Behind the scenes of OKC’s unique show ‘Jane Austen’s Christmas Cracker’
Circling through the English country dance Alice on a recent weeknight, Justin Marlow let neither the complicated steps nor his backward ballcap stop him from aiming his most arrogant Fitzwilliam Darcy glower at Olivia Akers’ Elizabeth Bennet. But the actor was as h chivalrous as a lady would expect from one of English literature’s most romantic heroes as he guided my 13year-old daughter Brenna through a turn.
And when I joined the company of “Jane Austen’s Christmas Cracker” on the dance floor during the recent rehearsal, Marlow nodded encouragingly as we joined hands and spun through a star formation.
After all, the opportunity to dance with Mr. Darcy and other beloved literary figures has helped make Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park’s original yuletide production such a popular addition to Oklahoma City’s holiday entertainment offerings.
The venerable OKC theater will close its 39th season Dec. 7-23 with the interactive yuletide favorite “Jane Austen’s Christmas Cracker” inside the company’s Paseo Arts District theater.
“It’s just what you imagine Jane Austen’s world to look like: We’ve brought it to life inside of our black-box theater,” said director Dillon Rasberry during the recent rehearsal.
How does an original OKC holiday show spotlight some of Jane Austen’s most beloved books?
“Jane Austen’s Christmas Cracker” is adapted by Oklahoma playwright Erin Woods from the iconic novelist’s books and family letters. The festive, familyfriendly show is part Regency Era holiday party, part theatrical performance, part improvisational theater and part historical re-enactment.
“It’s always a hit,” said Kathryn McGill, Oklahoma Shakespeare’s executive and artistic director and co-founder. “It’s very popular ... just as Jane Austen is still very popular.”
Published primarily during the Regency Era of 1811 to 1820, Austen’s novels tell stories of the British gentry during her lifetime — she was born in 1775 and died in 1817 at age 41 — but they remain perennially popular and have been adapted countless times for the stage and screen.
“Austen invented the romantic comedy as we know it. ... As a big fan of the romantic comedy, and as a classical theater artist, I was drawn to Jane Austen by a profound sense of duty. I felt it was my responsibility to utilize the power of live theater to showcase her works, with the original language, and introduce anyone within my reach to the original source material,” Woods said in an email to The Oklahoman.
Austen’s works have proven particularly trendy in recent years, from Hulu’s “Pride and Prejudice”-inspired queer romantic comedy “Fire Island” to Netflix’s modernized adaptation of “Persuasion.”
As with the latter, ticketholders to “Jane Austen’s Christmas Cracker” can expect the iconic author’s characters to speak directly to them.
“The actors are going to tear down that fourth wall; they’re going to engage with you from the moment you walk in the door. There will be characters in the lobby welcoming you,” Rasberry said. “Then, in the show itself, there are interactive games — Regency period games — as well as Regency-style dancing that our audience is welcomed to get involved in. And we actually encourage it.”
Which Jane Austen stories will be featured in this year’s ‘Christmas Cracker?’
Woods has mixed various Austen stories into different iterations of her “Christmas Cracker.” Like last year, this year’s version spotlights scenes from “Persuasion,” “Sense and Sensibility” and, of course, “Pride and Prejudice.”
The singular holiday show will feature beloved characters, including “Sense
and Sensibility’s” Col. Brandon (played by Evan Wolfe) and “Persuasion’s” Anne Elliott (Jacey Nichole) interacting with each other, with members of the audience and with their creator and her sister, Cassandra Austen (Maddie Wall and Lindsey Rollins, respectively).
“Each relationship gets its beginning, middle and end. ... People come to the show sometimes expecting holiday party magic — dance, ice cream — and what they get is to learn about Jane Austen and these stories,” said Oklahoma Shakespeare Executive Producer Tyler Woods, who’s also the playwright’s husband.
How does ‘Jane Austen’s Christmas Cracker’ incorporate Regency Era dances, songs and games?
Along with seeing excerpts of Austen’s cherished stories play out, “Christmas Cracker” attendees will be invited to sing along to vintage Christmas carols and feast on festive — if not exactly historically accurate — treats.
Braum’s Ice Cream & Dairy Store returns as the show’s sponsor this season, supplying free ice cream and treats to audiences. Although ice cream dates back to antiquity, such frozen delights weren’t popularized until the 20th-century advent of cheap refrigeration. But that doesn’t keep the frosty treats from being a delicious part of Oklahoma Shakespeare’s holiday tradition.
The title of the show refers to traditional British party favors called “crackers,” which are part of the story. Attendees also will receive their own crackers at the end of the show that they can take home.
During each performance, a few ticketholders who are so inclined will be picked to participate in each of the 19thcentury dances as well as Regency Era games like the fan favorite Squeal, Piggy, Squeal, which is as uproarious as the title indicates, and Forfeits, which proved popular when it was added to last year’s show. “What’s so great about this show is you get out of it what you want. You can get the interactivity if you’d like, or you can get a narrative show,” Tyler Woods said.
“You can have a conversation with Mr. Darcy over a bar of ice cream ... or you can watch him fall in love with Elizabeth
Bennet. You can get out of it whatever your holiday heart’s desire.”
To be able to immerse audiences in Austen’s world, though, the actors not only have been working during rehearsals to hone their characters, lines and accents but also to learn the complex steps to six different Regency Era dances well enough to lead ticketholders through them.
“This is a moment that’s going to require some assistance from you to your audience members,” choreographer Rebekah Valencia instructed the cast during the recent reheasal as they practiced the fancifully named dance The First of April. “In these little circles as we’re going around ... and we’re about to have our new neighbors over here, you can help people. Guide their hand to the new neighbors.”
Still, the show’s unique challenges keep many of the performers coming back to “Jane Austen’s Christmas Cracker” year after year.
Catching her breath after another run-through of the intricate dance Ramsgate Assembly, Ariana Sophia said she’s not only refreshing herself on the complicated Regency choreography but also taking on a new role in this year’s production. The Oklahoma City University student is playing the emotional “Sense and Sensibility” heroine Marianne Dashwood this holiday season after portraying last year Elizabeth Bennet’s giggly younger sister Lydia from “Pride and Prejudice.”
“I’m doing a lot of running outside, which is very different than Lydia. It’s a change ... but it’s going to be so fun,” Sophia said.