Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"..."Christmas at Pemberley" is a seasonal confection more than it is some revolutionary exploration of the Austen oeuvre. Perfect then, for, the holidays. The best bits involve what passes for wooing talk between Mary and Arthur - who share passions for maps, leaves and Lord knows what other example of fauna and flora. By the time the Christmas tree, a novelty to all, is lit, you will not be surprised to learn that nerds have learned the benefits of mergers."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...But now comes "Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley," the newly imagined, utterly beguiling dramatic "sequel" to Austen's novel. Written with great panache by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon, it is receiving a delicious world premiere production by Northlight Theatre - where Jessica Thebus, an impeccable director, has gathered a stellar cast that moves into 18th century English society as if to the manor born, yet at the same time infuses everything with a thoroughly modern comic edge. The show is a gem - ideal for the holiday season but also sure to prove evergreen."
Daily Herald - Somewhat Recommended
"...But if audiences simply want another chance to spend time with beloved Austen characters, then "Miss Bennet" should fit the bill. Gunderson and Melcon provide enough period social manners to please history buffs of Britain's Regency era, especially the fun banter over appropriating the German custom of placing Christmas trees indoors."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...Get past the uneven English accents and the very audacity of a Austen sequel and it's a sweet, romantic holiday story in which two intellectuals move from traveling the world via maps and a magnifying glass into the unexpected adventure of falling in love. Erik Hellman is a bumblingly appropriate foil for Mary as Arthur de Bourgh (son of the novel's snobbish Lady Catherine), who pulls out a notebook of canned responses whenever nervous and at a loss for words."
Windy City Times - Highly Recommended
"...Lending this reboot its accessibility to audiences in 2016 ( who are advised to consult their Sparks notes before entering the theater for maximum enjoyment of the literary references ) is Gunderson and Melcon's decision to base the dramatic question, not in whether a solution can be found for the befuddled savants, but whether they can summon up the courage to execute the options open to them. An ensemble of verbally agile actors led by Emily Berman and Erik Hellman as the bibliophilic sweethearts, under the direction of Jessica Thebus, swap repartee with an engaging warmth ascertaining our emotional investment right up to the moment when all discontent-even that afflicting the undeserving-is brought to a happy conclusion."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...Directed by Jessica Thebus with the kind of clockwork precision necessary for a successful farce, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley is an amusing holiday trifle-nothing more, but certainly nothing less. And in times like these, "nothing less" is more than enough reason to see it."
Chicago On the Aisle - Highly Recommended
"...They have done a pitch-perfect job assimilating the 19th-century novelist’s way with words while spinning entirely new adventures for the bookish, presumably unmarriageable, middle sister of the Bennet household — Mary."
ChicagoCritic - Recommended
"...Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, is a worthy play filled with a cast who smartly present as British gentry. Erik Hellman and Emily Berman’s interactions fuel this gentle spoof of 19th Century upper class."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...The World Premiere of "miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley " now on the stage at Northlight Theatre is a wonderful "drawing- room comedy" and very smoothly directed (indeed, almost choreographed) by Jessica Thebus (who probably understand English humor better than most) on an absolutely charming set (Richard and Jacqueline Penrod are masters at making this open stage appear to be more than it truly is)."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...This well-crafted sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice captures all the whimsical and witty characters of the original story. It also provides audiences, especially fans of the novel, with a new, long-awaited adventure with the Bennet sisters. Filled with effusive, flowery dialogue and all the elegance and opulence the novel offers, this play is a welcomed return to Regency England, where feminist thought was just beginning to emerge. Jessica Thebus' bright and exuberant production emphasizes this. It's lavish and polished and creates a perfect alternative to Chicago's holiday fare, sans dancing Nutcrackers, Ghosts of the past, flying reindeer or an angel named Clarence. It is a truth universally acknowledged that all we need to remind us that it's the holidays, at least in this wonderful play, is family, friends and a towering Christmas tree."
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Highly Recommended
"..."Miss Bennet" is the latest in a long line of successful stage, motion picture, and television adaptations of Austen novels. There is something about the woman's writing that lifts her characters and their world from the printed page into the real world. "Miss Bennet" is a world premiere at the Northlight. The co-author needn't revise a word of their script. It captures the Austen style and sensibility without blemish, facilitated by the perfectly judged performances. See you again next season?"
Picture This Post - Recommended
"...Director Jessica Thebus has once again shown her mastery through her excellent direction, never allowing the play to bog down, get too comically broad or overly sentimental, keeping the pace quick, light and urgent."
NewCity Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...The world premiere of Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon's "Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley" is all of the above and an unremitting slice of tea cake. It continues Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" story by focusing on the future prospects of the bookish Mary (Emily Berman). As the unmarried sister of marriageable age, Mary is societally expected to remain as such and care for the parentage in their majority. Meanwhile the other girls dress in pretty frocks, dance with entire regiments of impossibly handsome soldiers and marry into families with untold money stuffed away in luxurious country estates."