THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST to Play LA Athletic Club, 10/17-25

For four nights only, the exclusive Los Angeles Athletic Club invites the public to attend a very special Victorian tea party and witness the hilarious courtships and confusions of Oscar Wilde's timeless comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest. This innovative experience delivered by director Avital Shira and Pop Up LA Productions sets the glittering world of Victorian gentry against the backdrop of Downtown Los Angeles to explore what it means to be truly "earnest" in a modern world as obsessed with status, public perception, and double lives as 1890s England ever was.

As the audience steps through the front doors of the LA Athletic Club, the famed American social club founded in the same decade as the play was written, they will be transported back in time by the beautiful architecture of this historic site, the performers walking amongst them, and some surprise interactive elements including a special "Earnest" themed menu. The goal of this production is to immerse contemporary citizens of Los Angeles in the lush frivolity of Victorian society, so they may eavesdrop on the social lives of these characters as intimately as they would those of their dearest friends.

As its inaugural performance, Pop Up LA founders Simone McAlonen and Adele Han Li hope that "The Earnest Project" will be the first of many productions that infuse the architectural, historic and cultural gems of Los Angeles with new narratives and perspectives. They are especially dedicated to making work that contributes to the cultural and artistic renaissance of Downtown LA.

Performances of The Importance of Being Earnest take place October 17, 18, 24, 25 at 8 PM at The Los Angeles Athletic Club, 431 W 7th St., Los Angeles, CA 90014. For more info and tickets, visit http://theearnestproject.com.