Jane Austen would have turned 250 years old this year, and her enduring charm was unmistakably alive for a celebratory British afternoon tea at the University Club of Santa Barbara.
Hosted by the University Club and its member groups — the Performing Arts Society, the Book Lover’s Club and the Writer’s Circle — the Dec. 2 event was organized by club member Anne Luther and styled to feel as if guests had stepped straight into Pride and Prejudice.
Representatives from Ensemble Theatre Company, among them executive artistic director Scott DeVine and director Robert Kelly, shared highlights from their upcoming West Coast premiere of The Complete Works of Jane Austen, Abridged, which opened at the New Vic on Dec. 4.
The show, they explained, offers a fast-paced, witty and youthful spin on Austen’s novels.
Adding to the theatrical spirit, University Club members George Konstantinow and Bruce Stark, a former Broadway producer, performed lively readings as Pride and Prejudice characters Fitzwilliam Darcy, aka Mr. Darcy; Charles Bingley; William Collins; and Mr. Bennet.
Amanda and Richard Payatt were among those attending the University Club of Santa Barbara’s afternoon tea to commemorate the 250th birthday of Jane Austen. Credit: Anne Luther photo 
From left, Bruce Stark, Helene Segal and George Konstantinow are in their Regency era costumes. Credit: Anne Luther photo 
Author Leslie Westbrook has her Jane Austen moment. Credit: Judy Foreman / Noozhawk photo 
Yvette Keller, with what you can see of a blowup Grinch. Credit: Anne Luther photo 
Scott DeVine, left, executive artistic director of Ensemble Theatre Company with Helene Segal and George Konstantinow. Credit: Anne Luther photo 
Some of the cast and leadership of the Ensemble Theatre Company’s The Complete Works of Jane Austen, Abridged: From left, Kirsten Høj, Kyle T. Hester, Alyssa Anne Austin and director Robert Kelly. Credit: Anne Luther photo 
The University Club general manager Sarah Rudd and activities manager Phil Spadoro. Credit: Anne Luther photo 
The author and her heroine. Credit: Leslie Westbrook / Noozhawk photo
Cast members from the Ensemble production also entertained the crowd with excerpts, demonstrating how three actors manage to portray a dozen characters, including humorous versions of themselves.
About 65 attendees arrived dressed in Regency era costumes, lending the room a timeless elegance.
Door prizes carried a Jane Austen theme, and traditional afternoon tea was served, complete with tea sandwiches, assorted scones, lemon curd, whipped cream and, of course, several varieties of tea.
Austen, an 18th-century novelist whose works humorously and sharply examine the constraints placed on women in the English gentry, published her six novels anonymously at a time when women were expected to pursue marriage rather than careers.
Today, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma and Austen’s other works continue to enchant readers and inspire countless adaptations.
The afternoon proved that her wit, romance and social insight still resonate — 2½ centuries after her birth.
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