Michael Henniger
The Importance of Being Earnest is a classic work of theatre by Oscar Wilde which, for its time, was seen as somewhat radical in that, as some critics suggested, it was empty of any meaning and lacked any social message. Others saw it as a humorous but trivial comedy, so lighthearted it should have been set to music. Seen today it seems that Wilde was definitely poking fun at an uptight high society, turning Victorian conformity on its ear. Looking more deeply at the play’s criticism and praise, one could make an argument that every reaction is correct.
The Importance of Being Earnest is centered around John ‘Jack’ Worthington and Algernon ‘Algy’ Moncrieff. Algy, however, knows Jack as Ernest and Ernest has come to call on Gwendolen Fairfax, Algy’s cousin. Algy has questions though about a cigarette case Ernest left behind on his last visit engraved with a message from ‘Little Cecily’ to ‘Uncle Jack’. Who is Cecily and is Ernest leading a double life? Ernest has no choice but to admit his real name is Jack but he uses Ernest when he visits the city and Jack when he’s in the country. Algy surprises Jack by being pleased with his deception, admitting he himself uses a similar ruse to get out of things he doesn’t want to do by saying he needs to visit his very ill friend Mr. Bunbury, coining the term ‘bunburying’ for his and other such ruses. Jack has the intention of proposing to Gwendolen, but she throws a wrench into those plans when she says she can only fall in love with a man named Ernest because it’s so musical. When ‘Ernest’ asks if she could fall for a ‘Jack’ she is horrified, not only because it’s not musical but because it’s also a nickname for John which is even worse. But Jack/Ernest has to first get the approval of Gwendolen’s mother Lady Bracknell, who interviews Jack and is more pleased by his somewhat unsavory characteristics but is horrified when he admits he’s lost his parents — or rather they lost him — and he was found as a baby in a handbag at Victoria Station. This simply will not do but Jack will persist, even going so far as to being rechristened with the name Ernest.
Things go awry when Algy shows up at Jack’s country home under the guise of Jack’s brother Ernest, whom Jack had just told his young ward Cecily and her tutor Miss Prism had died. And now here he is in the flesh, and suddenly smitten with Cecily … who also will only feel love for a man named Ernest. The question is how long can the two men keep up their ‘bunburying’ before the lies are discovered by Gwendolen and Cecily, and Lady Bracknell puts her foot down?
Michael Henniger
This new production of The Importance of Being Earnest at Baltimore Center Stage, in partnership with Pittsburgh Public Theater, takes Wilde’s three-act play and condenses it into two, basically combining Acts I and II into one very long act that runs well over an hour, while Act II breezes by in about 30 minutes. Director Jenny Koons has staged the show almost as if it were presented in the round, so depending on where you’re sitting (and there is also limited seating on the stage), an actor may have their back to you or the sightline and configuration of the actors may block those behind them. That’s not so much of a big deal but there is a minor issue when actors do have their backs to the audience — the volume of their voices decreases giving the suggestion that perhaps they aren’t wearing mics. For people who have hearing issues, that could be problematic but it’s still a minor inconvenience. The costumes by Hugh Hanson and wigs by Kathy Mathews are divine, and the lighting design by Annmarie Duggan keeps everything well-lit but natural, not overly bright like a 1980s sitcom.
The cast is superb. Paul ‘Paulie’ Deo, Jr. as Jack/Ernest and Dylan Marquis Meyers as Algy have a wonderful rapport with each other and can rattle off Wilde’s verbiage like nobody’s business. They also use facial expressions and body language that tells us more about how their characters are feeling than any line of dialogue could. Veronica del Cerro and Alex Manalo are also wonderful as Gwendolen and Cecily, respectively, with del Cerro just going to the brink of total camp in her wonderfully comedic performance, almost winking at the audience. Joseph McGranaghan does some heavy lifting with three different roles, with two of them at one point in the same scene which requires a very quick costume change, and giving all of the characters their own distinct personalities. Susan Lynskey is perfect as the prim and proper Miss Prism, who plays a very pivotal role in the second act’s plot developments. While everyone is fantastic, David Ryan Smith commands the stage and steals the show as Lady Bracknell. His voice is always booming while still playing the role of an upper crust woman, again using body language, facial expressions and the turn of his head to tell us exactly what Lady Bracknell is thinking. The only problem is that — Lady Bracknell is only on stage for one scene in Act I, and Smith is so magnetic you want so much more. She’s finally the main focal point of Act II, and you’ll find it hard to take your eyes off of her. Smith, like del Cerro, is giving some camp but he’s never playing Bracknell as a joke, never reminding the audience that this is a man in drag even though we are quite aware that it is. Smith plays the role with all seriousness which makes it all the more humorous. Really spectacular work from the entire cast.
If you’re in the mood for a light, witty comedy that does its best to poke fun at the upper crust of society, you can’t go wrong with the Baltimore Center Stage production of The Importance of Being Earnest. It’s a classic show with skillful direction and a great cast that easily brings Oscar Wilde’s prose vividly and comically back to life.
The Importance of Being Earnest runs about 2 hours with one 15 minute intermission. The show runs through May 26, 2024. Baltimore Center Stage’s 2024-2025 season will be announced on May 16.
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