The Importance of Being Earnest
Reviewed by Vanessa Cate
Crown City Theatre
Through March 31
Crown City Theatre tackles Oscar Wilde, and the poor guy is left standing, though not after being hobbled.
In Wilde’s comedy of errors and double identity, The Importance of Being Earnest, old friends Algernon (Bobby Slaski) and John (Hans Obma) lament the limitations of their social status: John yearns to marry Gwendolen Fairfax (an impressive Riegen Sage), but is unable to thoroughly impress Lady Bracknell (Michael Mullen). Meanwhile, Algernon is terribly bored, and can’t be bothered with social obligations. They both make use of a convenient pseudonym: Earnest. This leads to utter confusion, as both Gwendolen and Algernon’s new sweetheart Cecily (Megan Cochrane) are devoted to that very name.
The play on words in the title itself, along with the cutting dialogue, hammers home Wilde’s distaste and amusement with the shallow and arbitrary rules of conduct in the Victorian British upper-class. Luckily, as truths do come to light, the play concludes in a series of “happily ever-after”s.
The great news in Crown City’s traditional rendition is that Wilde’s words are such a delight, it doesn’t take much to enjoy the content of the play, just by listening. And the production does boast a vibrant energy and sensational costume design (by Michael Mullen).
That said, Wilde’s plays are not easy to direct. For one thing, the language and witticisms therein require immense precision in delivery. For another, The Importance of Being Earnest, written and set in the late Victorian era, is so British that it can’t really be transposed to another time or place. Unlike, say, Shakespeare’s works, which have been so liberally adapted that no one bats an eye at an apocalyptic Macbeth or a BDSM Romeo & Juliet. Earnest’s upper-class Britishness is a character in and of itself.
The unfortunate downfall throughout this production is a prevailing clumsiness; actors tripping over lines, tripping over furniture, mugging and upstaging each other inappropriately. The grace and class of the characters is often found wanting: gentlemen chewing crumbling muffins with their mouths open and wiping their mouths on the tablecloth is a prime example.
Still, it’s a good time. As George Bernard Shaw remarked when he originally reviewed Wilde’s last written play, “What can a poor critic do with a play which raises no principle, whether of art or morals, creates its own canons and conventions, and is nothing but an absolutely willful expression of an irrepressibly witty personality?” But it isn’t merely just a vehicle for Wilde’s wit – The Importance of Being Earnest showcases sharp social commentary regarding a class which ultimately proved to hate Wilde as much as he despised it.
Crown City Theatre, 11031 Camarillo Street, North Hollywood, 91602; Thurs.-Sat. 8 p.m. & Sun. 3 p.m.; through Mar. 31. (818) 605-5685 or www.crowncitytheatre.com. Running time: Approximately 2 and a half hours with two fifteen-minute intermissions.
