What do you do with an unfinished story?
Laura Wade’s play, “The Watsons,” takes this question and expands it infinitely. Wade, through her play, instead asks “what does it mean to be unfinished?”
“The Watsons” is based on the unfinished novel of the same name by Jane Austen. Austen’s novel follows Emma Watson as she chooses between Tom Musgrave, a charming scoundrel, Lord Osborne, a wealthy bore, and Mr. Howard, a clergyman. Who will she choose? Pushed by curiosity and determination, Wade writes herself into the play to finish the story.
I sat down and chatted with Dr. Meghan Brodie, the director of the play and a Visiting Professor of Theater at Bryn Mawr College, whose passion for the show was evident in every word she spoke. When asked what made this production of “The Watsons” special, she said that it was the cast because of “their love for each other, and the sort of radical acceptance of meeting and embracing every human being in the room as they are in that moment.”
Speaking with Brodie and the rest of the cast, I found a true community, born out of love for and dedication to this piece of art. As Emma Bennet (HC ‘29), playing the part of Charles Howard, noted: “everyone is very loving to each other.” Every member of the cast I spoke to not only had a deep understanding of their characters but also a deep appreciation for each other and for the message of the play.
The play itself uses Austen’s “The Watsons” as a springboard for discussion of themes of what it means to be an artist and what it means to be alive. “The Watsons” is fundamentally an unfinished story, and Wade doesn’t challenge this state but instead embraces it and challenges the audience to accept its unfinished status. Wade uses comedy to intensify these complex themes, making the characters feel large and real. Stirling Lewis (BMC ‘26), who plays Laura, captures this feeling perfectly by explaining that the play “feels like it reaches all of the extremes.”
What brings these themes to life is the cast. Each character feels important, and their interactions feel electric. Char Gillman-Boggs (BMS ‘27) as Tom Musgrave and Grace Sawyer (BMC ‘26) as Mrs. Robert Watson were the comedic powerhouses of this production, making me laugh out loud countless times throughout the show.
The beating heart of the show was the relationship between Emma and Laura, portrayed by Josie Internicola (BMC ‘28) and Stirling Lewis, respectively. Lewis brings such a raw vulnerability to her character, which plays well off of Internicola’s earnest youthfulness. Emma is the heroine of the story, and her journey shuffles through every emotion under the sun. Internicola makes her feel real, relatable, and gloriously unfinished.
When asked what she wants the audience to take away from the play, Brodie proudly proclaims: “Joy!” Often, the question that directors will ask themselves when putting on a play is “Why this play now?” Brodie said that with the world being such a frightening place right now, “It’s okay to give ourselves permission, say for two hours, on some evening to sit down with a community of people, enjoy a piece of art and feel joy and hope.” When I saw “The Watsons,” what surprised me was the amount of hope that I felt afterwards. On a random Thursday evening in April, I caught a glimpse into a world that is messy and complicated and yet joyfully hopeful. I could recommend this play to Jane Austen lovers or to people who love feminist and queer themes. But truly, I would recommend this play to anyone who wants to feel a little bit of joy and hope.
“The Watsons” runs from April 10-11 and 16-18 on the Hepburn Teaching Theater at Bryn Mawr College.
