"MISS BENNET: CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLY" A TRUE DELIGHT

Jane Austen, the author of such master works as “Pride and Prejudice,” has boasting rights to feel delighted. Thanks to playwrights Laura Gunderson and Margot Melcon, we are being treated to another installment about those vivacious and charming Bennet sisters, this time at the holidays with “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberly” thanks to the creative imaginations of director Sasha Bratt and the good folks at Playhouse on Park in West Hartford until Sunday, December 19. Love is in the air at the family estate, swirling romantically around the newest holiday tradition, a Christmas tree, thanks to the efforts of gracious hostess Elizabeth Darcy, Dakota Mackey-McGee, who is happily wedded to Fitzwilliam Darcy, Griffin Stanton-Ameisen. sister Jane, Kristin Fulton. is anxiously awaiting the birth of their first child with hubby Charles Bingley, Karim Nematt, while the youngest Bennet sibling, Lydia, does not enjoy the bliss of being wedded thanks to her choice of spouse Mr. Wickham. That leaves only the studious, book loving yet musically talented Mary, Sydney Torres, to find a mate and true love in the process. Enter the handsome young Lord, Arthur de Bourgh, Ted Gibson, who has just inherited a neighboring estate with the death of his relative Catherine, and has been invited to Pemberly to share the holiday spirit. The stage, sweetly created by Anna Brewster, with lovely costuming by Lisa Bebey, is now set for romance. Lydia, however, has plans of her own and flirts outrageously with the unsuspecting Arthur, while a comic twist explodes when Catherine’s daughter Anne, Moira O’Sullivan, arrives with her own unique take on her wedding agenda. Will Arthur be able to untangle all the Christmas lights that cause him to risk losing his perfect soul match Mary or will the gods work on his side to right the potential wrongs with both Lydia and Anne? For tickets ($40-50), call Playhouse on Park, 244 Park Road, West Hartford at 860-523-5900, ext. 10 or online at www.playhouseonpark.org. Performances are Tuesday at 2 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., with matinees at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, followed by a talk back with the cast on Sunday. All patrons must be fully vaccinated, with proof and ID, and wear a mask. In the Christmas spirit, donate new books for children and teens until December 23 and shop in the playhouse lobby for family and friends. Acting classes for children from ages 2-18 are now registering. Visit www.PlayhouseTheatreAcademy.org for details. Come to this festive celebration set in 1815 and discover for yourself this well anticipated family reunion which corresponds with the audience’s welcome back, after a long absence, to live theater.