Alex Bowling, Ashleigh Massengill, Lindsay DeHoff and Heather Gardner in Sense & Sensibility

Sense & Sensibility, a new play adaption written by Kate Hamill, opens at the Center for the Arts on Feb. 8 and will run through Feb. 17.

Based on the beloved Jane Austen novel originally published in 1811, the show follows the fortunes (and misfortunes) of the Dashwood sisters—sensible Elinor and hypersensitive Marianne. Set in gossipy late 18th-century England, with a fresh female voice, the play is full of humor, emotional depth and bold theatricality.

“It is a lively script that incorporates several characters who represent society at large and serve to remind the audience that in the Regency era (and today with the pervasiveness of social media) that society is always watching, which can be both a comforting and alarming prospect,” said Alex DeHoff, director of the production.

After the death of their father, young Marianne (Alex Bowling) and Elinor Dashwood (Lindsay DeHoff), along with their mother and younger sister Margaret (Ashleigh Massengill) are left without a home and very few prospects. Saying goodbye to their half-brother John (Riley Bayer), and their sinister sister-in-law Fanny (Rebecca Gibbs), they leave their childhood home.

They are given a cottage to live in thanks to the generosity of their cousin Sir John, and this move introduces them to the charming Mr. Willoughby (Benjamin Hansen), gentlemanly Colonel Brandon (Grant Gardener) and sensible Edward Ferrars (Britton Clark). Sense & Sensibility is the story of coming of age, heartbreak and finding love despite life’s circumstances.

Tickets start at $14 and are currently on sale at boroarts.org, by calling 615-904-ARTS (2787), or at the Center for the Arts Box Office, 110 W. College St., in downtown Murfreesboro.

This production is rated PG.

Sense & Sensibility runs Feb. 8, 9 10, 15, 16 and 17, with showtimes at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.