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The Importance of Being Earnest
by Oscar Wilde, adapted by Mason Hall Performance Dates: 05/03/2013-05/19/2013 |
Summary
“Earnest” – as it is commonly known – has a simple comedic plot: Two young aristocratic gentlemen use the
same pseudonym (‘Ernest’) on the sly to escape burdensome social obligations while living in the city. All is
fine until, using that name, they visit a country estate and they both fall in love with women implacably
attracted to men of that noble appellation. This leads to a comedy of mistaken identity. The play focuses on
the triviality of institutions as serious as marriage, class, and social status and delivers a pointed satire on
aristocratic affectations.
The original Oscar Wilde play was first performed in 1895 and set in Victorian London. The show’s director,
Mason Hall, has adapted the play to post-Civil War Georgia. At a time when he happened to be directing
another show set in the South, Hall watched a BBC version of ‘Earnest’. He remembers, “I easily slipped into
imagining this very English play being done with the same sort of upper class airs and snobbish pretense set
in the American South. Southern aristocrats came from much the same background as Victorian Londoners.
In the 1890’s, shortly after the Civil War, similar social forces were at work in both countries. Both were
witnessing the consequences of economic industrialization; the breakdown of social classes; the formation of
organized labor; the battle for women’s suffrage.”
Despite location changes from London to Georgia, it’s all Oscar Wilde, pure and simple. But as lead character
Algernon quips in the play, ‘The truth is rarely pure and never simple’. Don’t come to the show expecting only
laughs, although there will be plenty of those. Wilde also points a playful yet critical finger at hypocrisy, and
the importance all of us invest in our roles and identities. You may emerge feeling just a bit sheepish about
the pretensions of our own society and your own attitude about your role within it.
Directed by Mason Hall
Produced by Gillian Stratton
“Earnest” – as it is commonly known – has a simple comedic plot: Two young aristocratic gentlemen use the
same pseudonym (‘Ernest’) on the sly to escape burdensome social obligations while living in the city. All is
fine until, using that name, they visit a country estate and they both fall in love with women implacably
attracted to men of that noble appellation. This leads to a comedy of mistaken identity. The play focuses on
the triviality of institutions as serious as marriage, class, and social status and delivers a pointed satire on
aristocratic affectations.
The original Oscar Wilde play was first performed in 1895 and set in Victorian London. The show’s director,
Mason Hall, has adapted the play to post-Civil War Georgia. At a time when he happened to be directing
another show set in the South, Hall watched a BBC version of ‘Earnest’. He remembers, “I easily slipped into
imagining this very English play being done with the same sort of upper class airs and snobbish pretense set
in the American South. Southern aristocrats came from much the same background as Victorian Londoners.
In the 1890’s, shortly after the Civil War, similar social forces were at work in both countries. Both were
witnessing the consequences of economic industrialization; the breakdown of social classes; the formation of
organized labor; the battle for women’s suffrage.”
Despite location changes from London to Georgia, it’s all Oscar Wilde, pure and simple. But as lead character
Algernon quips in the play, ‘The truth is rarely pure and never simple’. Don’t come to the show expecting only
laughs, although there will be plenty of those. Wilde also points a playful yet critical finger at hypocrisy, and
the importance all of us invest in our roles and identities. You may emerge feeling just a bit sheepish about
the pretensions of our own society and your own attitude about your role within it.
Directed by Mason Hall
Produced by Gillian Stratton
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Cast
Lane/Merriman Algernon Moncrieff John Worthing Lady Bracknell Gwendolyn Fairfax Miss Prism Cecily Cardew Dr. Chasuble |
Scott Rushford Casey Faubion James Kilmury Elisabeth Goebel Shiela Zook Deb Holmes Margie Young Greg Prosser |
Crew
Assistant Director Set Design Set Construction Lights and Sound Stage Manager Running Crew Costumes Props Poster Design Poster Distribution Photography/Photo Book Videography House Manager Ushers, Box Office, Concession |
Linda Talluto Cindy Zimmerman, Joe Danka Preston Hiefield, Roni Sidman, Sharon Shafer, Tom Larson Loren Jones Amanda Jones James Woll, Hiromi McClurg Pat Romans, Terri Rushford, Cindy Zimmerman, Linda Talluto, Debbie Taylor Julie Bell Nick Hamilton Nancy Beall & crew Jenny Conlee, Maille O'Brien Erik Holm Bev Sterling ...thanks to our crew of volunteers! |
Thank you to Gallery Players, Tigard High School Drama Dept. and Theatre in the Grove for costume loan.
