Playwright: Oscar Wilde. At: Remy Bumppo Theatre Company, 2257 N. Lincoln. Tickets: 773-404-7336; www.remybumppo.org; $40-$55. Runs through: Jan. 9, 2011
All the plays of Oscar Wilde have become iconic, none moreso than The Importance of Being Earnest, which also is his best. It's brilliantly witty and laugh-out-loud funny (not the same thing), it pokes fun at social conventions (although it upholds them) and it skewers many devices of the 19th-century well-made play, which still held ground when Earnest was written. It's about two socially proper young men who lead sub rosa double lives, as Wilde himself was doing at the time, and that probably is—or should be—its chief metaphysical merit for LGBT audiences.
Earnest is a natural choice for Remy Bumppo Theatre Company, with its literate tastes and core of classically-trained actors. It's not surprising that they've done an admirable job in bringing it to the stage, directed by Shawn Douglas, although on opening night it still was studied and careful. A week of performances should allow the company to achieve a fully-confident and relaxed presentation.
If anyone does not know the story, it's set in England in 1895, where eligible young bachelor friends, Jack and Algernon, pursue romances with Gwendolyn and Cecily, respectively. Gwendolyn and Algernon are first cousins, and Cecily is Jack's ward, leading to various complications. Gwendolyn's formidable and dominating mother, Lady Bracknell, also bestrides the play like a colossus. A surprise ending sets all to right as the lovers are united.
As the flirting pairs, Greg Matthew Anderson (Algernon), Paul Hurley (Jack), Kelsey Brennan (Cecily) and Linda Gillum (Gwendolyn) are handsome and well-matched, elegantly and stylishly costumed by Melissa Tochia (when did you last see a panoply of spats?). Veterans Annabel Armour and Ted Hoerl are capable and quite amusing as Miss Prism (keeper of a dark secret) and Rev. Chasuble. William J. Watt is properly dried wry as several butlers. And then there's David Darlow as Lady Bracknell. He's not the first man to play Bracknell (something the late James Deuter did in the very same theater some years back), which takes nothing away from the starchy acidity of his carefully modulated performance, squeezed into Torchia's chin-to-toes iron-clad costume. Using great economy of physical movement, Darlow's Bracknell never raises her voice or loses her cool for a moment, giving the impression she would explode like Bunbury if even a single corset stay were loosened.
Richard and Jacqueline Penrod's scenic design continues the Remy Bumppo tradition of creating a rich look on a modest budget. In the 3/4-round stage, the floor and back wall are the principal scenic spaces. The Penrods borrow the elaborate geometrics of a backgammon board for the floor, and give a little nod to Victorian pop-up books for the wall, both reflecting the gamesmanship and surprises which are the essence of Earnest.
