The Jungle's Miss Bennet is Holiday Perfection

It is a truth universally acknowledged... 

Photo by Dan Norman

That holiday season stagings need a refresh.

Don't get me wrong; I will always harbor love for How the Grinch Stole Christmas or A Christmas Carol. That said, do we need to see them *every* year? Done exactly the same way? What about trying some new stories?

Photo by Dan Norman

That's why I'm so thrilled with the new tradition gracing the Jungle Theater's stage: a rotation of holiday themed, fan-fiction sequels to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Last year I had the great pleasure of attending The Wickhams, a rip-roaringly funny play about the servants at Pemberley while the lords and ladies of the house celebrate upstairs. It was one of my favorite plays of the entire year, in fact, and I can't wait for them to bring it back.

Photo by Dan Norman

This year I got to check out the original adaption that I missed two years ago. Miss Bennet takes place a couple of years before The Wickhams, except it is upstairs in the main house and stars all the main characters of the beloved novel. Fan fiction can get dicey; it's hard to recreate the author's signature style without veering into wildly fantastic side stories or awkwardly stilted dialogues. Thankfully playwrights Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon do a masterful job of channeling Austen's voice into a believable, relevant new script that I think is destined to stick around for quite some time.

Photo by Dan Norman

Miss Bennet takes place over Christmas two years after the end of Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy are happily married and hosting the rest of the Bennet family over the holidays. First to arrive are Elizabeth's elder sister Jane, who is heavily pregnant; her husband Mr. Bingley; and their sister Mary Bennet (the titular 'Miss Bennet'). Mary is a relative afterthought in the original book, but this play gives her her full due. An overlooked middle child with a bookish, severe personality, Mary always struggled to stand out. Fate is on her side this time, however, with the arrival of Mr. Darcy's cousin Arthur de Bourgh, who is set to inherit the now-deceased Lady Catherine de Bourgh's massive estate. Arthur is similarly awkward in company and ecstatic to find a kindred spirit in Mary. Things seem to be going swimmingly until the arrival of Lydia Wickham, the younger and most troublesome of the Bennet sisters, and the surprise arrival of Lady Catherine's daughter Anne de Bourgh. There are several delightful twists in the romantic plot between Mary and Arthur so I will stop here, but suffice it to say it lives up to the original wit and romance of Pride and Prejudice.

Photo by Dan Norman

Miss Bennet has a very talented young cast, starting with Christian Bardin as a stunningly good Mary. Bardon lives and breathes this role right down to her squinty eyes and peculiar mouth tics, and she is a master class performer. She is well partnered with Reese Britts as Arthur de Borugh; his performance is so charming I would scarcely know he is a recent UMD grad. Veteran favorite Sun Mee Chomet sparkles as Elizabeth and has heartwarming chemistry with James Rodriguez as Mr. Darcy. I was very happy to see Roshni Desai again, this time as Jane Bingley; I wish the part allowed her witty comedic side to shine a little more, but I still enjoyed her performance immensely. Jesse Lavercombe has vivacious energy as Mr. Bingley and Anna Hickey is deliciously snobby as Anne de Bourgh. Andrea San Miguel is thoroughly irritating as Lydia Wickham, and the audience clearly loved her antics. And I have to call out Jennifer Ledoux and Abilene Olson as the singing servants, who provided gorgeous music for everyone to enjoy as scenes transitioned.

Photo by Dan Norman

Sarah Bahr designed both the costumes and sets, and the cohesive, period-specific presentation is lovely. Clever details like refreshing the set by continuously decorating for the holidays throughout the show, or adjusting a costume with a smart jacket or well placed scarf, keep everyone looking consistent but fresh. Marcus Dilliard's expert lighting washes the stage with warm wintry light, and Sean Healey's sound design subtly lets us hear every line. Robert Grier shares inspired wig design, particularly with Anne de Bourgh's magnificently curled piece. And John Novak chooses careful props that add just enough detail to each scene to reveal another layer to each character.

Photo by Dan Norman

While I didn't find Miss Bennet quite as uproariously funny as The Wickhams, I still enjoyed it very much. Because it stars Mary this is a quieter sister to Pride and Prejudice, and I found that it had some real gems of wisdom to offer. Many of the much-maligned characters of the original story (especially Mary and Mrs. Bennet) struggle to get their just due, and it's wonderful to see at least one of them treated well. Miss Bennet is a charming comedy and love story brimming with wisdom and a huge heart. If I had to choose only one holiday story this season, this is the one I would go with. I highly recommend you check Miss Bennet out before it closes on December 29; click here for more information or to buy tickets. And if you don't already know the plot of Pride and Prejudice and want to check it out before seeing Miss Bennet, you're in luck! Park Square Theatre is currently showing a production of the original story. Click here to read my review and learn more.

How The Grinch Stole Christmas Steals the Show

I'm always blown away by companies who manage to make true fiction come to life on stage.

Photo by Kaitlin Randolph

Especially when the art is abstract. To my mind, adapting an animationS auteur like Dr. Seuss to the stage would be a nearly herculean task - between the eye popping colors and truly abstruse shapes and silhouettes, it seems like something that would be very difficult to replicate accurately.

Photo by Kaitlin Randolph

Thank goodness then for the Children's Theatre Company (CTC), who makes live action Dr. Seuss seem effortlessly easy. This was most clearly evident last weekend as I attended How The Grinch Stole Christmas, a beautifully adapted version of the classic Christmas story that had the audience literally gasping out loud with delight at the beautifully designed show.

Photo by Kaitlin Randolph

For a brief recap in case you live under a rock, How The Grinch Stole Christmas tells the story of an evil creature named the Grinch who lives alone atop Mount Crumpet, overlooking a small village named Whoville. Christmas is the biggest day of the year in Whoville and the Grinch absolutely hates it. After decades of lamenting the existence of Christmas, the Grinch discovers a way to kill the holiday off completely by sneaking into the Who's homes and stealing everything - their presents, their food, their trees, even the logs for their fires. What the Grinch doesn't reckon with is encountering a small Who child named Cindy Lou Who. Cindy Lou treats the Grinch with greater compassion than he has ever known and begins to melt his icy cold heart. Cindy Lou's kindness, coupled with the fact that the Whos celebrate Christmas anyway by singing carols even after all of their trimmings are gone, leads the Grinch to realize that true happiness and joy lie in healthy, loving relationships, and not in things. He decides to bring all of the stolen goods back to Whoville and reintegrates into the town, abandoning his lonely perch on Mount Crumpet and becoming a member of society once again.

Photo by Kaitlin Randolph

Anchoring this cast is Reed Sigmund as an absolutely superb Grinch. I've seen Sigmund in several roles (including as a hilarious ugly stepsister in last year's Cinderella, or in last season's performance of another Dr. Seuss classic, The Sneetches), but he was born to be the Grinch. From every sinister glance to every deliciously drawn-out line, Sigmund signs off every Grinch-y scene with a flourish. The audience literally gasped with delight when he first emerged from his Mount Crumpet cave, and I can't think of a better embodiment of this role. Fellow CTC company member Dean Holt is also lovely as the narrator, the elder version of the Grinch's pet dog Max. Holt has a warm, comforting presence that helps balance some of Sigmund's inherently freaky delivery (some very small kids may be scared; Sigmund is really good at being Grinch-y), and Holt is exactly the narrator the show needs to stay on familiar footing.

Photo by Kaitlin Randolph

The rest of the cast is composed of several other regulars, who are equally delightful. Natalie Tran is perfectly poised as the Young Max, lending a crystal clear voice to her role. Mabel Weismann is the embodiment of charm as Cindy Lou Who, with several lovely solos that melted not only the Grinch's heart but those of everyone in the audience. Max Wojtanowicz and Sara Ochs are hilarious as Grandpa and Grandma Who, respectively, and Autmn Ness and Dwight Leslie reprise their parental roles as Mama Who and JP Who, respectively.

Photo by Kaitlin Randolph

The orchestra, led by Conductor Victor Zupanc, does a lovely job with each song and provides a thorough soundtrack for the show, keeping it firmly in approachable kiddo territory. The sets, designed by Tom Butsch, and costumes, designed by David Kay Mickelsen, are swoon-worthy and will please even the most die-hard Dr. Seuss fans. I can't praise them highly enough: from the gently sloped and curving Christmas trees to the shockingly cerulean fur of the Grinch, it's a stunning achievement, and the eye candy alone is worth seeing this show.

Photo by Kaitlin Randolph

The Grinch has been a mainstay in America's cultural firmament for decades for a reason, and this production is a a perfect representation of why. We all know (and we all contain) a little bit of the Grinch, and it's always worth a reminder to value people and love above things. Although this is technically a Christmas story the lessons the Grinch teaches us can apply year round. After a year of extreme political polarity, natural disasters, stress and general malaise all around, isn't it lovely to have the opportunity instead to focus on the things that unite and fulfill us? Delight your kids and inspire your better self with this pitch-perfect adaptation of How The Grinch Stole Christmas, which shows at CTC through January 7. For more information and to buy tickets, click on this link.