Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon’s “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley,” a holiday hit for Theatrical Outfit in 2017 and 2018, wasn’t exactly based on the classic Jane Austen novel “Pride and Prejudice,” so much as it spun an original story inspired by several of its characters.
Where that play primarily dealt with various romantic and social diversions among the upper-class residents and guests of Pemberley Estate, Gunderson and Melcon’s new companion piece, “The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley,” moves the action downstairs to encompass the less glamorous, but equally spirited, lives of a few of the mansion’s working-class servants.
The warmhearted housekeeper, Mrs. Reynolds, a relatively minor character before, is at the center of this reimagined sequel. As pleasantly embodied by Deadra Moore (who recently excelled as another wise housekeeper in “A Doll’s House, Part 2”), not only must she strive to always satisfy her employers, Mr. and Mrs. Darcy — it often helps that neither of them can resist her homemade biscuits — she’s also training a new maid, Cassie, and keeping a watchful eye on Brian, the clever young groomsman who’s smitten with the girl.
Acclaimed Atlanta actress Carolyn Cook is back at the helm to direct the Outfit production (she previously staged both of the company’s prior “Pemberleys”), and reprising their roles as the Darcys, Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth, are Justin Walker (slightly wooden) and Jasmine Thomas (as radiant as usual). In newly created parts, Lauren Boyd Lane is excellent as the confident Cassie, and the scene-stealing Shaun MacLean comes into his own as the sprightly Brian; naturally, the more the two of them initially spar, the more destined the characters are to spark romantically.
Welcome or not, visiting Pemberley for the holiday, and providing what little serious tension there is in the plot, are the titular Wickhams. The blushing wife is Elizabeth’s younger sister, Lydia (Erika Miranda, overplaying the giddiness). The disreputable husband is George (Daniel Parvis, underplaying the wickedness), who, although he has been banned from the festivities due to his past history with Mr. Darcy, inevitably turns up nonetheless.
“The Wickhams” doesn’t truly qualify as much of a “Christmas show,” per se — the holiday setting is fairly immaterial — but, as standard-issue period pieces go, the Regency-era (circa 1815) production values are suitably handsome. The scenery is designed by Seamus M. Bourne, the costumes by Elizabeth Rasmusson. (Another interesting credit in the program belongs to Amelia Fischer, who is simultaneously billed as a fight choreographer and an “intimacy director.”)
Over the last few years, Gunderson, a Decatur native now based in San Francisco, has become one of the most produced playwrights in the country. This latest script is a far cry from her vastly superior plays “The Book of Will” and “Silent Sky” (both of which were mounted at the Outfit), among several others. Likewise, this production lacks the stylistic flair that Cook brought to her earlier directorial work on such shows as “On the Verge” or “The Little Prince.”
“The Wickhams” is a clearly polished effort, but it’s also comparatively insignificant.
THEATER REVIEW
“The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley”
Through Dec. 29. 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays (excluding Dec. 26); 2:30 p.m. Sundays; 2:30 p.m. Monday (Dec. 23 only); 1 p.m. Tuesday (Dec. 24 only). $15-$45. Balzer Theater at Herren's, 84 Luckie St. NW, Atlanta. 678-528-1500. theatricaloutfit.org.
Bottom line: A fashionable trifle.
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