Show Artwork by Michael Gelen, Inkwell Studios.
Show Information
View Irish Classical Theatre Company’s production of Emma, September 18 – October 4, 2026.
SETTING: Highbury, England, the early 19th century–but also here, in your theater, right now, today, this year.
RUN TIME: Approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes, with one fifteen minute intermission.
CONTENT NOTES: This is a family-friendly show for audiences of all ages.
Originally commissioned and produced by Guthrie Theater; Joseph Haj, Director.
Emma is presented through special arrangement with TRW 1180 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 640, New York, NY 10036. www.theatricalrights.com
Cast
Emma
Penelope Sergi †
Harriet Smith
Timiyah Love †
Jane Fairfax
Julia Cianfrini †
George Knightley
Alejandro Gómez †
Mr. Elton/ Frank Churchill
Jeremy Kreuzer
Mr. Woodhouse
Peter Horn †
Mrs. Weston
Sara Kow-Falcone †
Miss Bates/Servant
Diane DiBernardo †
† ICTC Debut
Production Team
Director
Keelie A. Sheridan
Production Stage Manager
Brittany Wysocki
Assistant Stage Manager
Liz Antonacci
Wardrobe Supervisor & 2nd Assistant Stage Manager
Lex Cueva
Scenic, Costume, and Hair & Make-Up Designer
Collin Ranney
Scenic Painter
Jennifer Carter
Props Designer
E.L. Hohn
Technical Director
Lou Iannone
Lighting Designer
Jayson Clark
Sound Designer
Nick Quinn †
Intimacy Director
Jessica Hillman McCord
Fight Director
Danielle Rosvally
Dialect Coach
Megan Callahan
Assistant Dialect Coach
Brendan Didio
† ICTC Debut
EMMA
By Kate Hamill based on the novel by Jane Austen
September 18 – October 4, 2026
A sparkling and spirited re-imagining of Austen’s classic novel, where a confident matchmaker’s meddling spirals into comic chaos.
Friendship, folly and the messy business of love.
Emma Woodhouse is clever, educated, energetic… and in imminent danger of going mad with idleness. In a time when respectable ladies are expected to sit quietly at home, she desperately needs a project—and prides herself on matchmaking, much to the chagrin of her friend Mr. Knightley. But where Emma aims her attention, tangled hearts and screwball comedy follows… A fresh feminist take on a treasured classic, this Emma breaks down convention, expectation, and even the fourth wall with vibrant comic flair—leading audiences “forward, onward, and upward!”
Additional Programming:
Open Rehearsal (for Subscribers Only): Wednesday, September 9, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Community Matinee Preview ($12/Ticket): Thursday, September 17, 2026 at 10:00 AM
Opening Night Reception: Friday, September 18, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Pay-What-You-Will Performances*:
Saturday,September 19, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Saturday, September 19, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Saturday, September 26, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Saturday, October 3, 2026 at 7:30 PM
*Purchase in-person at the Box Office on the day of the performance. Seating subject to availability.
Speaker Series: Sunday, September 20, 2026 at 1:30 PM
Open Caption Performance: Friday, October 2, 2026 at 7:30 PM
For Open Captioned Performances, an HDMI captioning screen, located in the South West corner of the theatre, displays the dialogue and any other audio portion of the production in text form in sync with the performance.
Talk Back Thursdays: Engage with the Creators! After every Thursday performance, stay for a free Talk Back where members of the creative team discuss their roles and answer your questions about their creative journey.
Thursday, September 24, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Thursday, October 1, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Curtain Up! 2026 Celebration: Friday, September 18, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Photos by Jorge Luna Photography
About the Playwright:
Kate Hamill is an actor & playwright. Regularly appearing on TCG’s most produced playwrights list, she was the Wall Street Journal Playwright of the Year in 2017 and received the Einhorn Award in 2023.
Plays include The Light & the Dark at Chautauqua Theater Company and Primary Stages (originated role of Artemisia; nominee, Off-Broadway Alliance Award); The Odyssey at ART in Boston (originated role of Circe); Pride & Prejudice at Primary Stages / HVSF (originated role of Lizzy; nominee, Off-Broadway Alliance Award); Sense & Sensibility at Bedlam (originated role of Marianne; winner, Off-Broadway Alliance Award; nominee, Drama League Award); Vanity Fair at the Pearl (originated Becky; nominee, Off-Broadway Alliance Award); Mansfield Park at Northlight; Little Women at Primary Stages & the Jungle; Dracula at Classic Stage Company; Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson, Apt. #2B at KCRep; The Little Fellow at Cygnet Theatre; Emma at the Guthrie and The Scarlet Letter at Two River. www.kate-hamill.com
About the Director:
Directors’ Note:
My earliest exposure to Jane Austen’s Emma was a very loose adaptation- the 1995 blockbuster Clueless. My young self was rapt with delight at Cher Horowitz’s matchmaking, makeover-giving and meddling. She wasn’t perfect, but she was smart, and literally and figuratively in the driver’s seat (of her white Jeep Wrangler.) The 90s were a particularly prolific decade for film adaptations of classics targeted to young audiences (10 Things I Hate About You, Cruel Intentions, She’s All That…), and I was, and still am, captivated by the act of recalling old stories that have been passed down to us, and retelling them in the here and now.
Both Jane Austen and Kate Hamill give us intimate insider access to our messy and complicated heroine, inviting us not only to observe what Emma does, but to hear how she thinks. We get a type of access to Emma’s thoughts that none of her fellow characters receive, making us, the audience, her co-conspirators. This pioneering use of a style that would come to be called free indirect discourse subtly shaped the relationship readers could have with a character.
At the core of the antics, verbal jousting, plotting, scheming and prying is a coming of age novel that witnesses personal growth, evolution, self-awareness and ultimately, humility. Simmering under that is the tension of women with the intellectual capacity to make a substantial impact in a society that was not interested in their minds. Emma Woodhouse is brilliant, complex and at times downright unlikeable, and that is precisely why she is so delightful to watch. Jane Austen famously described Emma as “a heroine whom no one but myself will much like.” I think it’s safe to say, as we present this story to you over 200 years after the novel was first published, that she was wrong about that.
–Keelie Sheridan
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