The very essence of romance is uncertainty. If I ever marry, I’ll try to forget the fact.
– From “The Importance of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde
By SHARON EBERSON
Director Jenny Koons, like many of us, was introduced to The Importance of Being Earnest in high school. What she recalls about that first reading is that, unlike a lot of required reading, writer Oscar Wilde knew how to get a laugh.
Today when she thinks about the play, as she directs her own streamlined adaptation for Pittsburgh Public Theater, what comes to mind is still the fun of it all, but also, relationships and rules, and how nothing much has changed on that front.
at Pittsburgh Public Theater. (Image: Michael Henninger)
In Earnest, we are reminded of the etiquette of courtship in Victorian England: rules distributed in seasonal books as unassailable do’s and don’ts on how to catch a spouse.
Koons’ adaptation will include excerpted rules from the late 1890s, “which are not so far from Cosmopolitan’s ‘20 Way to Find a Man,’ or how soon do you text someone back after the first date, or TikToks on what jeans to wear,” she said.
The Importance of Being Earnest takes us along the rocky course of love among the rules for three couples: Algernon and Cecily; Jack and Gwendolyn; and Miss Prism and Dr. Chasuble (the latter two, more of a comment on religion and morality, but nevertheless, a pairing).
“The play follows three partnerships that do not follow the rules of love, and how do they navigate that?,” Koons said. “It feels similar to the do’s and don’ts on social media, but then, the rules were two books a season; now, we are constantly scrolling.”
The language of the play is still all Wilde’s, the director emphasized, but to make events seem more contemporary and relatable, the actors will not be asked to use any accent other than what comes naturally.
As in many other previous productions, the role of Gwendolyn’s mother, the formidable, shrewd, acerbic Lady Bracknell will be played by a man, New Yori-based actor David Ryan Smith. It is not tradition, however, that inspired Koons’ casting.
It’s a character, the director notes, who came up from lowly circumstances and married well, despite rules against such things.
“I can’t speak to other productions, but I have worked with David before and thought of him immediately,” Koons said. “I even told the designers not to think of him as a man in drag but as the character, Lady Bracknell.”
A discovery as the director delved into the play and its characters was the high stakes presented by Lady Bracknell’s lost relation and a reunion that resolves many of the problems that have preceded it. The genius of Wilde is transforming tragic circumstances into a satisfying and very funny resolution.
This co-production with Baltimore Center Stage includes actors from Maryland and Pittsburgh, New York and Los Angeles. With Smith, the cast comprises Veronica del Cerro as Gwendolyn; Paul Deo Jr. as Jack Worthing; Susan M. Lynskey as Miss Prism; Alex Manalo as Cecily Cardew; Joseph McGranaghan as Chasuble; and Dylan Marquis Meyers as Algernon.
at Pittsburgh Public Theater. (Image: Michael Henninger)
While Koons reacquainted herself with Earnest while working for Baltimore Center Stage on another project, Pittsburgh Public Theater has a history with the play that includes productions in 2006 and 1978-79. The company also produced a Zoom version of The Importance of Being Earnest that was among the first online events when the world shut down during the early days of the pandemic in 2020.
The thought of laughing by herself at screens during that time, drew her back to the desire of sharing a laugh in the company of others at the O’Reilly Theater.
“I was saying to the cast, we are watching three couples navigating and falling in love, and we are not seeing many love stories these days. What a time, what a moment to be doing a play about love … not just romantic love, but love of friends and family. And it’s a play, remember, that despite being so old, it can make people laugh. That is a magic trick.”
It is magic the director is eager to share with audiences when the play begins previews on March 27, with opening night March 30, through April 14, 2024.
“I think we have all gone into this with the great vision for creating a thing that is beautiful and that makes people laugh with strangers,” Koons said. “There are no accents to figure out. It runs two hours, including intermission. It is an open invitation as spring is arriving to laugh with people you don’t know, and watch people fall in love.”
TICKETS AND DETAILS
Pittsburgh Public Theater’s production of The Importance of Being Earnest is at the O’Reilly Theater, Downtown, March 27-April 14, 2024. Tickets: visit https://ppt.org/production/87739/the-importance-of-being-earnest of call 412-316-1600. Events include Spilling the Tea Drag Brunch on April 13, 2024: https://www.facebook.com/events/947425927166937/?ref=newsfeed
Categories: Feature Stories, Our Posts, Show Previews
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