BWW Reviews: THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company

"The Importance of Being Earnest" is a comedy of manners where well to do London bachelors make up fictitious characters to escape their everyday, gentlemanly obligations. Blah. Blah. Blah.

That said, if Abbott & Costello make you laugh every time. If Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis keep you in stitches. If Fred Flintstone & Barney Rubble seem like a great pair to you, then brave the winter temperatures and go to Chesapeake Shakespeare Company's "The Importance of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde. Joe Brack as Algernon Moncrieff and Travis Hudson as Jack Worthing have the comedic timing of Abbott & Costello, the sheer silliness of Martin & Lewis, and the enduring friendship of Fred & Barney. Oscar would be proud of them.

The plot line mirrors a Shakespearian comedy - characters with multiple identities that circle round and stagger into each other creating roller coaster plot twists and turns. "The Importance of Being Earnest" is a great ride. But it's the male leads providing the laugh-out-loud lines that only Oscar Wilde could produce that keep the energy high throughout the show. Algernon Moncrieff (Joe Brack) is a playful London bachelor in search of mischief. Brack plays him to the max. From little skips to gleeful leers, Algernon stirs the pot and creates the plot twists that make the show fun. Jack Worthing (Travis Hudson) is his serious and thoughtful friend whose double life causes confusion and mayhem for everyone. Together, they are naughty boys in search of fun who trip over their own imaginations.

The play fundamentally is about love and loss: Jack loves Gwendolen. Gwendolen loves Jack, but thinks he's Earnest. Algernon falls for Cecily. Cecily returns Algernon's love, but thinks he's Earnest. So you see how the mayhem ensues. Both men would do anything to keep their ladies, even if it involves changing their names to Earnest to win them. But don't be distracted by the plot too much. The real fun is in watching Algernon and Jack -- BFFs who make lively mischief, and, at the end of the day, enjoy a shared biscuit or two. It's a comforting testimonial to true friendship.

As a counterbalance to the male leads, there's a wonderful moment between Gwendolen (played by Kathryn Elizabeth Kelly) and Cecily (played by Lizzi Albert) when, convinced they are engaged to the same man, try to validate their claim by sharing their journal entries. Their fight is so...female. Their exchange starts with polite give and take, but tensions rise until both women are all but foaming at the mouth as they establish themselves as the rightful betrothed. Kelly and Albert make this moment a fight to the death and it's a well played complement to the shenanigans of the male leads.

This is the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company's inaugural season in its new home on S. Calvert Street, the former Mercantile Deposit and Trust Company bank building that legend says was where the Baltimore fire of 1904 stopped. They've dubbed this year a "Season for Celebration" and it is worth celebrating. The theater is small but well designed. The space is maximized without feeling claustrophobic. The mezzanine lounge remains open throughout the show and there's even a family room for children and parents that includes a large-screen monitor with the live streaming play and costumes for dress up and other props to occupy the kids. My only beef is with the bench seating. I thought it was a charming touch for the first hour; the second hour, not so much. Sit on your coat for extra cushion.

"The Importance of Being Earnest" runs through March 22. Tickets are on sale at ChesapeakeShakespeare.com or 410-244-8570.

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