Oscar Wilde News

After record-setting attendance during the 34th annual 2011 performances of A Christmas Carol at Theatre Memphis, Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest opens on the Lohrey Stage on January 27, 2012, and runs through February 12, 2012. There is much excitement by Theatre Memphis that the world's most popular comedy of manners will be as well received as the prior 2011-12 season offerings and will contribute to the continuing tickets sales increases that Theatre Memphis has experienced so far this season.

Gulfshore Playhouse is preparing their Scintillating Seventh season with a variety of diverse productions, presentation formats, and venues. Naples' first and finest professional theatre company is growing to six Mainstage productions this year, running from October through April.

The Arvada Center will open Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest directed by the Center's Artistic Producer, Rod A. Lansberry on Tuesday, January 24, 2012.

The Arvada Center Artistic Producer and show Director, Rod A. Lansberry has announced the cast for The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. The show marks Lansberry's directing debut in the Center's Black Box Theater. The Importance of Being Earnest will run January 24 - February 19, 2012. Previews are January 20 - 22nd at 7:30pm nightly. For all show dates and ticket information go to www.arvadacenter.org or call 720-898-7200.

The Crown Center has announed their upcoming schedule of events from February 2012 - December 2012.

The Meeting* hosted by Justin Sayre, called "a riotously funny and campy variety show" by Next Magazine, and 'a rollicking, wry affair complete with funny political commentary on current events' by Gay City News, will present their newest edition on Thursday, January 19 at 9:30 PM. The Meeting* - the monthly gathering of the I.O.S. (International Order of Sodomites) - is a gay romp through politics (sexual and otherwise), social news, music, comedy skits, and other important life-changing information.

Peter Gill, returns to his native city with a portrait of provincial life in 1890s Russia. Based on Chekhov's short story, A Provincial Life follows one young man's struggle to exchange his privileged position for the life of a worker.

Today we are talking to the cultural raconteur, inimitable political commentator and monologue artist Justin Sayre all about the 2012 edition of his solo show THE MEETING, a gathering of the I.O.S. (International Order Of Sodomites), which returns to The Duplex on Thursday, January 19 at 9:30 PM for a spotlight show dedicated to the one and only Dolly Parton. Much like a modern-day Quentin Crisp (who Sayre has saluted in past engagements), Sayre's erudite wit and idiosyncratic views on society have made him one of the hottest names in the downtown experimental theatre scene and in this all-encompassing conversation we discuss his many influences - ranging from Sandra Bernhard to fellow InDepth InterView participant Margaret Cho to Lenny Bruce, Jack Benny, George Carlin and beyond - as well as what we can expect from the upcoming shows in this, THE MEETING's third successful year onstage. Additionally, Sayre shares his views on many of the GLBT issues of today and generously defines camp as he sees it - and his "supernatural instinct" for it - as well as gives us a taste of the utterly unique performance style he employs in his shows that is unmistakably all his own. Plus, Justin's takes on the Kardashians, Michelle Bachmann, Rick Santorum, Sarah Palin and much, much more!

Liam Neeson will be among the upcoming guests of this week's LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON on NBC.

Albuquerque Theatre Guild has announced the following upcoming events.

The Old Red Lion Theatre's production of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest transfers to the Theatre Royal Haymarket for 2 weeks only from 31 January 2012, immediately following the end of its run at the Old Red Lion Theatre in Islington.

La compañía EGOS Teatre volverá al Teatro Fernán Gómez de Madrid el próximo 17 de marzo para presentar en la capital su más reciente producción, El Crimen de Lord Arthur Savile. Este musical, que hasta hace poco se ha podido ver en catalán en la Sala Gran del TNC de Barcelona, está basado en el relato homónimo de Oscar Wilde.

Today in 1939, The Importance of Being Earnest opened at the Vanderbilt Theatre, where it ran for 61 performances. Written by Oscar Wilde, the show was first performed on 14 February 1895 at St. James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personae in order to escape burdensome social obligations. Working within the social conventions of late Victorian London, the play's major themes are the triviality with which it treats institutions as serious as marriage, and the resulting satire of Victorian ways. Its high farce and witty dialogue have helped make The Importance of Being Earnest Wilde's most enduringly popular play.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) announced today the return of British film and stage actor Simon Callow to Chicago for CST's 25th Anniversary engagement of his acclaimed Being Shakespeare-a virtuosic solo performance that weaves together excerpts from William Shakespeare's plays and poems, breathing new life into his unforgettable characters and the real man behind the legend.

Simon Callow will be returning to London's Trafalgar Studios 1 this March to reprise his highly acclaimed show BEING SHAKESPEARE for a strictly limited season from 7 to 31 March, before heading across the seas to appear at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York and then at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre at the Broadway Playhouse. In BEING SHAKESPEARE, Simon brings to life Shakespeare's unforgettable characters as well as the real man behind the legend. The play had a record-breaking run in the West End last summer, following a hugely successful tour and staging at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2010.

Schauspielhaus Zürich Presents AN IDEAL HUSBAND from January 9 to February 29, 2012.

Ricky Gervais, who is hosting the 69th annual "Golden Globes," sat down with Matt Lauer for an exclusive interview that will air on NBC's DATELINE on Sunday, January 8 at 7pm ET. In the interview, Gervais talks to Lauer about the "Golden Globes," and says "I do it my way. I get final edit on everything. And everything I do turns out like I wanted… And they don't know what I'm gonna say. And they won't know what I'm gonna say till I say it."

Melissa McCarthy will be honored with an Oscar Wilde award at the popular Irish party held during Oscars week. She joins Michelle Williams as an honoree at the seventh annual "Oscar Wilde: Honoring the Irish in Film" which will on be held on February 23rd at Bad Robot, JJ Abrams' Santa Monica production company.

Ricky Gervais, who is hosting the 69th annual "Golden Globes," sat down with Matt Lauer for an exclusive interview that will air on NBC's DATELINE on Sunday, January 8 at 7pm ET. In the interview, Gervais talks to Lauer about the "Golden Globes," and says "I do it my way. I get final edit on everything. And everything I do turns out like I wanted… And they don't know what I'm gonna say. And they won't know what I'm gonna say till I say it."

Acclaimed actress Jessica Chastain, winner of 2011 New York, Los Angeles and Chicago Film Critics and National Board of Review Awards and recently nominated for Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards, will make her Broadway debut starring in the Tony Award®-winning play The Heiress.