Port Angeles Community Players set to stage ‘Miss Bennett’

By Sequim Gazette Staff • November 30, 2021 3:25 pm
From left, “Miss Bennet — Christmas at Pemberley” cast members Juliette Burnette, Merrin Packer, Matt Forest, Stephen Canepa, Dana Duffy rehearse a scene for the upcoming production that kicks off Dec. 3. Photo by Matt Moore
From left, “Miss Bennet — Christmas at Pemberley” cast members Juliette Burnette, Merrin Packer, Matt Forest, Stephen Canepa, Dana Duffy rehearse a scene for the upcoming production that kicks off Dec. 3. Photo by Matt Moore

The Port Angeles Community Players will present “Miss Bennet — Christmas at Pemberley” by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcor, Dec. 3-19 at the P.A. Community Playhouse, 1235 E. Lauridsen Blvd.

The play is the romantic stage sequel to Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.” Set two years after the end of the original novel, the story focuses on Mary Bennet, the quiet, bookish, overlooked middle child of the Bennet family who is no longer the quiet, boring girl her sisters once knew but has grown into a curious, deep thinker who wonders if there is more to the world she has only read about in books.

“In so many ways, watching the antics of the Bennet sisters seems incredibly familiar and relatable,” director Richard Stephens said. “We all can relate to the struggles to the awkwardness that can happen when a stranger is dropped into the middle of family dynamics.”

The play runs Tuesday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., Dec. 3-19. Tickets are $15 for adults, $8 for students; on Tuesday nights, any remaining tickets are $8 at the door. Get tickets at pacommunityplayers.org. (Note: Masks are required and proof of COVID vaccine will be required.)

Continuing the story of familiar characters from a beloved classic involved putting together a cast of talented young people. Sunshine Peterson plays Elizabeth Darcy and Steven Canepa plays Fitzwilliam Darcy, the host couple and owners of the grand estate of Pemberley. Juliette Burnette is Jane and Graham Nott plays Charles Bingley, the happy couple eagerly expecting their first arrival in just a couple of months. Merrin Packer makes her Playhouse debut as Mary Bennet, as does Matt Forrest who plays Arthur DeBorgh. Olivia Wray plays Lydia Wickham and Dana Duffy shows up as the surprise visitor who presence threatens the peace of the Christmas holiday. Rounding out the cast is Zade Harris and Belle Robinson who are two key servants of the Pemberley household.

“We are thrilled to be showcasing three students from our Children’s Theater program in our Main Stage Holiday Presentation- this cast shows how well young people handle challenging roles,” Stephens said.