Centerstage performs Wilde's classic comedy
With so much of our modern entertainment consisting of sitcoms, our society owes a debt, in a way, to the original master of such situational wit and banter, Oscar Wilde, and his arguably most popular play, The Importance of Being Earnest. This unapologetically entertaining show is playing through Nov. 8 at Centerstage Theater, and the production is a fresh take on an old favorite.
The stage opens to actor Luke Robertson, portraying dandy Algernon Moncrieff, sitting at the piano and casually playing a tune. His first interactions are with his butler Lane (Bill Kux), whose humor was stiff, but wry - convincingly servile, but also effortlessly funny. Although Kux, who also played the second butler Merriman, had fewer lines, he played each one to its full comedic potential.
In short order, the play introduces Jack Worthing (Ben Huber), who has been going by the name of Ernest, in order to have some freedom from his life in the country, where he is guardian to an 18-year old girl, Cecily Cardew, played by Nicole Lowrance. If you don't know the plot of The Importance of Being Earnest, this is about where it gets too complicated to satisfactorily explain.
Robertson and Huber quickly set the affected, but dynamically hilarious and youthful tone of the play. Algernon, immune to the constraints of etiquette, bounces his wit off of the uptight Jack, relishing moments when he can tease his friend. However, Robertson also lets his character laugh at himself at times, adding to his charm and likability.
The character of Lady Bracknell, or Aunt Augusta, was played by Laurence O'Dwyer in drag, a casting decision described as simply giving the part to the right actor.
According to theater dramaturg Gavin Witt, the part of Lady Bracknell has been played by a man in a number of other productions of the play, although in this case, the effect was not as "campy" as it might have been. O'Dwyer, who was recently called "Best Actor" for 2009 by Baltimore Magazine, was especially comedic, although casually so rather than forcefully.
The stage opens to actor Luke Robertson, portraying dandy Algernon Moncrieff, sitting at the piano and casually playing a tune. His first interactions are with his butler Lane (Bill Kux), whose humor was stiff, but wry - convincingly servile, but also effortlessly funny. Although Kux, who also played the second butler Merriman, had fewer lines, he played each one to its full comedic potential.
In short order, the play introduces Jack Worthing (Ben Huber), who has been going by the name of Ernest, in order to have some freedom from his life in the country, where he is guardian to an 18-year old girl, Cecily Cardew, played by Nicole Lowrance. If you don't know the plot of The Importance of Being Earnest, this is about where it gets too complicated to satisfactorily explain.
Robertson and Huber quickly set the affected, but dynamically hilarious and youthful tone of the play. Algernon, immune to the constraints of etiquette, bounces his wit off of the uptight Jack, relishing moments when he can tease his friend. However, Robertson also lets his character laugh at himself at times, adding to his charm and likability.
The character of Lady Bracknell, or Aunt Augusta, was played by Laurence O'Dwyer in drag, a casting decision described as simply giving the part to the right actor.
According to theater dramaturg Gavin Witt, the part of Lady Bracknell has been played by a man in a number of other productions of the play, although in this case, the effect was not as "campy" as it might have been. O'Dwyer, who was recently called "Best Actor" for 2009 by Baltimore Magazine, was especially comedic, although casually so rather than forcefully.
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