p.m.
The performance, described as “Bridgerton comes to Bucknell” by Tessa Brizhik ’26 (who plays the role of Lucy Steele), is based on the Jane Austen novel of the same name, and follows the Dashwood family through the epic highs and lows of romance, drama and death in Regency-Era England. Each member of the cast will be affecting a British accent for the duration of the play.
“Come for the comedy,” Maya Gurung ’26 says, “[the] love and more, with songs that will make you want to dance!” Though the play is not a musical, there are “fun” transitory songs to add to the Recency atmosphere.
Bryson Fuhrer ’27, who will be playing John Dashwood and other characters in the show, loves the “close community” that the cast builds. “For this play,” he’s “super excited to play a bunch of different parts,” even though doing so can get “chaotic.” Watching the cast “run all over the stage all the time, showing up in different costumes” and “all sorts of different places” is a blast and he’s thrilled to be a part of it.
Fuhrer’s peer, Trevor Seymour ’27, holds the role of Willoughby and finds the Bucknell theatre community a great opportunity to “act with friends [and] people in theatre” whom he wouldn’t necessarily have met otherwise and bond over their shared passion for the arts. In Seymour’s opinion, “Sense and Sensibility” is “quite literally a play about gossip and tea and seeing all the drama unfold.” Each and every scene is “so exciting and fun”; he’s confident that audience members will enjoy “pulling up to see a live performance of how this drama develops!”
The Assistant Director of “Sense and Sensibility,” Alexandra Schajer ’27, likes how she’s been able to “step into a lot of different positions in the department”— in the past, she’s spent more of her time “acting and being on stage,” so the opportunity to “try new things” in a directorial role and “see how else theatre can be in [her] life” was one she wasn’t going to pass up. “It’s been a great learning opportunity,” she says and she’s very appreciative of the experience.
The role of Colonel Brandon will be played by Matthew Alexander ’26, who is “deal[ing] with a wide range of emotions” in his performance. He’s “most excited for the monologue” he has, because “it both tests [him] and allows [him] to display what [he] can do” as an actor. In his time on the show, he’s enjoyed spending time with his castmates and the crewmembers the most; the “majority” of the people he knows on campus, he’s met through the theatre department and he auditioned for “Sense and Sensibility” because he “absolutely adore[s] acting” and was hooked by the premise of the play. “It features a wide cast” and audiences will “learn the stories” behind “even the smallest roles,” hopefully growing and staying “invested” in their lives and “rooting for almost every character” for the duration of the play.
Ana Eckert ’26, starring in the role of Elinor Dashwood, has dedicated, alongside the rest of the cast, many hours to rehearsing the performance of this show. “It’s come together so wonderfully,” she reflects as she and the cast head into opening night. “It’s truly a beautiful show, [and] everyone’s hard work” has come together to create “a play that has something for everyone!”
Tickets for “Sense and Sensibility” are available through the Bucknell Box Office, and are free for Bucknell students (limit 1/student). Non-Bucknell students and seniors are $10, and adults are $15.
