GEORGIANA & KITTY: CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLEY to Open at Northlight Theatre in November

Northlight Theatre will continue its 2022-2023 season with Georgiana & Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon, directed by Marti Lyons. The production runs November 25 - December 24, 2022, at Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd in Skokie. The press opening is Friday, December 2, 2022 at 8pm.

The beloved characters from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice return for a third and final installment of the Christmas at Pemberley trilogy (Miss Bennet, The Wickhams). Georgiana Darcy is an accomplished pianist but wary of romance. Kitty Bennet is a bright-eyed optimist, and a perfect best friend. These two younger sisters are ready for their own adventures in life and love, starting with the arrival of an admirer and secret correspondent. Meddlesome families and outmoded expectations won't keep these determined friends from forging their own way in a holiday tale filled with music, ambition, sisterhood, and love!

"In Georgiana and Kitty, the feminist spine of the work finds its voice through music and a woman's struggle for recognition as a musician. The beloved characters created by Jane Austen have, over these three plays, unfolded and expanded in ways that honor the source material yet reflect the creative vision of the playwrights. Funny, touching, and even inspiring, these works have broadened Austen's creation in ways that no other authors have ever attempted. It was a bold and ambitious effort and one that we are proud to have helped bring to life," comments BJ Jones.

The cast of Georgiana & Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley includes: Emma Jo Boyden (Jane Bingley), Janyce Caraballo (Georgiana Darcy), Amanda Drinkall (Elizabeth Darcy), Erik Hellman (Henry Grey), Samantha Newcomb (Kitty Bennet), Andrea San Miguel (Mary Bennet), Nate Santana (Thomas O'Brien), Yousof Sultani (Fitzwilliam Darcy), and Preeti Thaker (Lydia Wickham).

The creative team includes Richard & Jacqueline Penrod (Scenic Design), Raquel Adorno (Costume Design), Jason Lynch (Lighting Design), Christopher Kriz (Sound Design), Persephone Lawrence-Wescott (Props Design), and Jenny Giering (Composer). The dramaturg is Sarah Slight and the stage manager is Katie Klemme.

Northlight's production of Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley is supported in part by Christy Callahan Real Estate, Jennifer Christensen, and Nan Greenough.

About the Artists

Marti Lyons

(Director) is returning to Northlight Theatre where she last directed The City or Conversation by Anthony Giardina. Most recently, Marti directed the co-world premiere of Wife of a Salesman by Eleanor Burgess at Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Sense and Sensibility adapted by Jessica Swale at American Players Theatre, and the world-premiere of John Proctor is the Villain by Kimberly Belflower at Studio Theatre in D.C. Marti's other productions include The Niceties by Eleanor Burgess at Writers Theatre; Cymbeline at American Players Theatre; The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe and both the stage and audio productions of Kings by Sarah Burgess at Studio Theatre; the world-premiere of How to Defend Yourself by liliana padilla, a Victory Gardens and Actors Theatre of Louisville co-production; Cambodian Rock Band by Lauren Yee at Victory Gardens and City Theatre; Witch by Jen Silverman at Geffen Playhouse and Writers Theatre (LA Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Direction); Native Gardens by Karen Zacarías at Victory Gardens; Botticelli in the Fire by Jordan Tannahill at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company; I, Banquo at Chicago Shakespeare Theater; Title and Deed by Will Eno at Lookingglass Theatre Company; Laura Marks' Bethany and Mine at The Gift Theatre. Next, Marti will direct the world premiere of Galileo's Daughter by Jessica Dickey at Remy Bumppo. Marti is the Artistic Director of Remy Bumppo Theatre in Chicago, an ensemble member at The Gift Theatre, and a member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

Lauren Gunderson

(Playwright) has been one of the most produced playwrights in America since 2015, topping the list thrice including 2022/23. She is a two-time winner of the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award for I and You and The Book of Will, the winner of the Lanford Wilson Award and a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. She is a playwright, screenwriter, musical book writer and children's author who lives in San Francisco. She graduated from NYU Tisch as a Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship.

Margot Melcon

(Playwright) is an arts administrator, dramaturg, and playwright. She was the Director of New Play Development at Marin Theatre Company for seven years and has developed plays with TheatreWorks, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Crowded Fire Theater, Shotgun Players, Berkeley Rep's Ground Floor, the Kennedy Center, the New Harmony Project, and the Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis. She lives in San Francisco with her family.

Emma Jo Boyden

(Jane Bingley) is making her Northlight debut. Most recently she played Elaine Harper in Arsenic and Old Lace (Court). Other Chicago credits: A Recipe for Disaster (Windy City Playhouse); Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Drury Lane); Hamlet (Chicago Shakespeare); The Layover (The Comrades); All Childish Things (First Folio); Don Giovanni and La Boheme (Lyric Opera); and Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man. Film/TV: Chicago PD (NBC); All or Nothin. She also works as a motion caption performer in the Call of Duty franchise. She holds a BFA from the University of Michigan.

Janyce Caraballo

(Georgiana Darcy) is making her Northlight debut. Select Chicago theatre credits include work with: Teatro Vista, Raven Theatre, Chicago Children's Theatre, Theo Ubique, and Emerald City Theatre. Regional Credits: Indiana Repertory Theatre, American Players Theatre, Marriott Theatre, First Folio Theatre, and TheatreSquared. Select TV/Commercial: Chicago PD, Discover Credit Card, Coors Light, Orbit Gum, ULTA Beauty, The Onion, Illinois Secretary of State PSA, 2026 FIFA World Cup. She is currently a graduate student (MFA Acting) at The Theatre School at DePaul University.

Amanda Drinkall

(Elizabeth Darcy) returns to Northlight where she previously appeared in White Guy on the Bus, Funnyman, and By the Water. Chicago credits include: Venus in Fur, A Winter's Tale, Measure for Measure, Continuity, Bernhardt/Hamlet, and Ah, Wilderness! (Goodman); Mary Page Marlowe (Steppenwolf); King Charles III (Chicago Shakespeare); The Tragedy of Othello (Court); Wife of a Salesman (Writers); Southern Gothic (Windy City Playhouse); Significant Other (About Face); Dutchman (American Blues); Pygmalion (Oak Park Festival); Rest (Victory Gardens), The Last Train to Nibroc (Haven Theatre-Jeff Award-Best Actress), Great Expectations (Strawdog), Pride and Prejudice (Lifeline); and more than 20 shows with The Back Room Shakespeare Project, where she is a Partner. Regional credits: Sheltered (Alliance Theatre); My Father's War (TheatreSquared). Film/TV credits include: The View from Tall, Christmas...Again?! (Disney Channel), Chicago Med (NBC), Bobby & Iza (NBC). Drinkall is represented by Gray Talent Group and is married to Gage Wallace.

Erik Hellman

(Henry Grey) returns to Northlight where he previously appeared in Miss Bennet, Shining Lives, and Lost in Yonkers. Recent shows in Chicago include: Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music (The Marriott); Lindiwe, Familiar, The Burn (Steppenwolf);

Othello, Mousetrap, One Man Two Gov'nors, The Misanthrope, Proof, The Mystery of Irma Vep (Court); Smart People, Marjorie Prime (Writers); Eastland (Lookingglass); Luna Gale (Goodman). He has received 4 Jeff Award Nominations. Film/TV work includes The Dark Knight, Walden, Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, The Good Fight, Mrs. America, Fargo, 61st Street, and the upcoming Film The Killer.

Samantha Newcomb

(Kitty Bennet) is making her Northlight debut. Chicago credits include Lifeline Theatre, A Red Orchid Theater, The Factory Theater, and The Comrades. Other credits include Oedipus, Macbeth, and Twelfth Night at American Players Theatre and various credits at Santa Cruz Shakespeare, Forward Theater Company, and Children's Theater of Madison. Samantha holds a BFA in Acting from The Theatre School at DePaul University.

Andrea San Miguel

(Mary Bennet) is making their Northlight debut. Chicago Area credits include The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci (Goodman Theatre); Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth, Twelfth Night, Comedy of Errors (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); How to Defend Yourself (Victory Gardens Theater); Twelfth Night (Writers Theatre). Regional credits include The Notebooks of Leonardo Davinci (Shakespeare Theatre Company); As You Like It (Guthrie Theater); The Book Club Play, Appoggiatura (Indiana Repertory Theatre); As You Like It, The Recruiting Officer, The Maids, A Flea in Her Ear, Pericles(American Players Theatre); Alias Grace (Cincinnati Playhouse); Miss. Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley (Jungle Theater); and three seasons with Montana Shakespeare in the Parks. Up next, The Notebooks of Leonardo Davinci at The Old Globe in San Diego.

Nate Santana

(Thomas O'Brien) returns to Northlight where he previously appeared in The Legend of Georgia McBride. Other Chicago credits include SS! Romeo and Juliet, SS! Twelfth Night (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); Marvin's Room (Shattered Globe Theatre); Ironbound (Steppenwolf Theatre Company); Balm in Gilead, Golden Boy (Griffin Theatre); White Tie Ball, Mommas Boyz (Teatro Vista); Comrades Mine (City Lit Theater Company); The Rainmaker (BoHo Theatre); The Merchant of Venice, (First Folio Theatre); What Happened When and Slipping (the side project). Television credits include Chicago Med, Chicago PD, SUITS, and The Exorcist. Nate is an ensemble member of Teatro Vista and Shattered Globe Theatre.

Yousof Sultani

(Fitzwilliam Darcy) is making his Northlight debut. He was most recently seen in Selling Kabul at The Seattle Repertory Theatre. Other credits include: The Gradient (The Repertory Theater of St Louis) , This Is Who I Am (a joint production by Woolly Mammoth, PlayCo, Guthrie, A.R.T and Oregon Shakespeare Festival), A Thousand Splendid Suns (Arena Stage), And Then There Were None (Drury Lane), Photograph 51 (Court), "Heartland" (InterAct), Miss Bennet: Christmas At Pemberley and Guards At the Taj (Milwaukee Repertory), The Doppelgänger: An International Farce, The Fundamentals (Steppenwolf), United Flight 232 (House), Disappearing Number, Inana (TimeLine), Othello (Chicago Shakespeare), and The Hundred Flowers Project (Silk Road Rising). Film credits: Glass House. Television credits include: The Big Leap (FOX), The Brave (NBC), Empire (FOX) and Chicago Fire (NBC). Yousof received his BFA in Performance from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Preeti Thaker

(Lydia Wickham) is thrilled to be making her Northlight debut. As a classically trained Indian vocalist and Bharatanatyam dancer since a young age, her cultural pursuits have always been central to her as an artist. Chicago credits include Dance Nation (Steppenwolf Theatre), The Lady from the Sea (Court Theatre) and The Moors (A Red Orchid Theatre). Regional credits include The Tempest and Othello at Nebraska Shakespeare's Shakespeare on the Green. Preeti is a 2018 alumni of the School of Steppenwolf.

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