It’s hard to resist a play that includes probably the 19th Century’s greatest food scene. The Importance of Being Earnest is the current offering from Insight Theatre Company, scampering across the stage at the Grandel Theatre. It’s Oscar Wilde at his best, one funny line after another.
One of the main reasons this production glows so brightly is the combination of Will Bonfiglio and Pete Winfrey. Bonfiglio plays Algernon Moncrieff, and Winfrey is his chum John Worthing. The two are bachelor men-about-town, living on inheritances and having a fine time doing so, but Worthing has become smitten with Algie’s cousin Gwendolyn and intends to propose to her.
They’re expecting cousin Gwendolyn and her mother Lady Bracknell, for tea when the play opens. Gwendolyn knows her suitor as Earnest – that’s the name Worthing uses when he’s in London, up from his country house. The proposal comes when Algie drags Lady Bracknell off to another room for something, and her sudden return throws thing into a tizz.
Bonfiglio and Winfrey bounce off each other like they’ve been doing it for years, all in the droll, arch style that so marks this script. It’s a pleasure to watch. Lady Bracknell, brought to us in full battle-axe style by Thomas Murray, is utterly splendid. I’m not sure when the role was first cast with a male, but contemporary revivals of the play have used actors such as Geoffrey Rush and Brian Bedford to great effect.
Gwendolyn, as smitten with her suitor as he is with her, is Gwen Wotowa, who brings a little more gravitas to the role than sometimes is seen. Jack/Earnest’s ward Cecily, who lives at his country house is Julia Crump, all pinkness and fluff, to the dismay of her governess, Miss Prism, Ruth Ezell. (Yes, that Ruth Ezell, from the Nine Network, making her professional stage debut.) The country rector, played by Steve Springmeyer, and Miss Prism seem to be sympatico, another potential romance, all played with nice subtlety.
The heart of this play is the dialogue, which is rapid-fire and demanding. Director Ed Reggi has chosen to use English accents for the show, fine and fitting, and the dialect consultant Jeff Cummings has done yeoman work with the cast. Because the lines are rapid-fire, one quip often immediately following another, the timing of their delivery is crucial, giving the audience a chance to react without drowning out the next line. That, too, is handled well nearly all the time. The Grandel space continues to be a challenge for hearing, though. Mostly, the cast aims toward the middle of the nearly 180-degree sweep of the audience, and that works pretty decently. But in one instance on opening night, one line was aimed toward stage right – and that half of the audience were the only ones that were laughing. There were a few instances of lines seeming to be lost from too-rapid or too-soft delivery, but those were transient problems that righted themselves.
Kudos to Laura Hanson for her lovely work, for the men as well as the women; you may put Lady Bracknell in whichever category suits you. (Whoever chose the wig for the character deserves special acknowledgment.) The sets, two drawing rooms and a garden, come from Lucas Shryock.
The food scene? Early in the second act, there’s a scene dealing with muffins, including the deathless line, “I can’t eat muffins in an agitated manner.” A strong recommendation overall, especially for those of us who enjoy banter. Wilde’s gift for offering a fast pace in a sedate setting rises to its peak here.
The Importance of Being Earnest
through July 22
Insight Theatre Company
The Grandel Theatre
3610 Grandel Square
What a wonderful show! We saw its final performance today, and commented afterward that we'd never laughed so often throughout a play. What a wonderful play, presented with the perfect actors,
Posted by: M | July 22, 2018 at 07:37 PM