This year, Scrooge isn’t the only show in town this holiday season. In addition to the perennial A Christmas Carol soon to be playing downtown at the Victorian-themed Pabst Theater, there’s another play from merry Old England that is sure to capture hearts everywhere.
Jane Austen fans – and anyone who seeking a funny, G-rated holiday entertainment – will be delighted to discover that there’s a stage sequel to her classic “Pride and Prejudice.” It is being staged in a lovely performing space in River Hills, Wis., about a 20-minute drive from downtown Milwaukee, by the well-known Acacia Theatre Company. One need not have any acquaintance with the characters from “Pride and Prejudice” to follow the plotline of Miss Bennet. All of the characters recap some of scenes from”P&P” so that the audience can easily follow along. Miss Bennet takes place two years following the events of “P&P,” and it is set in the upscale estate of the famous Mr. Darcy and his now-wife, Elizabeth. Likewise, Elizabeth’s sister Jane is also married and about ready to deliver her first baby. With both of these sisters accounted for, there leaves only “one” Miss Bennet: the book-loving, idealistic and sharp-tongued Mary Bennet, the middle sister of the other two. Since she feels she can’t match the charm of one sister nor the beauty of the other, she has spent many days trying to perfect her own skills. She spends her time reading books and learning the piano forte. She is also the main caregiver to their aging parents, a role she sometimes resents.
It has been some time since the sisters have all reunited, and Mary is firmly convinced that her sisters are going to start treating her with more respect. She isn’t just the “wild child” they remember, and she wants them to acknowledge the accomplished young lady she has become. Mary’s somewhat “odd” attraction to math, science and the natural world hasn’t attracted many suitors over the years. Mary confesses to her sisters that she may wind up as a spinster living in an attic somewhere.
Meanwhile, a now-wealthy young man has arrived somewhat unexpectedly at the Darcy’s home to share the holidays. With the death of an elderly distant relative, Arthur De Bourgh becomes the male heir to an estate of his own (as was custom at the time), as well as a title.
De Bourgh is desperate for Fitzwilliam Darcy, and also Jane’s husband, to give him some pointers on how to manage such a great estate. Later, when he expresses such trepidations to Mary Bennet, she is particularly peeved by his indecision. She points out that gentlemen have much more freedom than women to pursue any mission that they wish. She feels he has not grasped the opportunities in front of them.
As they converse, De Bourgh and Mary seem to be on the same wavelength. They both are fascinated by faraway places and bold scientific ideas. Mary’s sisters pick up on this fact before even Mary. The sisters can see that the two are ideally suited for each other. However, that idyllic notion is soon tested by the arrival of a fourth Bennet sister, Lydia. She quickly sets her cap for De Bourgh, despite the fact she is a married woman. The sisters all know that Lydia is a desperate flirt, and they try to disentangle her from De Bourgh’s company for him to spend more time alone with Mary. Worse yet, at the close of Act I, the unexpected arrival of De Bourgh’s cousin Anne completely destroys any hope for De Bourgh and Mary as she claims to be De Bourgh’s fiancé.
All must be set aright in Act II, and it is. Under the fine direction of Erin Nicol Eggers and Janet Bouman Peterson, bouts of laughter erupt from the audience throughout the play. Many of these chuckles are focused at the British character’s suspicion surrounding a traditional Christmas tree. Elizabeth is charmed by the notion of a decorated pine tree in their drawing room. The others aren’t so sure. The tree becomes almost a character in itself as it gains various decorations over the course of the play. Mary, the botanically smart one, informs them that the tree is a spruce, and not a pine.
This ensemble is the best Acacia has created in some time, and that’s saying a lot. As the sisters (Shannon Nettesheim Kleim, Olivia Nájera, Cara Johnston and Bekah Rose) all differentiate their characters beautifully. The husbands (Ben Yela and Josh Scheibe) convey their affections for their wives, while also noting that the women may have the best ideas for overcoming emotional drama.
As Arthur De Bourgh, actor Jason Will gives a standout performance of a muddled academic, who is slow to catch on regarding his relationship with Mary. When outlining his physical complaints to the other men, it is Darcy who notes that De Bourgh is, in fact, in love.
Actor Molly Kempfer gives a solid impression as Anne, De Bourgh’s cousin. Since she doesn’t arrive until the end of the first act, Kempfer gets a good deal more “stage time” in the second act. One senses her loneliness at the loss of her mother and her own fear of being cast out from the only home she has ever known. De Bourgh, ever the solicitous gentleman, puts her mind at ease. He says she’ll be allowed to stay until she finds a prospective suitor.
Although many of the plot twists in Miss Bennet can be detected by the audience long before the characters do, the play is a wonderful (and not-to-be-missed) trip back to an English Christmas in 1815. A final note must be made of the authentic-looking period costumes (by Marie Wilke and Amy Schilder) that visually transport the audience to the correct time and place. Even Scrooge may be impressed by these well-constructed outfits.
This production is one of their seasonal best, and it arrives just in time for holiday gatherings and merriment.
