One of Oscar Wilde's most famous bon mots might well be the template for Georgia Shakespeare's new production of "The Importance of Being Earnest."
As Gwendolen says in the slashingly witty drawing room farce that rarely fails to amuse: "In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity, is the vital thing."
Wilde's 1895 play, which the critic Harold Bloom says may be the best British comedy since "Twelfth Night," is a nonsensical piece of artifice bent on skewering the shallow upper-class Victorian values of the day. The genius of the text lies in the razor sharp alacrity of the dialogue, the impeccable timing, the gilded surfaces. Wilde was not concerned with substance. Nor does it seem is Georgia Shakes.
Director Sabin Epstein's treatment lives up to the foppery and fun, offering up a few whip-smart performances and some really clever visuals. Scenic designer Angela Balogh Calin upholsters the furniture with winking references to Ingres odalisques and Raphael cherubs, and Christine Turbitt's "My Fair Lady"-like costumes are like candy to the eye.
But even Wilde's bravura craftsmanship is not foolproof. Transforming "Earnest" from page to stage requires a delicate sense of timing and a keen ear for language. Every character — particularly ones as important as Algernon and Lady Bracknell — must be up for the verbal gymnastics that are the essence of this classic.
But again and again on opening night of this solid but not terribly inspired show, I found myself feeling as humorless as Lady Bracknell. (Where was the flavor? Where were my cucumber sandwiches?) To be sure, it is a joy to watch veteran actors Megan McFarland and Chris Kayser in the servants' roles of Lane and Merriman, respectively. Small though their parts may be, they imbue every syllable and every movement with meaningful understatement.
The larger figures, however, are a bit of a mixed bag and a disappointment. While Courtney Patterson and Ann Marie Gideon are delightful as Gwendolen and Cecily, the two women in pursuit of the so-called Ernest, Caleb Clark's Algernon cannot quite hold his own with such excellent company. (A very fine and very funny Joe Knezevich completes the quartet as John Worthing.) With his long tresses, insouciant demeanor and dandyish duds, Clark cuts a flamboyant figure, but his speaking voice is a bit muffled, and he misses the chance to get laughs from simple lines like "Seriously, Cecily," which you can be sure were enlisted for their rhythmic potential.
But pay attention to the diary-peeking scene in Act Two in which Gwendolen interviews the daft Cecily. Patterson is hysterical, as is John's humiliation at the hands of the imperious Lady Bracknell (Mark Cabus). Alas, Cabus' take on the grand personage falls a bit flat. On opening night, Cabus flubbed a handful of lines — which might be forgiven if only he had seemed to be having a good time. If ever a character called for over-the-top manners and outsize personality, it is Lady Bracknell. But Cabus, who has acquitted himself as a fine clown in the past, doesn't seem in the mood to play out the ridiculousness of the old bird. Sometimes, putting a man in a wig and a dress is just not enough.
All in all, it's a rather tepid "Earnest," too sincere perhaps for its own good, but stylish enough to merit a look.
Theater review
"The Importance of Being Earnest"
Grade: B-
8 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays. 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays. In rotating repertory with "Illyria: a Twelfth Night Musical" and "Much Ado About Nothing," so times vary by date. Through Aug. 4. $13-$45. Georgia Shakespeare, Oglethorpe University, 4484 Peachtree Road N.E., Atlanta. 404-504-1473, gashakespeare.org
Bottom line: Wilde classic is perhaps a bit too earnest.
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