Here we are in the lushly appointed drawing room of the Bennet family's Pemberley mansion, from which fictional motherlode playwrights Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon have mined yet another drama concerning the Bennet sisters. Perhaps if Jane Austen were still alive, 250 years after her death, she could have dreamed up further adventures for her beloved characters. But she's not. Somebody's got to do it.
Giorgiana Darcy (Emily Ota), introverted musical genius, is best friends with sparkly Kitty Bennet (Kushi Beauchamp), the press agent every artistic sister would long for. They plot together to form a company to aid and encourage female musicians, in an age where overbearing men like Giorgiana's brother Fitzwilliam Darcy (Jordan Lane Shappell) control an economic and social system based on male dominance and female submission.
Enter Henry Gray (Nima Rakhshanifar), a suitor for Giorgiana. His love for her is championed by his friend and conspirator Thomas O'Brien (William Thomas Hodgson), another eligible male and therefore a suspended chord needing to be resolved into a match for one or another of the Bennet sisters.
That's pretty much that for the action, aided by witty dialogue, frilly dresses, top hats and male stuffiness knocked flat by female cleverness. This is the second of Gunderson and Melcon's productions delving into Jane Austen characters, and judging by the enthusiastic response of the audience, not close to the last.
RATINGS:★ ★ ★
The San Francisco Theater Blog grants "Giorgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley" Three Stars. We have a few niggles, primarily with the music at the end...but that's part of the surprise ending. It's a cool surprise. We enjoyed the ensemble of actors, particularly the principals Ota and Beauchamp.
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"Giorgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley"
Lucie Stern Theater
1305 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto
Through December 28, 2025
$34-$105
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