Megan McGinnis and Sharon Rietkerk

Though presented on Chicago Shakespeare's main stage, the Courtyard Theater, this Sense and Sensibility is very much a chamber musical. The cast numbers only 12 and there are no ensemble numbers, just solos, duets, trios and quartets, and not much dancing. Gordon condenses Austen's much-loved 400-page novel concisely and clearly into 140 minutes of stage time (plus an intermission), but though he has cut characters and combined others, what remains is still plot heavy at the expense of character development.

And what a plot! In the last decade of the 18th century, sisters Elinor and Marianne Dashwood are disenfranchised when their wealthy father dies and, per British law of that era, his only son—the sisters' half-brother John—inherited it all. Though the father's will specified that Elinor and Marianne were to be provided for, John's selfish wife Fanny convinces him the sisters' allowance should be minimal and they move from London to Devonshire to live on the estate of the kindly Lord Middleton. Before they leave, Elinor meets and is smitten with Fanny's brother Edward—and in Devonshire, Marianne meets and falls for the scoundrel Willoughby, while a 35-year-old bachelor, Colonel Brandon, becomes enamored of Marianne. The course of true love never did run smooth, and there are secrets kept and revealed as well as even more romantic rivals for Edward and for Willoughby before all ends rightly.

The traditional thinking on story structure for musicals is that they must follow the journey of a hero (or heroine) who wants something badly and who struggles to achieve it. Sense and Sensibility has that. Elinor badly wants Edward, Marianne wants Willoughby, and Brandon wants Marianne. The problem is that none of them can do very much about their situations. Elinor must wait passively in the hopes that Edward is interested, and when he turns out to be engaged to another, Elinor, as a proper, "sensible" young woman, is forced to accept the situation. Colonel Brandon, as a man, can attempt to court Marianne, but seeing her interest in Willoughby, he defers. Only Marianne shows much initiative, writing numerous letters to Willoughby after he moves to London—but she's helpless when he ignores them. Things work for the best in the end, but that's more the result of fortunate twists of fate than of bold actions by the protagonists. Because of that, there's less catharsis in the story's resolution than we usually find a musical—the triumph of a hero who succeeds thanks to bravery, honesty, ingenuity, or something we can cheer for.

That said, who says musicals have to follow the rule books? The story is much loved as a novel and through its many film incarnations, most recently the Oscar-winning one written by and starring Emma Thompson and directed by Ang Lee. Gordon's songs are suggestive of the period but with a contemporary sensibility and some thrilling orchestrations by Larry Hochman and Bruce Coughlin, played by a 10-piece orchestra conducted by music director Laura Bergquist. There are certainly pleasures to be had revisiting this story with the help of Gordon's songs.

We enjoy the company of the characters, thanks to the superlative cast. Sharon Rietkerk is warm and charming as sensible sister Elinor, and Megan McGinnis is funny and spunky as the more independently-minded Marianne. Perhaps strongest in the cast is Sean Allan Krill as Colonel Brandon, who makes us feel every bit of his character's loneliness and sadness for the lost loves in his life as well as the fear he'll never win Marianne. It doesn't hurt that Krill gets two of the best solos in the score: "Lydia," in which he mourns a lost loved one; and "On the Wrong Side of Five and Thirty," his lament over being single at such an "advanced age." Wayne Wilcox earns laughs and empathy as the shy Edward, too timid to even tell Elinor of his feelings for her, while Peter Saide is both charming and slimy and the scoundrel Willoughby.

There are exceptionally rich performances in the character roles as well, beginning with Michael Aaron Lindner as Lord Middleton. Lindner is a Chicago actor and Illinois native who would be right at home in any British costume drama you could name. He's paired with Paula Scrofano, a hoot as Middleton's mother-in-law, the meddling Mrs. Jennings. In smaller roles, David Schlumpf and Tiffany Scott are lovably hateful as the stepbrother and his conniving wife, as are Emily Berman and Elizabeth Telford as romantic rivals to Elinor and Marianne.

I don't know if director Barbara Gaines has helmed a musical before, though her program bio lists credits at Chicago's Lyric Opera. If not, she makes an auspicious debut as director of a musical here. Once again, she shows her light touch with the classics—keeping them real and fun rather than dusty museum pieces.

Though the costumes by Susan E. Mickey evoke the period gorgeously, the set by Kevin Depinet—normally known for his detailed and hyper-realistic designs—is simply suggestive. It's mostly a large, swirling sculpture upstage on the Courtyard Theater's thrust. It might look like an elegant staircase to some—I thought it was a big letter "S."

The relatively simple production design and smallish cast suggest that Sense and Sensibility could work well in a range of venues, but particularly in smaller ones where it might be most effective as a chamber musical. Though the solo-heavy second act drags some—there's a lot of stopping and starting as plot happens, then characters stop to sing about it—this new musical is already in good shape and ought to have future lives ahead of it.

Sense and Sensibility will play through June 7, 2015, at Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier. For tickets or information, visit www.chicagoshakes.com or call 312-595-5600.

Photo: Liz Lauren

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-- John Olson