Darcys, Bennets, Bingleys Return In ‘Christmas At Pemberley’
Director Carolyn Cook and actress Amelia Fischer spoke with Lois Reitzes about Theatrical Outfit’s production of “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley.”
Clifton Guterman
Darcy, Bennet and Bingley might as well be the names of Santa’s reindeer, but they are also the surnames of Jane Austen’s beloved characters from “Pride and Prejudice.”
That book has a sequel in the form of Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon’s play “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley.”
The production opens later this week with Theatrical Outfit, and instead of focusing on the tenacious Elizabeth Bennet, it takes the perspective of the prickly and bookish sister Mary.
“We have to remember that In the book, she’s a teenager. Mary is definitely going through an awkward time,” said actress Amelia Fischer, who plays Mary. “What we are seeing the play is seeing her come into her own and redefine her relationships with her sisters and with the world as a whole.”
The sequel takes two years after the book has ended with the families reuniting for the Christmas season. New characters are introduced, romance blossoms, but director Carolyn Cook reassured, “For all the Jane Austen fans, it stays very true to the world of the book.”
“Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley” opens Dec. 2 with previews starting this Thursday and runs through Christmas Eve at Theatrical Outfit’s home, the Balzer Theater at Herren’s.
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