Lynn Redgrave has been cast as the formidable Lady Bracknell in the Ahmanson Theatre's upcoming mounting The Importance of Being Earnest. The actress is currently appearing as Mrs. Culver in another English comedy of manners--Somerset Maugham's The Constant Wife at the Roundabout Theatre Company.
Sir Peter Hall has signed on to stage the Wilde classic at the California-based Center Theatre Group's Ahmanson Theatre from January 17th to March 5th, 2006. The Importance of Being Earnest traces the the romantic mayhem that ensues when two young men decide that they would like to take on the more appealing name of the title. Lady Bracknell is the opinionated, high society aunt of one of the young men, and stands in the way of his union to his beloved.Redgrave received a Tony nomination for her one-woman show Shakespeare for my Father, and has also appeared on Broadway in Moon Over Buffalo, The Master Builder, A Little Hotel on the Side, Love Letters, Saint Joan, Aren't We All?, Mrs. Warren's Profession (for which she received a Tony nomination) and Black Comedy/White Lies. She also played Joanne in the Sondheim Celebration production of Company at the Kennedy Center. A member of the distinguished theatrical dynasty that also includes sister Vanessa, she is also a respected film actress who was Oscar-nominated for her turns in Georgy Girl and Gods and Monsters. Other screen credits include Kinsey, Peter Pan, Spider, Shine and Tom Jones.
The CTG's Ahmanson's 2005-2006 season will include productions of Sidney Kingsley's Dead End (Aug. 28-Oct. 16), Greg Morrison, Lisa Lambert, Bob Martin and Don McKellar's new musicalThe Drowsy Chaperone (Nov. 8-Dec. 24), the special events Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake (March 8-19, 2006) and Dame Edna: Back With A Vengeance (March 28-April 9, 2006) as well as Robert Wilson, Tom Waits and William S. Burroughs' The Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets (April 22-June 11, 2006). Also, a new pre-Broadway musical that has yet to be announced will also be staged. The Ahmanson is located at
135 North Grand Ave. in Los Angeles, CA. Subscriptions and tickets can be ordered by calling (213) 628-2772 or
visit www.TaperAhmanson.com.