The Westport Country Playhouse is currently offering, as its 95th season opener, a revival of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. One of my favorite plays of all time, Oscar Wilde’s classic comedy of manners is always worth a visit, even under lesser conditions in Westport. But first, the good news. Any chance to see a live production of this delirious masterpiece is worth it. At WCP we can enjoy a serviceable, if not sparkling production of the great comedy.
Two carefree English bachelors, Jack (Michael Raver) and Algernon (Anthony Michael Martinez), lead double lives. Jack pretends to have a ne’er-do-well brother named Ernest in the city, while Algernon creates a sickly friend, Bunbury, when he visits the country. Complications arise when Jack falls for Gwendolyn (Katy Tang) and Algernon falls for Jack’s ward, Cecily (Kristen Hahn). For reasons only Wilde knows, both women are fixated on the name Ernest, leading to a series of misunderstandings, mistaken identities, and revelations. Add to the mix Gwendolyn’s imperious mother, Lady Bracknell (Christine Pedi), who is no fan of Jack, and the stage is set for farcical fun.
Although many in the cast have some good scenes (how could they not with the verbal gold Wilde has provided for them?), the central problem is that director Melissa Rain Anderson has decided to go over-the-top, allowing cartoonish performances throughout. These characters are not cartoons. They are deadly serious people which, ultimately, makes their actions all the funnier. The uneven ensemble is led by Pedi in the plum role of Lady Bracknell which, in most productions, steals the show. Although she recently played Lady B at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, Pedi’s performance was shaky at WCP and the actress seemed under-rehearsed, still searching for both lines and motivation.
In smaller roles, Broadway veteran Jan Neuberger plays Miss Prism, Cecily’s guardian, with a joyful exuberance, and her chemistry with the besotted Rev. Chasuble (Triney Sandoval) is playful and fun to watch. I enjoyed both young women in the show, with Hahn having plenty of fun in the sequence where she convinces Algernon that they’ve been engaged for three months despite the fact that they’ve only just met. Both Martinez and Raver show promise in their roles, but are ultimately undermined by the misguided direction.
James J. Fenton’s expansive set design, which includes a grand double staircase, works better in some scenes than others. It is unnecessary in Algernon’s flat, where Anderson feels compelled to have her actors charge up and down it for little reason. It also seems out-of-place in the garden set where it towers above the country setting below. I felt Annie J. Le’s costuming was smart and precise for all the men, but fell short for the women, whose clothing looked like sad rentals and off-the-rack. Another jarring note that must be mentioned was that Hahn apparently was miked for the performance I attended, giving her an otherworldly sound. Although I obviously have misgivings, the sheer joy of hearing Wilde’s delicious epigrams one more time might be enough for theatre-goers to make that trek to Westport.
The Importance of Being Earnest continues at the Westport Country Playhouse, 25 Powers Court, Westport, Connecticut through November 15. For further information or ticket reservations call the theatre box office at: 203.227.4177 or visit: www.westportplayhouse.org.
Tom Holehan is one of the founders of the Connecticut Critics Circle, a frequent contributor to WPKN Radio’s “State of the Arts” program and the Stratford Crier and Artistic Director of Stratford’s Square One Theatre Company. He welcomes comments at: tholehan@yahoo.com. His reviews and other theatre information can be found on the Connecticut Critics Circle website: www.ctcritics.org
