| . | 02/28/2008
The Importance of Being Earnest
By: Elliot Rush
Oscar Wilde, noted for his sophisticated and brilliantly witty plays, wrote The Importance of Being Earnest in 1895. Considered his masterpiece, it sadly turned out to be his last play as he died a few short years later at the young age of 46. The Importance of Being Earnest is also Wilde’s most durable and popular play and it has become a staple of theater companies everywhere. The last major revival of this play in Southern California took place at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles two years ago in a production directed by Sir Peter Hall starring Lynn Redgrave as Lady Bracknell and Miriam Margolyes as Miss Prism. One would have expected the Brits to get it right, but that production tended to fall flat and never found the comedic tone essential to bring it to buoyant life.
The Importance of Being Earnest has returned to the area once again but this time in a delightful and amusing production at South Coast Rep that honors Wilde’s irreverence and keeps the audience laughing. In the words of Oscar Wilde, “In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity is the vital thing” and style is what the director Warner Shook brings to this production; from the exquisitely detailed and attractive costumes by Nephelie Andonyadis to the splendid décor and Victorian furniture provided by set designer Michael Olich to a well cast group of actors who push the limits of their characters’ eccentricities without going too far.
The cast in The Importance of Being Earnest.
Photo by Henry DiRocco.
On the surface, The Importance of Being Earnest is a trivial comedy about the wealthy and educated class set in the late nineteenth century. Underneath, it is a scorching social satire that illustrates and exposes the hypocrisy established in Victorian traditions of the day. To quote Wilde once again (and why not…it’s his pithy epigrams that give his comedies their charm) “We should treat all the trivial things of life seriously and all the serious things of life with sincere and studied triviality.”
(l. to r.) Michael Gotch as Algernon Moncrieff and Tommy Schrider as Jack Worthington.
Photo by Henry DiRocco
The farcical and complicated (to summarize) plot revolves around two best friends, Jack and Algernon, who we later discover to be brothers. To circumvent responsibility, Algernon, who lives in London, takes off to the country to visit a sickly friend named Bunbury who, in fact, is a totally fabricated friend. For the same reason, Jack, who lives in the country, runs off to London and uses the name Ernest while staying in the city. Jack falls for Gwendolen, Algernon’s cousin, in the city and Algernon for Cecily, Jack’s ward, in the country, but problems result when both friends discover the girls cannot love someone unless his name is Ernest. Lady Bracknell, Gwendolen’s mother and the Aunt of Algernon, forbids the marriage of her daughter to Jack because she believes him not to be a man of blue blood. All that changes when, through a series of very silly circumstances and clever coincidences, Lady Bracknell comes to learn that Jack is also her nephew and it turns out his real name is actually Ernest; and everybody lives superficially every after.
(l. to r.) Christine Marie Brown as Gwendolen Fairfax, John- David Keller as Merriman and Elise Hunt at Cecily Cardew. Photo by Henry DiRocco.
The actors are all terrific and deserve special praise for delivering Wilde’s quips with finesse and ease. Michael Gotch as Algernon and Tommy Schrider as Jack are well matched as brothers and nicely paired with the endearing Elise Hunt as Cecily and appealing Christine Marie Brown as Gwendolen, respectively. Kandis Chappell, a favorite at South Coast plays Lady Bracknell. The cast is rounded out by Amelia White as Miss Prism and Richard Doyle as Rev. Canon Chasuble who make a charming couple. Also worthy of mention is the lively original music provided by Michael Roth that introduces each of the three acts.
Michael Gotch as Algernon Moncrieff and Kandis Chappell as Lady Bracknell.
Photo by Henry DiRocco/SCR.
This enjoyable production of The Importance of Being Earnest runs until March 9th. Don’t miss it!
South Coast Repertory , 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, CA. Performance times: Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m., and Sunday evenings at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets to The Importance of Being Earnest can be purchased online at http://www.scr.org ., by phone at (714) 708-5555 or by visiting the box office at 655 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa. Ticket prices range from $28 to $62.
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