Photos: First Look at HAMLET and THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST at Oak Park Festival Theatre

Oak Park Festival Theatre is currently presenting William Shakespeare's Hamlet and Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest in repertory as part of its 2026 summer season, marking the first time in the company's history the two classics have been staged together. Check out photos from both productions.

The repertory season invites audiences to experience Shakespeare and Wilde in conversation across centuries while watching the same company of actors navigate two dramatically different theatrical worlds throughout the summer.

Though vastly different in tone, Hamlet and The Importance of Being Earnest explore many of the same themes, including the tension between performance and truth, and the ways family, society, and power shape personal identity. Together, the productions examine what happens when individuals are forced to navigate expectations imposed upon them by the world around them.

Directed by Oak Park Festival Theatre Producing Artistic Director Peter G. Andersen, Hamlet runs through August 15. Shakespeare's tragedy follows Prince Hamlet, who returns to Denmark following his father's death and his mother's sudden remarriage. When the ghost of the late king reveals a devastating accusation, Hamlet embarks on a relentless search for truth that tests the limits of loyalty, love, and revenge.

The production stars Drew Bos as Hamlet, Brenna Distassio as Laertes, Olive Gallagher as Ophelia, Pedro Jimenez as Rosencrantz, Gabriel Armstrong as Guildenstern, Patrice Egleston as Polonius, Jodi Gage as Gertrude, Josh Carpenter as Claudius, Lucas Prizant as Horatio, and Charls Sedgwick Hall as the Ghost, Player, and Gravedigger.

Making her Oak Park Festival Theatre debut, Kathryn Walsh directs The Importance of Being Earnest, which runs through August 14. Oscar Wilde's celebrated comedy follows Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff as they each assume the name "Ernest" in pursuit of romance, setting off a chain of mistaken identities, secret engagements, and comic misunderstandings.

Season Pass packages, which include admission to both productions at a discounted rate, are currently available.

Photo Credit: Josh Darr