'Like Disney World but it's Jane Austen:' OKC theater brings back popular Christmas show

Looking over the six sets of couples neatly lined up in two rows, choreographer Rebekah Valencia starts the not insignificant task of helping them learn the difference between their partner and their neighbor, a change and turn.

"Everybody, right hands with your partner, we balance in and out and turn under," she instructs as she guides the cast of "Jane Austen's Christmas Cracker" through the complex steps of the Regency Era dance known as Ramsgate Assembly .

"Are we ready to try it with music?"

Inside its black-box theater in the Paseo Arts District, Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park is again turning the clock back to the late 1700s for its original, interactive holiday hit, "Jane Austen's Christmas Cracker."

The venerable OKC professional theater is wrapping up its 40th anniversary season Dec. 5-22 with its popular indoor yuletide show, designed to transport ticketholders to the world of literary legend Jane Austen .

"This show is so unique in the way that it is constructed because of the intensity of the scene work," said director Karis McMurry . "But you're also building this to be this immersive experience where there's dancing and games, and from the second the audience walks in, they're ushered into this world that's like Disney World but it's Jane Austen."

How does 'Jane Austen's Christmas Cracker' immerse fans in the Regency Era?

"Jane Austen's Christmas Cracker" is adapted by Oklahoma director, actress and playwright Erin Woods from the iconic author's books and family letters.

The immersive, all-ages holiday experience is set in the winter of 1796, as Jane Austen (Kalie Sloan) and her sister, Cassandra Austen ( Olivia Akers ), invite theatergoers to attend a Christmas ball in their festively decorated home. Attendees are invited to take part in the amusements of the literary icon's day, such as singing Christmas carols, playing games and romping through elaborate group dances.

"There are so many improv elements, so it's interesting. As a director, it's my job to give the actors the security of the structure that they need so that then they can have the safety to play and bring life to the story," McMurry said. "But there's a lot of the structure that I can't predict, because it's going to be different every single night as they're having conversations with different people that are coming in that are human beings. And those people are gonna do who knows what."

After playing the titular novelist in the 2022 production, McMurry is directing "Jane Austen's Christmas Cracker" for the first time this season.

"I think it's particularly helpful, actually, that I was in the show ... because I feel like I am able to grasp the way in which the actors need to be led and encouraged and also what the audience needs to experience in order to make it the immersive experience we want it to be," McMurry said. "It's not a typical directing project. There are more moving factors in this show than in a typical play."

Published primarily during the Regency Period 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 screen and stage , including in Oklahoma Shakespeare's original yuletide show.

Which famous book characters are featured in 'Jane Austen's Christmas Cracker?'

The guest list at the Austen sisters' holiday party this year features some of the most beloved characters in the writer's canon, like the Dashwood sisters, practical and reserved Elinor (Alleese Eldridge) and romantic and outgoing Marianne (Bethany Woemmel), plus their respective suitors, the shy yet honorable Edward Ferrars ( Karam Alkhatib ) and the older consummate gentleman Colonel Brandon (Jimmy Pike), from her first published novel, 1811's "Sense and Sensibility."

Also on the guest list for this year's "Jane Austen's Christmas Cracker" are the intelligent Anne Elliot (Sydney Wehmeyer) and her former fiancé, the dashing Captain Wentworth ( Paxton Kliewer ), from the author's final completed novel, 1818's "Persuasion."

Of course, no Jane Austen celebration would be complete without inviting clever heroine Elizabeth Bennet (Charli Henn), her mischievous younger sister Lydia (Naomi Love ), her chatterbox mother Mrs. Bennet (the hilarious Zaneen Hotchkiss , a mainstay in the role) and her unlikely love interest, Fitzwilliam Darcy (Corbin Melder), from the beloved "Pride and Prejudice."

"I grew up reading a lot. I think that's also what drew me to theater, was reading. ... So, I think that this is a very good center ground, especially for someone like me who came from a world of reading and is now majoring at acting at Oklahoma City University," Sloan said during a recent rehearsal.

The OCU junior is making her Oklahoma Shakespeare debut portraying Jane Austen in "Christmas Cracker." She said she is especially eager for her two sisters — Kerington, 16, and Kenzy, 10 — to see her playing the author, who participates in the ball but also observes the interactions of the characters she has created.

"I think the dichotomy of it is very interesting. You have to almost break the fourth wall and become the fourth wall, really, in a way. You're almost becoming one of the audience members and being like, 'I wrote that.' I think Jane's very proud of what she did and very proud of her writing, so I think that's a part of it when she's interacting with those characters," Sloan said.

"And I'm very familiar with the sister dynamic ... so that's been very, very enjoyable to bring to life on stage and also bring a bit of myself to the character."

Since the occasion is a ball, patrons are expected to interact with the other guests — even the fictional ones — and watch in discreet fascination as the characters work through their personal dramas at the party.

After playing Captain Wentworth from "Persuasion" in last year's production, Alkhatib is taking on the part of "Sense and Sensibility" suitor Edward Ferrars this season.

"I really enjoy doing this show, and I enjoy doing work at Oklahoma Shakespeare. ... I really enjoy the crowd that comes out to 'Christmas Cracker,' because you get a mix of non-theatergoers, too. You get the Jane Austen fans that come out, which is really fun. They dress up, which is great," he said.

"It's fun dancing, too, and I don't get to do a lot of dancing in performance. ... And I think the dances that I end up liking the most are the ones that have the little character connections you can see."

What other merriments are planned for this year's 'Christmas Cracker?'

Braum's Ice Cream & Dairy Stores returns as the show's sponsor this season, supplying complimentary 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 play's title comes from the traditional tube-shaped party props that typically contain a small gift, paper crown and a joke. They're designed for two people to pull open by tugging on opposite ends, and the one who gets the larger part wins the contents. (Imagine wishing on a wishbone only with a paper tube with a prize inside.)  

They're called "crackers" for the popping sound they make when pulled apart. 

Not only are the festive British Christmas favors part of the story's opening, but each attendee also is given a complimentary cracker as a parting gift.

As a new take-home treat, ticketholders this year will receive a souvenir dance card , a ballroom accessory of the Regency Era that has been featured on the hit Netflix series "Bridgerton."

"The audience members are going to get (them) whenever they come in, and at intermission, they can get as many of the characters to sign them as possible," McMurry said.

"Our Colonel Brandon is actually going to play some some guitar music, along with some of the carols and dancing in the show, and we'll have some live music out here (in the lobby) before the performance. ... So, we're doing our best to keep it very engaging and interactive."

Despite the complicated choreography, Alkhatib said he enjoys dancing Ramsgate Assembly and helping to guide ticketholders through all the intricate steps and turns.

"People are so nervous when they first come up, and they're like, 'Oh, I don't know.' ... But I especially like when someone who's never done the steps before, watching them (as they realize), 'Oh, I actually can dance. Oh, my goodness, I can do this.'"

'Jane Austen's Christmas Cracker'   

When: Dec. 5-22.    

Where: Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park's indoor black box theater, 2920 Paseo.    

Tickets and information: https://www.okshakes.org .    

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: 'Jane Austen's Christmas Cracker' invites writers OKC fans to the ball