Photos: A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE Opened at the Walnut Street Theatre

The Walnut Street Theatre's Mainstage production of Oscar Wilde's classic comedy A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE opened last night at the Walnut Street Theatre. Directed by Producing Artistic Director Bernard Havard, A Woman of No Importance holds an unfiltered mirror up to the bourgeois life of Victorian England, while extolling the virtues of robust-and refreshing-American values.

See photos below!

A beautiful, wealthy, American woman travels to England seeking to marry a titled aristocrat. The incomparable Oscar Wilde employs this deceptively simple plot to masterfully mock British society-and the Englishness of the English. In this classic comedy of manners, Wilde holds an unfiltered mirror up to the bourgeois life of Victorian England, while extolling the virtues of robust-and refreshing-American values. Cultures clash, long-held secrets are exposed, and A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE has the final word, as the master of biting wit satirizes the roles we play.

Well known for his mastery of wit and satire, Oscar Wilde penned A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE in the height of his career in the 1890s. The play premiered in 1893 at London's Haymarket Theatre. Wilde pulled no punches when criticizing the social constructs of the Victorian era in which he lived. Women held very few rights compared to men during this time, and Wilde tackled the societal double standards that pervaded the late 19th century.