STAGE PRESS WEEKLY - JULY 4, 2002

Theater Reviews:

THE IMPORTANCE of BEING EARNEST

A review by Mara Lesemann-Fiorletta

Oscar Wilde's last play, The Importance of Being Earnest, is subtitled "A Trivial Comedy for Serious People." In some ways, this delightful 1894 play is exactly that: it's a light-hearted farce in which two aristocratic young men, Algernon Moncrieff and John Worthing, lie repeatedly and obviously to everyone about everything. They also create imaginary people (a brother in one case, a friend in the other) whose "misbehavior" gives the two friends excuses to come and go as they please. Earnest is, on the surface, the story of the two men, the women they fall in love with, and, of course, the unexpected complications from their alter-egos. It is, of course, much more as well: a sharp-tongued criticism of the artificiality and dishonesty of society that stands up well a hundred-plus years later. It is chockfull of pithy and humorous one-liners, my favorite being Lady Bracknell's comment in the third act: "To speak frankly, I am not in favor of long engagements. They give people the opportunity of finding out each other's character before marriage, which I think is never advisable." (Of course, I may like that so much because my husband and I were engaged for a mere three months ).

Love Creek Productions' current version of this modern classic truly does justice to the play. Kelly Barrett put this production together, and Beverly Bullock is credited with both the direction and design of the show. Ms. Bullock has done a terrific job in both areas. The performance is crisp and well-paced; the simple, set is both elegant and evocative of a by-gone era; and the costumes (credited to The Costume Collection) are wonderful. Michael Cavaliere (John Worthing) and Gregg Dubner (Algernon Moncrieff) are both very good as proper, lying English gentlemen, although Mr. Cavaliere's otherwise fine performance would benefit from playing it a bit straighter, particularly in the first act. Ms. Bullock appears as Lady Bracknell and gives a terrific performance as this ultra-uptight woman, while Christine Bardes and Kelly Barrett as Gwendolen and Cecily, respectively, are the very picture of young English gentlewomen.

But the performance of the evening is by Nicholas Stannard who practically steals the show in the dual role of Merriman the butler, and Lane, the manservant. Mr. Stannard offers the ramrod stiff deportment of the prototypical English butler while perfectly delivering straightfaced lines in response to the likes of this:

Algernon: Lane, you're a perfect pessimist.

Lane: I do my best to give satisfaction, sir.

This fine cast is rounded out by Geoffrey Dawe as the Reverend Chasuble and Catherine Hennessy as Miss Prism.

The one criticism is more of a minor quibble: the country setting of the second and third acts is illustrated by the sound of a bird chirping This is good once, OK two or three times, but it gets, annoying and unnecessary beyond that. Overall, though, this is a terrific performance of a classic play, and well worth seeing.

The Importance of Being Earnest, The Beckman Theater, 314 West 54th Street at ATA. Tickets are $15. Love Creek Productions can be reached at (2 12) 769-7973 for more information.

Mara Lesemann Fiorletta is a theater critic in New York City.