GEORGIANA & KITTY: CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLEY
By Lauren Gunderson & Margot Melcon
Co-Directed by Christina Baldwin & Angela Timberman
November 19 - December 23, 2022
FROM THE DIRECTORS
It is no mistake that the partnership of two women is at the core of Georgiana & Kitty. The play was written by two women, is amplified by two women directing it, and is produced by a theater led by two women. We entered into this collaboration with the same joy, reverence (& irreverence) necessary to create in this moment. The audacity to have fun, the optimism to create in trying times, and to trust that those in the room will understand the gravity and levity required in every moment is the miracle of the everyday.
That everyday miracle is what Jane Austen shared with her readers. To have the audacity to keep creating, keep observing, and keep employing her wit in her life and her loving relationships is the work that leaps from her pages. Like Shakespeare, Jane Austen created characters that were truly heroes as well as heroes of the heart—and all inspired by people she really knew in her familial, pastoral world.
Our writing team understands that brilliance and brings the same sparkle to the characters we know and love, while introducing us to new characters not previously encountered in Austen’s writing. Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon are so steeped in these people, places and perseverance of the heart—Georgiana & Kitty is a fitting installment to our beloved holiday trilogy.
Women continue to create despite the challenges surrounding them. Defiance is needed, yes, but trusted partnerships are also required. We look for those of like mind, heart, and energy to help us through when the road gets rough. We also recognize the work of women who came before and the work that will be required of all of us as we move forward together. As Kitty says, “…somehow I keep doing unexpected things with confidence.”
Christina Baldwin & Angela Timberman
P.S. After a pause to our holiday programming, how wonderful it is to return to our beloved Christmases at Pemberley! I have to thank Sarah Rasmussen for this “loving legacy” she bestowed to the Jungle Theater and to me. Miss Bennet was the first Jungle show I directed, and it kicked off an investment in The Wickhams and now Georgiana & Kitty. This co-commission piece we share with you now is a true gift—it has given all of us such joy to make, and I hope it gives you even a fraction of that joy it brought to us.
Christina Baldwin
CAST
Henry Grey DUSTIN BRONSON*
Elizabeth Darcy SUN MEE CHOMET*
Mary Bennet VINECIA COLEMAN
Kitty Bennet BECCA HART
Jane Bingley MAGGIE CRAMER
Lydia Wickham ADELIN PHELPS*
Thomas O'Brien TOM REED
Fitzwilliam Darcy JAMES RODRÍGUEZ*
Georgiana Darcy MARISA B. TEJEDA*
Understudies
Maggie Cramer (Sun Mee Chomet, Becca Hart)
Jane Froiland* (Maggie Cramer)
Ryan London Levin (Dustin Bronson, Tom Reed, James Rodríguez)
Julia Valen (Vinecia Coleman, Adelin Phelps, Marisa B. Tejeda)
Understudies never substitute for performers unless announced prior to the performance.
CREATIVE & CREW
SCENIC & COSTUME DESIGNER SARAH BAHR•
LIGHTING DESIGNER MARCUS DILLIARD•
SOUND DESIGNER C ANDREW MAYER
STAGE MANAGER/PROPERTIES DESIGNER JOHN NOVAK*
MUSIC ARRANGER/VIOLINIST EMILIA METTENBRINK
DIALECT COACH KEELY WOLTER
DRAMATURG SEQUOIA HAUCK
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR ROSHNI DESAI
Production Manager Matthew Earley
Technical Director Jared Shofstall
Head Electrician Ray Steveson
Scenic Charge Artist Jeni Raddatz Tolifson
Head of Costumes & Wardrobe Ash Kaun
Wig & Makeup Design Tracy Swenson, Lex Patton
Production Assistant & Run crew Charlene Holm
Board Operator/Programmer Shannon Elliott
Dresser Becca Michelle
COVID-19 safety coordinator/ Production Manager cover Megan Fae Dougherty
Carpenters Colin Williams, David Salmonson+, Sierra Schaefer, Jonah Eslinger, Will Rafferty, Tyler Krohn, Julia Reisinger
Electricians Shannon Elliott, Alexandra “Sasha” Blinnikova, Andy Glischinski, Mike Lee, Kurt Jung, Dante Benjegerdes, Allana Olson+
Run Crew Evan Peterson
SPECIAL THANKS
Augsburg University Costume Shop; University of Minnesota Theatre Arts & Dance; Al & Deb Saunders; additional recordings by Andrew Sun, Barb Brooks, & Scott Baldwin; Schubert Club for loaning us two beautiful fortepianos | schubert.org | 651.292.3268
Presented by
* These actors and stage managers are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
+ Member of IATSE; the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States. The IATSE is the labor union representing technicians, artisans and craftspersons in the entertainment industry, including live theatre, motion picture and television production, and trade shows.
• Member of USA; United Scenic Artists. United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829, IATSE, is a labor union and professional association of Designers, Artists, Craftspeople, and Department Coordinators, organized to protect craft standards, working conditions and wages for the entertainment and decorative arts industries.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
DUSTIN BRONSON
Henry Grey | He/Him
Dustin is thrilled to be making his Jungle Theater debut! He will be returning later this season in The Courtroom. Guthrie: Hamlet (upcoming), Juno and the Paycock, To Kill a Mocking Bird; Mixed Blood: Pussy Valley, The Song of Summer, Hir; Gremlin: A Steady Rain; TheatreWorks: American Prom; Creede Repertory: Hazardous Materials, Pride and Prejudice, Little Shop of Horrors, Barefoot in the Park, Guadalupe in the Guest Room. History Channel: "I Was There". Best Actor 2018 and Best Comedic Actor 2015 by Lavender Magazine. Special thanks to his soon to be wife, Isabella, for her love and support!
SUN MEE CHOMET
Elizabeth Darcy | She/Her
Sun Mee has worked with Lincoln Center Theater’s LCT3, Guthrie Theater, Broadway tour of Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses, American Players Theatre, Children’s Theatre Co., Alliance Theatre, Mu Performing Arts, Ten Thousand Things Theater, Penumbra Theatre, Mixed Blood Theater, among many others. Recognition includes: 2019 McKnight Theater Artist Fellowship, 2019 Decades Awards for Two Mile Hollow and Vietgone (Star Tribune, City Pages) two 2018 Minnesota Theater Awards, two 2017 Ivey Awards, 2018 and 2017 Bloggers’ Award for Best Comedic Performance (Two Mile Hollow and Vietgone); 2015 Lucille Lortel nomination (brownsville song); Star Tribune’s ‘Best of’ lists for The Origin(s) Project (2012) and Asiamnesia (2007); “2012 Best Solo Performance” (Lavender Magazine), and one of City Pages’ 2008 Artists of the Year.
VINECIA COLEMAN
Mary Bennet | She/Her
Vinecia is excited to make her Jungle Theater debut. She is an actor and playwright based in the Twin Cities since 2018. As an actor, she has worked at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (The Odyssey), Penumbra Theatre (Weathering), Pillsbury House Theatre (Jimmy & Lorraine: A Musing), Frank Theatre (The Visit), Transatlantic Love Affair (After The Fires), Black Ensemble Players (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and more. Her own plays have been developed at Boise Contemporary Theater’s BIPOC Festival, Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Black Swan Lab, and several others. She holds an MFA in Theatre Arts from the University of Idaho.
MAGGIE CRAMER
Jane Bingley/Understudy | She/Her
Maggie Cramer is beyond excited to be making her Jungle Theater debut this holiday season. Recent credits include Airness (Park Square Theatre); Top Girls (Theatre ProRata); Running Mates (Hippodrome Theatre); The Wolves, Failure: A Love Story, Red Velvet (Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati); Puffs, Always Plenty of Light at the All-Night Starlight Diner (Know Theatre of Cincinnati). Maggie is also a teaching artist at The Children’s Theatre Company.
BECCA HART
Kitty Bennet | She/Her
Becca simply adores the Jungle Theater and is so grateful to be back doing such a warm show during the winter holidays. THEATER: Jungle Theater: Ride the Cyclone, The Wolves, Is Edward Snowden Single?, Small Mouth Sounds, Miss Bennet; Theater Latte Da: Merrily We Roll Along; Children’s Theatre Company: Annie, The Hobbit; Artistry Theater: Mary Poppins, Carousel, Music Man, Bridges of Madison County, Candide; Lyric Arts: Something Rotten, Urinetown; Six Points Theater: The Book of Vashti; Stages Theater: All American Boys. TRAINING: Studied music and theater at St. Olaf College. UPCOMING: Children's Theatre Company: An American Tail.
ADELIN PHELPS
Lydia Wickham | She/Her
Adelin Phelps is thrilled to be making her Jungle debut! She is a Minneapolis based stage, film, and voice over artist. She has worked and created with Mixed Blood Theatre, Guthrie Theater, Yellow Tree Theater, New Dawn Theatre, Transatlantic Love Affair, History Theatre, Park Square Theatre, Carlyle Brown & Company, Theater Latté Da, and more. Adelin received her B.A. in Theatre Arts from Coe College and studied with The Actors' Workout, Guthrie Theater from 2010–2018. She would like to thank the incredible cast and production team, her beloved friends and family, and Christina Baldwin. Visit adelinphelps.com.
TOM REED
Thomas O'Brien | He/Him
Tom is so excited to make his Jungle debut! Tom’s previous credits include Mixed Blood Theatre, History Theatre, Open Eye Theatre, HUGE Improv Theater, and nearly 20 mainstage sketch comedy revues at Brave New Workshop. Film and TV: The Public Domain, History Channel, and Netflix’s Lady Dynamite. More at tombreed.com
JAMES RODRÍGUEZ
Fitzwilliam Darcy | He/Him
James Rodríguez is thrilled to return to Pemberley and the Jungle Theater. James's theater credits include work at The Jungle Theater, Theater Latté Da, Dark & Stormy Productions, Park Square Theatre, Ten Thousand Things Theater, Children’s Theatre Company, Yellow Tree Theatre, Pillsbury House Theatre and Mixed Blood Theatre among others. He currently serves as part of the Jungle’s newly formed Artistic Cohort. In 2023 James can be seen in Hamlet at The Guthrie Theater and will also be directing the Jungle Theater's production of The Courtroom: A Reenactment Of One Woman's Deportation Proceedings.
MARISA B. TEJEDA
Georgiana Darcy | She/They
Marisa is happy to be home for the holidays and making their Jungle Theater debut! Marisa is a Chicago based actor/musician/creator originally from Minneapolis. A recent graduate of the MFA Acting program at The University of Missouri, Kansas City/KC Rep, Marisa has previously worked with American Players Theatre, The Guthrie, LAByrinth Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Park Square, Artistry, KC Rep, and Pig Pen Theatre among others. Upcoming: a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere of Refuge at The Unicorn Theatre. Represented by Paonessa Talent and Echo Lake Entertainment. For more information: marisatejeda.com IG: marisabee_
CHRISTINA BALDWIN
Co-Director | She/Her
Christina is a director, writer, adapter, producer and performer serving as artistic director at the Jungle Theater. Her collaborations range from Shakespeare and contemporary plays, musical theater and opera, film and live theater. She develops new works with the likes of Nautilus Music-Theater, The Moving Company, Ojai Playwrights Conference, and The Playwrights’ Center. A collaborator with the Tony Award-winning Theatre de la Jeune Lune for nearly 10 years, Christina co-adapted and performed the title role in their critically- acclaimed touring production of Carmen. She directed the virtual work “Everything Comes to a Head” with Lyric Opera of the North and Decameron Opera Coalition (selected as part of the Performing Arts COVID-19 Response Collection in the Library of Congress). Christina has been a recording artist, writer and vocalist with the Minnesota Orchestra, a writer/actor on NPR’s “Wits” and "A Prairie Home Companion,” acted in numerous films and television, and has lent her voice to animated short films by the Dutch filmmaker Rosto A.D. (Cannes Film Festival award-winner).
ANGELA TIMBERMAN
Co-Director | She/Her
Angela has been a part of the Twin Cities theater community for over 30 years. Her directing credits include productions at Yellow Tree Theatre, Artistry, Lyric Arts, and Park Square Theatre. As an actor, she has performed at the Guthrie Theater, Children’s Theatre Company, Park Square Theatre, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, History Theatre, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, Illusion Theatre, Playwright’s Center, Artistry, Minnesota Fringe Festival, and here at The Jungle Theater where she is also a member of the Artistic Cohort. She lives with her family in Minneapolis.
SARAH BAHR
Scenic & Costume Designer | She/Her
Sarah is a Twin Cities based freelance Costume and Scenic Designer for theater, opera, and dance. Her Jungle credits include Anna in the Tropics, Lone Star Spirits,
Miss Bennet, The Wolves, Hand to God, Small Mouth Sounds, Stinkers, The Wickhams, and Redwood. Other credits include the Minnesota Opera, Ten Thousand Things Theater, Trademark Theater, Theater Mu, Guthrie Theater, San Diego Opera, and Vail Dance Festival. Sarah teaches design courses and advocates for emerging theater artists to have meaningful opportunities, along with advocating for equity among theater designers and technicians. She holds a Design and Technical Theatre MFA from the University of Minnesota. sarahbahr.com
ROSHNI DESAI
Assistant Director | She/They
Roshni is thrilled to return to the Jungle, this time as an assistant director. Roshni is a graduate of University Of the Minnesota/Guthrie Theater BFA Actor Training Program. This is their third show at the Jungle, the first being The Wickhams followed by the 2019 Miss Bennet. They just finished Assistant Directing The Humans at Park Square Theater with Lily Tung Crystal. They are so excited to be in the world of Jane Austen again this holiday season.
MARCUS DILLIARD
Lighting Design | He/Him
Marcus designed the Jungle’s productions of Ride the Cyclone, Stinkers, The Children, The Wickhams, Little Women, Every Brilliant Thing and A Doll’s House, Part 2. He has designed for theater and opera companies in North America including the Guthrie Theater, Minnesota Opera, Theatre de la Jeune Lune, The Moving Company, Theater Latté Da, Minnesota Orchestra, Children’s Theatre Company, Ordway Music Theater, American Repertory Theatre, Intiman Theatre, and Actors Theatre of Louisville. He is the recipient of an Ivey Award, Sage Award, and two McKnight Theater Artist Fellowships
C ANDREW MAYER
Sound Designer | He/Him
C Andrew Mayer has worked at the Jungle more or less consistently since 1993. In that time he has designed more than 30 productions. Most recently he designed The Children. Other favorite shows include The Night Alive, Detroit, The Seafarer, Entertaining Mr. Sloane, The House of Blue Leaves, Bus Stop, and Krapp's Last Tape/Diary of a Madman. He has worked with many fine theatre companies in the Twin Cities and elsewhere, including Denver, Baltimore, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Little Rock and New York City, where he won an Audelco Award for Pure Confidence at 59E59. He was a McKnight Theatre Artist Fellow and in summer serves as Producing Director at the Acadia Repertory Theatre on Mount Desert Island in Maine.
EMILIA METTENBRINK
Music Arranger/Violinist She/Her
Emilia Mettenbrink, a violinist with the Minnesota Opera Orchestra and the Sphinx Virtuosi, also holds a position as EDI Coordinator with the MN Opera. She also frequently plays with both the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Minnesota Orchestra. Emilia began violin studies at the age of three, received her Bachelors in Music violin performance with Paul Kantor at the University of Michigan and orchestral training from the New World Symphony Orchestra in Miami Beach, FL. Emilia engages in large and small ensemble performance opportunities and recently began a concert series, tinybalconyConcerts, from her balcony in St Paul, Minnesota.
JOHN NOVAK
Stage Manager & Properties | He/Him
After a nomadic early career as a stage technician and then an opera stage manager, John landed at the Jungle Theater in 1997. Since then, he has collaborated on more than 100 Jungle productions as stage manager and/or properties manager. Recently he’s had the opportunity to stage manage for Artistry Theater, and to design props for productions at Skylark Opera Theatre, Park Square Theatre, and Ten Thousand Things. His home is in the Central neighborhood of Minneapolis, which he shares with his spouse, the creator and performer Bradley Greenwald.
KEELY WOLTER
Dialect Coach | She/Her
Keely Wolter holds an MA in Voice Studies from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London. In addition to working with the Jungle Theater, she has served as a voice and accent coach with the Guthrie Theater, HBO, Theater Latté Da, Park Square Theatre, Old Log Theater, Walking Shadow Theatre Company, and many others. Keely is also a lecturer with the University of Minnesota/ Guthrie Theater BFA program and former editor of the VASTA Voice publication.
Jane Froiland
Understudy | She/Her
Jane is excited to be returning to the Jungle after last appearing in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. She has also worked with Children's Theatre, Park Square Theatre, Mixed Blood Theatre, Ten Thousand Things, Old Log Theatre, Theatre Latte Da, Yellow Tree Theatre, Dark and Stormy, Frank Theatre, and Gremlin Theatre, among others. Film and television credits include Documentary Now!, Standoff, and Theater People. Up next Jane will be appearing as Marie Antoinette in The Revolutionists, a co-production of PRIME Productions and Park Square Theatre.
RYAN LONDON LEVIN
Understudy | He/Him
THEATER: Latte Da: Merrily We Roll Along, 12 Angry Men, NEXT Festival: Scotland PA; History Theater: Runestone: A 'Rock' Musical, Christmas of Swing, Dirty Business: A Spy Musical, Teen Idol: the Bobby Vee Story, Orphan Train; Yellow Tree: Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood; Children's Theatre Company: Cinderella; Park Square Theatre: Jefferson Township Sparkling… Pageant, The Diary of Anne Frank; MN Jewish Theater: The Mikveh Monologues; Trademark Theater: What You Can't Keep, The Boy and Robin Hood; Artistry: She Loves Me, Awake and Sing, The Last Five Years; TV: I Was There (History Channel
JULIA VALEN
Understudy | She/Her
Representative Theatre: Park Square Theatre: Airness; The Moving Company: Anamnesis; GreenHouse Theatre Project: Hedda Gabler; Living Room Theatre: Lucy’s Wedding; Jungle Theater: You Can’t Take It With You; Guthrie Theatre: My Fair Lady; Wonderlust Productions: Hopscotch. Upcoming: Park Square Theatre: The Diary of Anne Frank. Training: B.A., Theatre, St. Olaf College; M.F.A., Acting, NYU
LAUREN GUNDERSON
Playwright | She/Her
Lauren Gunderson is the most produced living playwright in America, the winner of the Lanford Wilson Award and the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award, a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and John Gassner Award for Playwriting, and a recipient of the Mellon Foundation’s 3-Year Residency with Marin Theatre Co. She studied Southern Literature and Drama at Emory University, and Dramatic Writing at NYU’s Tisch School where she was a Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship. Her work has been commissioned, produced and developed at companies across the US including the Denver Center (THE BOOK OF WILL), South Coast Rep (EMILIE, SILENT SKY), The Kennedy Center (THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF DR. WONDERFUL AND HER DOG!), the O’Neill Theatre Center, Marin Theatre, and more. Her work is published by Dramatists Play Service (SILENT SKY, BAUER), Playscripts (I AND YOU; EXIT, PURSUED BY A BEAR; and TOIL AND TROUBLE), and Samuel French (EMILIE). She is a Playwright in Residence at The Playwrights Foundation, and a proud Dramatists Guild member. She is from Atlanta, GA, and lives in San Francisco. LaurenGunderson.com and @LalaTellsAStory.
MARGOT MELCON
Playwright | She/Her
Margot Melcon is a theater artist, administrator and writer. She was the Director of New Play Development at Marin Theatre Company for seven years, where she dramaturged over 30 productions—including six world premieres—and administered the company’s two annual new play prizes and commissioning program. She 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 is currently the Program Executive for Promoting Culture at the Zellerbach Family Foundation. Margot is a graduate of California State University, Chico.
Actors' Equity Association (“Equity"), founded in 1913, is the U.S. labor union that represents more than 51,000 professional Actors and Stage Managers. Equity fosters the art of live theatre as an essential component of society and advances the careers of its members by negotiating wages, improving working conditions and providing a wide range of benefits, including health and pension plans. Actors' Equity is a member of the AFL-CIO and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performing arts unions. #EquityWorks
THE STORY SO FAR
Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon’s CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLEY trilogy imagines what the witty and vibrant Bennet sisters’ world might be like two years after Pride and Prejudice.
At the beginning of the CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLEY plays, Lizzy and Darcy are happily married and living at their Pemberley Estate. Eldest sister Jane is married to Charles Bingley and expecting their first child. Mary Bennet is still at home with their parents and always reading. The flirtatious Lydia, the youngest, had eloped with militia officer George Wickham (who had also tried to run off with Georgiana Darcy). And the last of the beloved Bennet sisters, Kitty, has become close friends with Darcy’s younger sister Georgiana.
MISS BENNET
It’s December 22, 1815. Mrs. Elizabeth “Lizzy” Darcy and her husband, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, host a family Christmas, with the addition of Mr. Arthur de Bourgh, an intellectual, more interested in books than parties. Jane, Lizzy, and their husbands start to sweetly conspire to bring Arthur and Mary together.
Through a marvelously farcical sequence involving a handful of mis-delivered letters, Mary and Lydia and Arthur end up in a confusing triangle of flirtation. Just as they get it sorted out, and Mary and Arthur are about to take the risk of admitting they have feelings for each other, Anne de Bourgh shows up with the shocking news that she and Arthur are engaged to be married. Everyone, including Arthur, is caught off guard by this revelation, and all the hopes for a potential partnership between Mary and Arthur are dashed.
The situation reaches its boiling point, and much to everyone’s surprise, Arthur and Mary reveal their true feelings to each other. Arthur refuses Anne’s arranged marriage proposal and generously appoints her ward and guardian of her late mother’s estate. On Christmas Arthur and Mary commit to their engagement, just as Kitty and their parents arrive.
THE WICKHAMS
In the days before Christmas, as members of the Darcy and Bennet family prepare for the holiday in the living area of Pemberley, downstairs the head housekeeper, Mrs. Reynolds, and her staff are hard at work perfecting the festivities.
Once the family has arrived, a bitter Lydia comes downstairs to escape the holiday romances, wishing her husband were in attendance and wondering why he is forbidden. Lydia never has been told the truth about his past and Darcy has explicitly forbidden Wickham from ever returning to Pemberley.
On the night before Christmas Eve, George Wickham arrives unannounced and bleeding. The staff find him and agree to take him in for the night and tend to his wounds. Later that night, the staff share a mysterious letter found in Wickham’s coat pocket with Lizzy, who stresses that no one upstairs can know that he is in the house. However, the very next day, both Darcy and Lydia discover Wickham’s presence at Pemberley.
On Christmas, Wickham tells Lydia of his plan for the two of them to go abroad with funds she must secure from her father. When Mr. Darcy comes downstairs to confront Wickham, Lydia hides, overhearing a quarrel over the men’s tumultuous past and Wickham’s misdeeds. Lydia finally learns the truth behind her marriage, her husband’s past, and Darcy’s bribe.
Later that evening, as Wickham tries to leave with Lydia, Lizzy and Darcy intervene with the truth about his adultery and gambling crimes that were explained in the letter. Lydia tells Wickham to go.
The next morning, Boxing Day, Darcy reveals that Lizzy is pregnant with the future inheritor of Pemberley, and he, Lizzy and Lydia return upstairs to share their exciting news with the rest of the family.
The Most Famous Women You’ve Never Heard Of
There is no doubt that Jane Austen has rightfully earned her place in the literary canon with her writing prowess and exceptional novels. We know her name today, however, not simply because she was talented, but because she was written about posthumously - first in biography and dissertation by her nephew, then later in a five-volume collection of her work that included illustrations. But what about the artists whom no one writes about after they’ve died?
When an artist or their work does not package well or capture the attention of historians, artists can slip through history’s fingers into irrelevance – even when the work was celebrated and widely consumed during the artist’s lifetime. For instance, while Jane Austen is a well-known author, no one has heard of her highly popular-at-the-time contemporaries Dinah Mulock Craik, Charlotte Turner Smith, or Catherine Crowe. Despite their lack of celebrity in the 21st Century, there are writers, composers, musicians, and artists whose artistry and style created a profound impact on the cultures and the artists who came after them. Their legacy is felt even if their trailblazing is unrecognized.
LOUISE FARRENC
19TH CENTURY FRENCH COMPOSER
The piano music that is played in this production of Georgiana & Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley was composed by Louise Farrenc, who was one of these influential-but-forgotten female artists. We know the names of Beethoven, Chopin, and Schubert, but Ferrenc’s work is less well-known. She was a renowned French composer and pianist who lived 1804-1875. The Jungle’s production of Georgiana & Kitty is deeply influenced by her work and music.
“Her music embodies the spirit of our main character, Georgiana. Farrenc’s vast repertoire of piano work spans the emotional spectrum of the character’s experience.”
MARY ANN EVANS
19TH CENTURY NOVELIST, POET, JOURNALIST, TRANSLATOR
Georgiana’s desire to compose her own music evokes the author Mary Ann Evans, a name you may not recognize. It is more likely that you know her pen name, however - George Eliot.
Though women did publish work under their own names, Evans chose her pen name in order to have her work considered with a level of seriousness that was typically reserved for work written by men. Impatient with what she considered the “trivial romantic plots” from other women writers at the time, she was interested in realism and psychological insight. Another benefit was that her work would be separated from her scandalous relationship with a married man.
Born in England in 1819, she wrote poetry, short stories, and seven novels including Middlemarch, The Mill on the Floss, and Daniel Deronda. She is another inspiration whose influence is echoed in Georgiana & Kitty.
ZITKALA-ŠA
20TH CENTURY YANKTON DAKOTA WRITER, EDITOR, TRANSLATOR, MUSICIAN, EDUCATOR, AND ACTIVIST
Another influential artist is Zitkála-Šá (Yankton Dakota/Iháŋkthuŋwaŋ) She is most known for her books which documented her time spent in an Indian boarding school - institutions created to forcibly strip Native children of their culture and language. Zitkála-Šá found solace in music. She played violin and piano and later studied at the New England Conservatory of Music. In 1913, she composed and wrote The Sun Dance Opera, which is considered the first Native opera. However, her collaborator on the opera, William F. Hanson, who was a white professor, did not acknowledge Zitkála-Šá on any written material, preventing her from receiving credit.
The Sun Dance Opera is a considerable work not only because of its musical merit, but because it gave the Native cast the opportunity to sing and dance traditional songs and practice their ceremonies, which were outlawed at the time. It was not until the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 that Native peoples were allowed to practice their traditional ceremonies. Zitkála-Šá's activism created change that still reverberates today. She is considered one of the most significant Native activists of the 20th Century.
ABOUT THE JUNGLE THEATER
The Jungle Theater creates courageous, resonant theater that challenges, entertains, and sparks expansive conversation. As a neighborhood theater with national impact, the Jungle focuses on telling stories that matter, with deep care and attention to detail. The Jungle is deeply rooted in its Lyn Lake neighborhood in Minneapolis and plays a vital role in the economic and cultural development of the area. The Jungle was founded in 1991 by Bain Boehlke and counts among its credits a dozen Ivey Awards and numerous top production awards from critics.
Photo by Dan Norman, (FEATURING GABRIELLE DOMINIQUE, JORDAN M. LEGGETT, BECCA HART, JOSH ZWICK, SHINAH BRASHEARS; RIDE THE CYCLONE 2019)
OUR MISSION
The Jungle Theater creates courageous, resonant theater that challenges, entertains, and sparks expansive conversation.
OUR VISION
To be a neighborhood theater with national impact, indispensable to our community and aspirational to the field.
OUR VALUES
STORIES MATTER
Because we believe in the power of live theater to interrogate and celebrate our shared experience, we create work that helps our audience make meaning of the world and deepen connections with each other.
ARTISTRY IS A HABIT OF ATTENTION
Because we believe that exquisitely crafted theater makes us feel more alive and calls to our highest potential, we pursue beauty in our work by practicing care and attention to detail in all that we do.
A PLAY ISN’T COMPLETE WITHOUT AN AUDIENCE
Because we see our audience as our final collaborators, and because we believe meaningful encounters demand intimacy, we strive to make the Jungle a place where all are welcome and everyone is home.
A GREAT THEATER CARES FOR ITS PEOPLE
Because the work we make and share depends on human time, labor, and love, we are committed to being good to one another. This means we challenge one another creatively, value each other’s time and talent, and collaborate in a spirit of good will and abundance.
JUNGLE THEATER STAFF
Artistic Director | CHRISTINA BALDWIN
Managing Director | ROBIN GILLETTE
Artist and Audience Services Manager | BARRY INMAN
Advancement & Artistic Associate | ALISON RUTH
Marketing Manager | CARLY CAPUTA
Finance Manager | FIONA ROBINSON
Production & Facilities Manager | MATTHEW EARLEY
Season Stage Manager | JOHN NOVAK
Artistic Cohort | SEQUOIA HAUCK, JUCOBY JOHNSON, JAMES RODRÍGUEZ, ANGELA TIMBERMAN
Development Consultant | DON SOMMERS
Front of House | Anika Barland, Kendra Buro, Adam Clair, Shalee Mae Cole Mauleón, Arianna Diaz-Celon, Jessica Goldade, Rossi-Anne Jaffe, Clara Kennedy, Reanna Madson, Zach Staads
JUNGLE THEATER BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Ben Scott (Board Chair), Juliane Ray (Board Vice Chair), Barbara Klaas (Treasurer), David Dobmeyer (Secretary), Erika Eklund, Andrea Fike, Kelly Kita, Suzanne Kubach, Karl Lambert, Nancy Monroe, Erin Oglesbay, Marcia Stout, rich thompson, David Weinstein
THANK YOU TO OUR GENEROUS DONORS
The Jungle extends our gratitude to the many supporters who help bridge the gap between annual operating costs and ticket sales. Thank you for making another season of engaging, provocative theater possible.