'Christmas at Pemberley': Adobe Theater brings 'Pride and Prejudice's' Mary to the forefront with 'Miss Bennet'

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Jane Austen fans want more.

Fans of her classic “Pride and Prejudice” will remember Mary Bennet as the introverted spinster who wears glasses and plays the pianoforte, usually sadly.

But Mary emerges from her isolation in “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley,” produced by the Adobe Theater from Friday, Dec. 1, through Dec. 24.

Smart but solitary Mary, the observant but ignored middle child, begins to come into her own.

At the beginning of the play, “Pride and Prejudice” stars Elizabeth and Darcy are happily married and living at their Pemberley Estate. Eldest sister Jane is married to her beau Charles Bingley. They are more in love than ever and expecting their first child. Lydia, the youngest, was the most sociable and flirtatious of the Bennet sisters. She defied social norms and ran off with a militia officer named George Wickham, leaving Mr. Darcy no choice but to bribe Wickham into marrying Lydia to save her reputation.

Lydia tries to convince everyone that her marriage is a happy one, but no one’s buying it.

Mary is growing tired of her role as the dutiful middle sister in the midst of everyone else’s romantic escapades. When the family gathers for Christmas at Pemberley, an unexpected guest sparks Mary’s hopes for independence, an intellectual match, and possibly even love.

“It’s two years after ‘Pride and Prejudice’ ends,” said director Robin Havens-Parker.

The socially awkward Arthur de Bourgh, (related to the meddling, haughty Lady Catherine de Bourgh from “Pride and Prejudice”), arrives.

“Lady Catherine has passed away,” said Havens-Parker. “He is in the process of taking her estate.”

Lady Catherine had planned for Darcy to marry her daughter Anne, but Elizabeth won his heart. Anne shows up and says she intends to marry Arthur.

But Mary and de Bourgh meet before her appearance and learn they share a love of reading; they’re devouring the same book. The couple make an immediate connection.

“De Bourgh is very much like Mary,” Havens-Parker said.

The director was drawn to the imagined sequel because of the writing by playwrights Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon.

Gunderson has been one of the most produced playwrights in America since 2015, according to American Theatre magazine.

“It’s just very quick and witty and smart,” Havens-Parker said. They “really captured the style of Jane Austen with a little bit of a modern vibe.”

“If you had never heard of ‘Pride and Prejudice,’ you would still enjoy the story,” she continued. “There’s little Easter eggs in the show for those who have.”

The play stars Sarah Kesselring as Mary and Cash Martinez as Arthur. Other familiar characters include Jessica Alden as Elizabeth; Tanner Sroufe as Darcy; Lauren Jehle is Jane; Isaac Dean Carrillo is Bingley. Valerie Lawdensky plays Lydia and Clair Gardner is Anne.