Jay Lee and Alessandra Mañón (Photo by Jeff Lorch)
Reviewed by Amanda L. Andrei
Antaeus Company
Through Nov. 18
RECOMMENDED
If there’s one way to take down an enemy, it’s to serve them a cup full of sugar and a slice of cake. But wait— what happens when it turns out they’re not your enemy, and pettiness will get you nowhere? Rather, you’ve both been duped — and worse — you’re in love.
Written over 130 years ago in Victorian England, Oscar Wilde’s satirical comedy of manners, The Importance of Being Earnest, pokes fun not only at high society and class expectations, but also romance, intellect, and desire. The two lead couples perform with confidence and chemistry that highlight the classic play’s wittiness and humor through mistaken identity.
Jay Lee is superb as Algernon “Algie” Moncrieff, an “overdressed and overeducated” young man who is pure trickster in his motives to avoid social obligations. Algernon in good company with his friend, bachelor John “Jack” Worthing — inhabited by Alex Barlas with diligence and levity. He has created the persona of a wayward brother named Ernest so that he can gallivant in the city without scandalizing his teenage ward, Cecily (Alessandra Mañón). Coincidentally, John has fallen in love with and proposes to Algernon’s cousin, Gwendolen Fairfax (Jules Willcox), but her frail mother, Lady Bracknell (Anne Gee Byrd) forbids the union due to John’s undesirable origins as an adopted child.
Under Gigi Bermingham’s direction, the hijinks unfold as Algie and Jack take on the moniker of Ernest since their love interests — for no discernible reason other than the mysterious depths of love — only want to marry a man named as such. The actors thrive when performing physical comedy, whether dodging between chairs or shouting through a mouthful of muffin. There’s humor in their restraint as well. One of the funniest scenes involves Cecily serving Gwen the unfashionable and highly caloric cup of sugar and cake: both Mañón and Wilcox are searingly funny together, generating a humor born of barbs and stinging silences. The moments when the humor slows down tend to be when Lady Bracknell’s frailty contrasts against the fast pace of the friends’ and lovers’ banter. There’s still laughs to be had, but the pacing becomes uneven.
Scenic designer Angela Balogh Calin’s set easily transitions between a gilded upper class London home to a dusky pastel garden in the countryside. Julie Keen’s exquisite costumes — from embroidered blouses to summer straw hats — further highlight the class differences and personalities of the ton. And with smooth British accents, dialect coach Paul Wagar grounds the audience in the world of 19th century Victorian England.
So why watch The Importance of Being Earnest today, especially when you could easily turn on the TV and watch something like Bridgerton, in all its sexy sumptuousness? What can Oscar Wilde give us that Shonda Rhimes can’t? I imagine the Irish bohemian would scoff at the idea that anyone should see his play out of obligation or education, now that it’s become a classic. And deriving some kind of moral or social lesson would also miss the mark.
Rather, watching this play sparked a reminder within me of the absurdity and unpredictability of relationships and desire. When Cecily declares to Algernon-as-Ernest that she fell in love with him before they met in the flesh, my mind skips to internet friendships formed during the pandemic, how people can meet and know someone despite not being physically present for years. When the women declare their dream to marry an Ernest — and the men schedule re-christenings — I think of the capricious nature of attraction, how people lose reason at the thresholds of their dreams realized. As much as I love the slow burn of a TV show, I also crave the vigor of yearning created in only one single evening, and the delight of such a brilliant mind on display.
Oscar Wilde knew, perhaps better than most, the vicious cycle of fate and fortune. Any viciousness in this play is defanged by cleverness and farce: The audience can certainly have a good laugh at the silliness of romance. Best not to walk away with a lesson. Come away with a spark.
Antaeus Company, 110 E. Broadway, Glendale; schedule varies, check website for details; thru Nov. 18. https://antaeus.org.
