March 18, 19 & 20, 2011
in the Fr. Frank Krische Student and Alumni Center CAST
Jack Worthing - John Kyle Algernon Moncrieff - Corbin Eakes* Gwendolen Fairfax - Katherine Moore Cecily Cardew - Callie Crawford Lady Bracknell - Katie Schieferecke* Miss Prism - Ann Baldridge Rev. Canon Chasuble - Patrick Moore Lane - Gabe Hillebert Merriman - Jackson Schrickel Directed by Mr. Mark Radziejeski Stage Manager - Kassy Short PRODUCTION CREW STAGE CREW Marya Feldt * Catherine Padgett, Sylvia Padgett LIGHTING CONTROL Corey Cochran HAIR & MAKEUP Marya Feldt *, Gabby Marmon Catherine Padgett, Sylvia Padgett SCENERY, PROPS AND COSTUMES Aaron Broxterman *, Marya Feldt * Abby Hamel *, Matt Hamel * Emily Kyle, Gabby Marmon Liz Olson *, Catherine Padgett Sylvia Padgett, Kassy Short * denotes member of Thespian Troupe 7275 |
ABOUT THE PLAY
The Importance of being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at St. James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personae in order to escape burdensome obligations. Oscar Wilde once said that the play's theme was "That we should treat all trivial things in life very seriously, and all serious things of life with a sincere and studied triviality." While much theatre of the time tackled serious social and political issues, The Importance of Being Earnest is superficially about nothing at all. It "refuses to play the game" of other dramatists of the period, for instance George Bernard Shaw, who used their characters to draw audiences to grander ideals. Yet, Wilde’s intent may be the opposite of his stated theme. Perhaps the point of this play is to show just how the society of his time did take the trivial seriously while trivializing the serious. This play repeatedly mocks Victorian mores and social customs, marriage and the pursuit of love in particular. In Victorian times earnestness was considered to be the over-riding societal value, originating in religious attempts to reform the lower classes, it spread to the upper ones too throughout the century. Wilde embodied society's rules and rituals artfully into Lady Bracknell: minute attention to the details of her style created a comic effect of assertion by restraint. Wilde managed both to engage with and to mock the genre. The men follow traditional matrimonial rites, but the foibles they excuse are ridiculous, and the farce is built on an absurd confusion of a book and a baby. In turn, both Gwendolen and Cecily have the ideal of marrying a man named Ernest, a popular and respected name at the time, and they indignantly declare that they have been deceived when they find out the men's real names. Contemporary reviews all praised the play's humor, though some were cautious about its explicit lack of social messages, while others foresaw the modern consensus that it was the culmination of Wilde's artistic career. Its high farce and witty dialogue have helped make The Importance of Being Earnest Wilde's most enduringly popular play. |
