Review: Taproot’s Love Letter To Christmas In Austen Land

Review: Georgiana & Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley at Taproot Theatre (for tickets) through December 30, 2023

Taproot Theatre loves period pieces, and period pieces love to be done at Taproot. And add Jane Austin and you’ve got a powerful combination. This holiday season, they have mounted the third and final play of a trilogy of Pride and Prejudice “spin-offs” written by Lauren Gunderson and Margo Melcon.

Pride and Prejudice introduced us to the five Bennet sisters who all needed to be married off, as per the cultural demands of the time. Each of them had distinct personalities and views. Gunderson and Melcon created plays based on these sisters, but not on the book. In science fiction, writers often extend the “world” of the first book by writing “spin-offs” incorporating side plots or prequel or sequel-like stories.

Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley and The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley were produced at Taproot in 2018 and 2022. Now, the last of the trilogy focuses on the younger Bennet sisters, Lydia the troublemaker (played again with great zest by Kelly Karcher), Kitty, the stalwart independent who has learned a lot from her sisters’ exploits (played with gusto and loyalty by Ays Garcia), and Fitzwilliam Darcy’s (a stern Brian Picheu) sister, Georgiana (a charming Claire Marx) who loves music and is so reticent that she rarely gets to finish a sentence.

Georgiana has been having a year-long correspondence with a young man, Henry Gray (a delightfully self-effacing William Eames). Their connection is musical, they met one time when she played music in public, and she has invited him to Pemberley to get better acquainted and share her music with him. She has forgotten, however, to tell anyone in the family. Her brother has taken care of her and monitored her social life after the death of their parents. But Fitzwilliam is a stern and judgmental fellow, even though his wife, Elizabeth (a graceful Annie Yim) tries to moderate his thinking.

When Henry Grey and his friend Thomas O’Brien (Jeremy Steckler, who steals the scene every time) arrive, the humor and the mayhem amp up. Eames and Steckler have great comic timing, together and separately.

Supported as well by Shanna Allman, who also returns to this play as Mary, and Melanie Hampton as oldest sister Jane, this is a sweet tidbit of fun, ably directed by Karen Lund – who really does do historic comedy well. Gunderson and Melcon also anchor a strong feminist message into their present to us. Christmas and a Jane Austin-style play: great combination.

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