Review - The Importance of Being Earnest: Namely You

How remarkably tragic it is that the triumphant opening night of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, perhaps the greatest comedy ever penned in the English language, was also the event that led to the author's personal downfall and eventual public and financial ruin.

It was on this February 14th, 1895 evening at London's St. James's Theatre that The Marquess of Queensberry (yes, the guy who came up with rules to keep boxers from killing each other) attempted to publically embarrass Wilde for having an intimate relationship with his son, Lord AlFred Douglas, by hurling a bouquet of rotten vegetables to his feet at curtain call. Though the plot was discovered and the Marquees was denied entrance to the theatre, his accusations of Wilde being a Sodomite (accurate, but illegal) forced the playwright to sue him for libel. A series of court cases revealed Wilde's unspoken life and he wound up serving two years of hard labor, convicted of the charge of gross indecency with another man. After being released he spent his last years in Paris, broke and forgotten, before passing away at the age of 46.

And yet Wilde's final theatre piece, subtitled "A Trivial Comedy for Serious People" is a divine scoop of fluff representing the artist at his most scathingly clever. But while the last major production of Earnest to hit this area - David Schweizer's mounting seen at Paper Mill - was a madcap laugh-riot, the new Broadway outing helmed by Brian Bedford takes a subtler, more realistic approach to the piece; gently charming its way through three acts and establishing more romance and empathy. Classic observations such as, "More than half of modern culture depends on what one shouldn't read," and, "In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity, is the vital thing," still land, but inspire more chuckles than guffaws. And while my personal preference would be to play up the individual jokes a bit more, you certainly can't fault Bedford or his exceptional company for a moment of this delightful production.

Santino Fontana appears as Algernon, the young London aristocrat who has invented a fictional friend named Bunbury, whose frequent need for care during bouts with bad health gives him a good reason to excuse himself from dull social obligations. His real life pal (David Furr) is known as Jack when he's dealing with the serious matter of taking care of his ward, Cecily (Charlotte Parry), out in the country, but reinvents himself as Jack's fictional brother, Ernest, when carousing with his friends in town.

Romantic complications arise when Jack proposes to Algernon's cousin, Gwendolyn (Sara Topham), only to find her love for him has been prompted by a desire to marry a man named Ernest. Later, Algernon becomes smitten with Cecily, only to find that she too has latched on to this fashion of desiring a husband named Ernest.

Hovering over the romantic dealings is Bedford himself, as Gwendolyn's socially-conscious mother, Lady Bracknell. Played straight and without a moment of camp, Bedford's Bracknell puts up a shield of haughtiness to cover her fear of not giving the best of appearances; giving her stern exterior a layer of sympathetic softness. (Exemplary of the production's realistic approach is that Bracknell's most famous comic line, one that is often used to compare and define different interpretations of the role, seems to be uttered here with no intention of getting a laugh.)

But it's the frivolity of the young lovers that makes Earnest fizz and Bedford has produced a formidable foursome. Fontana's Algernon is a snarky adolescent who matures as he grows more and more in love with Cecily; played by Parry with breezily controlling femininity. Topham's Gwendolyn is a youthful replica of her mother's social-climbing seriousness and much of the fun of Furr's awkwardly proper Jack comes from how the scenes where he courts Gwendolyn mirror those where he tries to win Lady Bracknell's approval.

Nobody tops Paxton Whitehead when it comes to playing jolly old English gentlemen and his skills are put to fine use as Reverend Chasuble; particularly when paired with Dana Ivey, whose no-nonsense teacher Miss Prism melts just a bit into girlish flirtatiousness in his presence.

Desmond Heeley's sets and costumes provide a subdued elegance to the affair, perfectly in line with Bedford's gracefully engaging evening.

Photos by Joan Marcus: Top: Sara Topham, David Furr and Brian Bedford; Bottom: Dana Ivey and Paxton Whitehead.

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"I'm just an instrument through which La Mama functions. I never dictate.... Maybe it's fatalistic, but I know La Mama has its own spirit and if that spirit wishes to keep going, it will. All I can do is be a part of it."

-- Ellen Stewart

The grosses are out for the week ending 1/16/2011 and we've got them all right here in BroadwayWorld.com's grosses section.

Up for the week was: THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST (5.3%), LOMBARDI (2.1%), SPIDER-MAN TURN OFF THE DARK (0.1%),

Down for the week was: RAIN: A TRIBUTE TO THE BEATLES ON BROADWAY (-24.3%), MARY POPPINS (-12.6%), AMERICAN IDIOT (-12.0%), THE LION KING (-11.8%), JERSEY BOYS (-10.7%), BILLY ELLIOT: THE MUSICAL (-8.1%), MEMPHIS (-7.9%), THE ADDAMS FAMILY (-7.6%), Colin Quinn: LONG STORY SHORT (-6.3%), TIME STANDS STILL (-5.6%), MAMMA MIA! (-4.9%), next to normal (-4.9%), Million Dollar Quartet (-2.7%), CHICAGO (-2.4%), DRIVING MISS DAISY (-1.8%), LA CAGE AUX FOLLES (-1.7%), WICKED (-1.7%), THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (-0.7%),

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