Kausar Mohammed is dreaming of a theatrical Christmas.
The queer Pakistani actress, who grew up in San Jose, is thrilled to be playing one of the heroines of the Jane Austen canon, Elizabeth Darcy, in "Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley," now playing December 4-29 in a TheatreWorks Silicon Valley production at Palo Alto's Lucie Stern Theatre.
The play, by widely-produced Bay Area playwright Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon, is a sequel to "Pride and Prejudice" that finds bookworm Mary Bennet, frustrated at being entangled in her sisters' romantic mishaps, launched into an amorous adventure or her own.
"Elizabeth is a dear, beloved character," said Mohammed in an interview with the Bay Area Reporter, "so, as an artist, it's incredibly fulfilling to have the opportunity to step into that. And as a person of color, I appreciate being cast as a character who's attached to what many people might think of as a classic. I'm a strong believer that People of Color should have the opportunity to take on roles that are traditionally only offered to white people."
Developed at TheatreWorks' Writers Retreat, "Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley" premiered at the Marin Theatre Company in 2018 and has since been mounted to enthusiastic reviews at more than ten theaters nationwide, with Black, Asian, and South Asian actors cast in multiple productions.
"We don't need a special excuse to appear on stage," said Mohammed. "We exist without apology. There doesn't have to be a racial context for why we're cast."
"As a queer person," she added, "I love how relatable and universal this story is even if my character is married to Mr. Darcy, who is maybe one of the straightest men on earth. It's a reminder that things all come back to 'love is love.' Sisterhood is sisterhood. Family is family. These are things that exist for queer people as much as non-queer people."
Friends and family
At TheatreWorks, "Miss Bennett" is directed by Jeffrey Lo, the company's Associate Producer of Casting and Literary Management. A Filipino-American, Lo recently helmed the company's production of "Little Shop of Horrors," setting his take in San Francisco's Chinatown.
But his casting of Mohammed in "Miss Bennet" doesn't just reflect a rejection of old school norms; it also reflects some old school ties.
"One of the first plays I did in high school was written and directed by Jeffrey," said Mohammed.
The one-time students at San Jose's Evergreen Valley High haven't had a chance to work together since they were teenagers, but Mohammed, who now makes her home in Los Angeles, and has auditioned for TheatreWorks productions in the past, has long sensed the opportunity would come around.
In the intervening years, Mohammed has built a diverse acting career including playing Fast Track on the CW television series "The Flash" and voicing Yaz on the animated series, "Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous."
She also wrote and starred in the semi-autobiographical short film "The Syed Family Xmas Eve Game Night," which was featured in both San Francisco's Frameline and San Jose's Cinequest film festivals.
"It's the story of three Muslim Pakistani sisters, one of who brings her female partner home to introduce to the family over Christmas," said Mohammed, realizing only as she spoke that Christmas was a common theme of the film and "Miss Bennet."
"That's so funny. I'd never drawn that parallel before," she said. "You know, as Muslim people, we never celebrated Christmas as a religious holiday, but sometimes Eid overlaps with the Christmas season, and there are always a lot of Muslim weddings around that time of year, so the season is festive anyway. It's about getting together with family more than anything else.
"Still, this year, because of the show, I'm feeling a holiday spirit more than I might have otherwise. I wouldn't have had a Christmas tree around me every day without this set."
And like the Darcy-Bennett clan, Mohammed will have a family gathering to celebrate the season this year.
"My sisters are coming in from Sacramento and Arizona to see the show."
'Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley,' Dec. 4-6 (previews), Dec. 7-29. $34-$115. Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto. www.theatreworks.org
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