Interview: Spencer Plachy And Laura Kaldis of GEORGIANA AND KITTY: CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLEY at Main Street Theater

Husband and wife duo Spencer Plachy and Laura Kaldis are no strangers to the world of Christmas at Pemberley. Having originated their roles as Mr. and Mrs. Darcy across all three installments of Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon’s beloved holiday trilogy, the pair return to Main Street Theater this season for Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley. For Spencer and Laura, stepping back into the Regency-era romance feels less like revisiting a script and more like reuniting with a family, both onstage and off.

In our conversation, the couple reflects on why coming back was an effortless “yes,” how their real-life partnership informs their artistic collaboration, and what new emotional depths they are exploring in this year’s remount. From backstage rituals to ensemble bonds, from the evolving world outside the theater to the joy of returning to characters they know in their bones, Spencer and Laura offer a warm, witty, and thoughtful look at what makes Pemberley such a cherished holiday tradition for Houston audiences.

You’re both returning to Georgiana & Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley. What was it about last year’s production that made coming back an easy “yes”? 

 Spencer: The reassembling of the majority of our previous Cast, combined with the Direction of Jessica Jaye, who contributed as an MST JEDI Directing Fellow for that 2023 Production! It gives this remount a feeling of a Christmas tradition! Great to return to! 

Laura: With Pemberley comes familiarity and family. 4 of us have been together since the very first Miss Bennet production in 2017. As we’ve added others we’ve all continued to get closer and closer. At least for the onstage sisters, we really are like sisters backstage and in life. Plus, I loved working with Jessica Jaye and Ashley Galan in the past and knowing they signed on was very exciting. As for the two of us, we were lucky to have our characters appear in all 3 plays, so we’ve consistently grown with Lizzy and Mr. Darcy. We know what we’re getting into here and while we both LOVE a new challenge, it’s nice every once in a while to return to something that you know in your bones.

How does it feel to step back into these characters and this world as a married couple—does it change your approach the second time around? 

Spencer: It feels comfortable and refreshing. Returning, there's a lot that we already know, so we're free to settle into the relationship and the world of the story. The change is in finding some previously unexplored layers of these characters’ lives and relationships. Revisiting provides a unique chance to dig a little deeper.  

Laura: Two years have passed and a lot has changed in the world and in me. This time finding Lizzy was more difficult. I finally remembered that Lizzy is the character I have played over the course of my career that is the most like me. I had to stop trying to be her and just be. I had to lean into my natural instincts fully, but with an extra dash of joy, to make it work. So the world got in the way of the execution at first, but the approach to honesty and being present felt similar. I felt the most Lizzy when playing opposite Darcy because those characters, to an extent, mirror Spencer and me well...We’re both a bit type-cast for sure. 

Actors often talk about “stage chemistry”—how does your real-life partnership inform the way you collaborate together in rehearsal and performance? 

Spencer:  We carry a long-standing love and trust. So do Lizzy & Darcy. And while the fictitious characters we portray are confronting their own unique family challenges, they hold onto and lean on each other like any devoted couple, such as we do. We champion one another. 

Laura: Our real-life chemistry certainly helps…there’s a natural rapport and trust there. We do our best to respect each other as actors just as we would anyone else. Being married makes it easier to do the work. There’s no period of getting comfortable with each other emotionally or physically because that’s already there. We get to start from there and explore all the good stuff and just go for it from the beginning, which is great when the rehearsal period isn’t long. 

Do you two have any pre-show rituals, shared superstitions, or backstage habits when performing in the same production? 

Spencer: Nothing extreme or unusual. I'll always encourage her to have fun, as genuinely as I can. That's what we're all here to do, after all… Cast, Crew and Audience alike!  

Laura: I will say that Spencer is much better than I about finding me to say ‘good show’ or ‘have fun!’ right before a performance. BUT in my defense, as a female in this industry, I am always doing hair and/or makeup and getting ready right up until “places” is called. I tend to get cast in mostly period pieces, and that requires so much time with or without wigs. And we always run lines together if the schedule has allowed for several consecutive days off. Always. With the Pemberley plays generally, we have 3 days off, so we go through the script again, usually on a Thursday afternoon before the first show back that night.  

What new layers are you excited to explore in Georgiana and Kitty this year?  

Spencer: Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley is part three of a trilogy. When putting this play up the first time two years ago, we were very new to the script, learning it for the first time. Indeed, the play itself was so new it had yet to be published! This go-around, though, all of that new-play-learning was already ‘in our pocket.’ And having worked together, as the same characters on the entire Christmas at Pemberley Trilogy already, we were able to dig more into using the previous two plays (Miss Bennet and The Wickhams) for character motivation, previous action, & relationships, without all the effort needed to learn something brand new.  

Laura: Something a lot of us talked about, having last done the show 2 years ago, was that we didn’t want to come back jaded or weighed down by how different the world feels these days. And we wanted more “life” to happen on the stage. To try as best as we could to follow Regency standards but as very real people going through very real things. Our director, Jessica Jaye, was our Directing Fellow last time, so she also wanted to expand on what we set two years ago. She really encouraged us to try different things every time, play, and remember what happened in the other two Pemberley plays and carry that with us because they are very much discussed in real time in Georgiana and Kitty.

Are there particular scenes—together or separate—that you find especially meaningful or fun to play?

Spencer: Gunderson and Melcon planted Darcy right into the main conflict of the plot for this one. He’s essentially the primary antagonist. Not the ‘villain,’ of course, but his actions compound and inflame the main conflict. I find every scene that I get to work in to be quite meaningful! With Laura, of course, our early scene in the play shows Lizzy's and Darcy's confidence in one another. It's a private moment between them. The Darcys are teammates, and it's fun playing them as they work things out together.  

Laura: We tried to bring that backstory in more this time around. Like with the character of “Wickham”... In our duet scene, we reference Wickham’s story from Pride and Prejudice, as well as something that happens in Gunderson/Melcon’s play The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley so that scene, and the final scene in Act 1 for me, became a lot more meaningful. No spoilers so that’s all I’ll say on that. I also love The Darcys scene because I think it really shows their dynamic and how they’ve grown up a bit and grown as a couple. And anytime I’m onstage conversing with all of the Bennet sisters is a great time. Again, it feels so much like family. There’s so much real-life shared history — weddings, babies, drama, illness, movie nights — we have all of that real love for each other, and I’ve been told that’s evident to audiences, which is so important.

This show has become a holiday tradition for Houston audiences. What do you hope returning and first-time audiences take away from this year’s production? 

Spencer: I'd hope that returning audiences would get a sense of these characters being more settled into who they are. Again, we were able to start, this time, from a point of already knowing the dialogue… already knowing the walking structure of the play. Remounting the production from two years ago…we have the luxury of getting to finesse things this time. 

Laura: I’m all about sharing that love with the audience, especially at this time of year. And showing that no matter what family deals with, family is family, and if people are willing to look inward and own their actions and words and try to be better, that maybe forgiveness and a deeper understanding of who people are will occur. I hope audiences see themselves in this play and it heals something for them. For the Austen fans, I hope they feel they get at least a glimpse of the characters they love so much and feel happy with how their lives have turned out.

You’ve both worked extensively across theatre and beyond. What does it mean to share a project that blends literary charm, romance, and ensemble storytelling? 

Spencer: It means universality. Commonality. Romance is something we all connect to, one way or another. “Literary Charm.” Yes, that's what Austen is. It's why she endures. Every character in this piece is alive. Present. Sharing their joys and stresses with each other. They're all family. Laura and I are family. We’re invested in all of one another's daily goings-on. It's always fun to get to create, together with Laura, this slice of life for audiences to peak into. This in mind, along with the rest of the cast, makes for a great ensemble experience! 

Laura: It’s been a highlight to play Lizzy Darcy, an extension of the Lizzy I love so much in Austen’s book. To have such well-written and extensive source material to draw from is a bonus. I believe if a playwright has written a story using already known fictional or nonfictional characters that they researched to get their take, you owe it to the storytelling to get into that history and/or original story. I can only hope I’ve done Lizzy, author Jane, and playwrights Lauren and Margot justice all these years. Luckily, this is full of comedy, which I’m very comfortable with, so the mushy romantic stuff is easier for me in this genre! To play Lizzy to Spencer’s Darcy is extra special because these characters are so iconic and so beloved. What a dream, right?

And finally—if you could invite any Jane Austen character to join you both for a holiday dinner, who would it be and why? 

Spencer: Admittedly, I don't know them all, but I think I’d thoroughly enjoy the company, knowing wit, and humor of MR. BENNET. 

Laura: Lizzy for me feels like a kindred spirit. I’d love to spend the holidays with her. Maybe she could give me some tips on being more fearless in speaking up over a cuppa tea and one of my homemade Christmas mincemeat pies.