The Department of Theatre will close its curtains for the 2011-2012 school year with its performance of the romantic comedy Emma

“Emma is known for being a period piece with a quick witted comedy, and I think the cast did a fantastic job telling the story,” said Noa Dowl, freshman theater major from Dallas.

Emma was the fourth novel published by Jane Austen and was the last before her death.

“Emma is the story of a spoiled rich girl who likes to play matchmaker. The tale follows her as she learns the consequences of meddling in people’s lives as she matures quite a bit in a few short months,” said Allie Smith, freshman math education major from Crawford, who attended Saturday night’s performance in Fulks Theatre.

The role of Mrs. Elton, played by Alex Bonneau, sophomore musical theater major from Dallas, is a character that Bonneau describes as loud, obnoxious, and full of herself.

“I love Mrs. Elton. That’s one of the most important essentials in acting, you’ve got to love your character, because they love themselves,” Bonneau said. “I have actually been able to bring my own dry sense of humor to the role and it has worked pretty well.”

After graduation, Bonneau plans on buying a one-way ticket to New York City.

“I have a scrabble piece with the map of New York on it. It stays in my makeup bag,” Bonneau said. “My mom always tells me that ‘the standard is New York’, it never fails to make me want to work that much harder.”

Before coming to ACU, Bonneau was involved in church musicals, school productions, and community theater.

“In addition to all of the hard work that the actors and our amazing director have done, Emma is visually stunning. I have to brag about our set and costumes because they are simply beautiful. It’s like walking into Jane Austen’s little world,” Bonneau said.

For tickets and more information about the show, visit their website at http://www.acu.edu/academics/cas/theatre or visit the box office inside the Williams Performing Arts Center.