Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
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Also this issue: Taking the Stage Feast on Furniture Artquicks Wonders in Wood Day of the Poet BigSmorgasbord WunderWerk Happy Alliance See Red |
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June 5-11, 2003
artpicks
The Importance of Being Earnest
When Oscar Wilde denoted his play, The Importance of Being Earnest, a "trivial comedy for serious people," we can all assume he meant it in a good way: With its implausibly stretched plot that hints at social niceties and nasties, Earnest keeps company with most of Shakespeare's comedies -- all considered fine yet brazenly reliant on all sorts of self-conscious devices (mistaken or concealed identity being most certainly one). So it's not only appropriate but satisfying to see the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival tackle Wilde's tale as a start to their season of classics Shakespearean and otherwise: Jack (Richard Haratine) and Algy (Matt Dettmer), for various reasons, both masquerade as mysterious Earnest, clashing with redoubtable Lady Bracknell (Jane Ridely) and wooing Gwendolyn and Cecily (Megan Noble and Krista Forster) along the way. The production promises to play off the text's blend of outrageous humor and demure innocence, disguising nod-nod-wink-wink lines with the batting of Gwendolyn's eyelashes.
The Importance of Being Earnest, June 6-29, $23-$32, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, DeSales University, Labuda Center for Performing Arts, 2755 Station Ave., Center Valley, 610-282-3192.
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