I have been waiting to catch some great theatre since we moved to the United States. We missed some good shows coz we were out of town, or the weather was too cold, or we did not have a car. Also, as the tickets are on the higher side, one likes to make sure that the play will be worth.
When I saw that UMSL was presenting “The Importance of Being Earnest” at the Touhill Art Center, I knew I did not want to miss this. This is my all-time favorite play, and to see it being performed would be something that I would always remember. I was a little apprehensive about the quality of the production as it was being presented by a student company, but on the plus side the tickets cost only $10 apiece!
Well, it was very enjoyable performance! The theater was tiny, so we were all very close to the stage and it almost felt like a private performance.
Plot Summary
To those not familiar with this famous Oscar Wilde play, it bases the plot on a comedy of errors. Algernon Moncrieff and Jack Asbury are two close friends. Jack is the guardian of young Cecily Cardew, who lives in the country. To present a good example to his ward, he creates an alternative identity of himself, Earnest Asbury, a younger, more wicked self who is getting into terrible scrapes.
Cecily, who has never met Earnest, is infatuated by him. Meanwhile, presenting himself as Earnest, Jack falls in love with Gwendolyn Bracknell and proposes to marry her. Gwen accepts the proposal and is delighted that she is marrying a man named Earnest.
Gwen’s mother, Lady Bracknell, refuses to allow this union on account of Jack’s unknown origins. What ensues is a comedy of errors, and I would give away too much if I write any more.
About the Performance
My favorite performer was Ben Watts as the slightly flamboyant and clever Algernon Moncrieff. I rather liked Sean Green as Jack, but was put off by his hyperventilating nature. He broke a few things on the set too, with his passionate performance. I belive Joanna Brown as Cecily Cardew was brilliant in the part of the dumb blonde. I laughed at almost all her lines.
Though Wilde’s original play was set in London and for the sake of relevance UMSL’s production is based out of New York. The script has remained almost entirely faithful but has been snipped in certain places in interest of time.
The audience was appreciative and laughed at all the right places. Some of my favorite lines were:
I really don’t see anything romantic in proposing. It is very romantic to be in love. But there is nothing romantic about a definite proposal. Why, one may be accepted. One usually is, I believe Then the excitement is all over. The very essence of romance is uncertainty. If ever I get married, I’ll certainly try to forget the fact.
Ah! that is clearly a metaphysical speculation, and like most metaphysical speculations has very little reference at all to the actual facts of real life, as we know them.
To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness
The only way to behave to a woman is to make love to her, if she is pretty, and to someone else, if she is plain.
How can one resist Wilde!
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