City Theatre is getting decked out for the holidays with the second installment of the Jane Austen-inspired Pemberley trilogy, produced in association with the Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama.
The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley, by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon, follows last season’s Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley and reunites Melessie Clark and Brett Mack, the luminous pairing in Quantum Theatre’s A Moon for the Misbegotten earlier this year.
“Believe it or not, programming Pemberley last year was risky for City Theatre,” said Monteze Freeland, co-artistic director of City Theatre. “However, new and familiar audiences showed us they were eager to go on this journey with Austen’s iconic characters. We are thrilled to present the second installment of Gunderson and Melcon’s trilogy and doubly excited to reunite many of the original design team — all of whom make Pittsburgh their artistic home.”
Kyle Haden, senior associate head and associate professor of acting at CMU, returns to direct a cast that includes Shammen McCune, onstage in Pittsburgh Public Theater’s The Hobbit, Juan Rivera Lebron (City’s Native Gardens and barebones’ The Animal Kingdom) and recent CMU graduate Alex Sheffield, reprising her role as Lydia Wickham and seen most recently in Young Frankenstein for Pittsburgh CLO.
After “an informal partnership” with CMU School of Drama last year, City Theatre has expanded the collaboration and is presenting the show “in association with” CMU, a press release said.
“This partnership is in recognition of the numerous current students and alumni involved in the cast and design team, contributions from School of Drama costume studio, and faculty involved on the project in various creative team roles.
Besides Haden and Lebron, a CMU professor of acting, university-affiliated members of the company include actors Anna Bakun and Evan Vines, Eva Hu (lighting designer), Lindsay Barr (dramaturgy), and Carrie Anne Huneycutt-Parker (costume designer), Anne Mundell (scenic designer) and City’s production manager, Rachel D’Amboise.
The Wickhams, a companion piece to last season’s entry, unfolds at Pemberley as the events of Miss Bennett unfold upstairs. The house staff below have their own holiday scandals as Mr. Wickham — the uninvited husband of Lydia and sworn enemy of Mr. Darcy — appears in the middle of the night.
The Wickhams is described as “a charming holiday tale that celebrates forgiving and forthrightness in the season of giving.”
“This production will warm your heart and provide a few laughs this holiday season,” said Freeland. “And who wouldn’t want that gift?”
TICKETS AND DETAILS
City Theatre’s production of The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley runs November 30 – December 22, 2024 on City’s Mainstage, 1300 Bingham Street, South Side. Tickets: Visit https://citytheatrecompany.org/play/the-wickhams-christmas-at-pemberley/ or call 412-431-2489 (CITY). City Connects partners: Boys and Girls Club of Western Pennsylvania and the Country Dance and Song Society of Pittsburgh. The company also will collect supplies for Community Human Services throughout the run of the show.
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