New Adaptation of THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST Comes to Pittsburgh Public Theater

Pittsburgh Public Theater has announced the full cast and creative team for its upcoming new adaptation of THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST from acclaimed director Jenny Koons, on stage March 27 to April 14 at the O'Reilly Theater. Information and tickets are available now at PPT.org/Earnest.

"It feels amazing to come back to a comedy, especially at a time when there are so many serious issues that we are all grappling with," Koons told The Public. "Despite how our senses of humor have changed culturally, this humor from the 1800s is still so funny, even now."

The seven-member cast in Koons' new adaptation of Oscar Wilde's classic comedy includes actors both new and familiar to the O'Reilly Theater stage, including: Veronica del Cerro as Gwendolyn; Paul Deo Jr. as Jack Worthing; Susan M. Lynskey as Miss Prism; Alex Manalo as Cecily Cardew; Joseph McGranaghan as Lane and Merriman; Dylan Marquis Meyers as Algernon; and David Ryan Smith as Lady Bracknell. Hope Anthony and Michael Patrick Trimm join the production as understudies.

"I cannot wait to laugh alongside our audiences and staff," Pittsburgh Public Theater Artistic Director Marya Sea Kaminski said. "And to bring theater lovers and new friends through our doors to celebrate this hilarious, poignant story that has entertained audiences for centuries."

The production's dynamic creative team includes Emmy Award-winning Set Designer Jason Ardizzone-West, A TELL-TALE HEART Lighting Designer Annmarie Duggan, Carnegie Mellon University professor and Costume Designer Hugh Hanson, New York-based Sound Designer and Composer Daniela Hart, and Pittsburgh Public Theater returning Stage Manager Natalie Hratko. B Klemeyer, a trans artist and theatermaker in Pittsburgh whose multimedia performance work was recently staged at Kelly-Strayhorn Theater, joins as associate director. THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST is a co-production with Baltimore Center Stage, a frequent artistic partner of The Public.

Koons, a theater industry staple across the country, is known for her work driving innovative adaptations of classics, like her 2022 adaptation of OEDIPUS at Deaf West Theatre, which featured Protactile ASL, a newer touch-centric language, and the theater company's first DeafBlind cast member. She directed an immersive "dance party" musical HEAD OVER HEELS at Pasadena Playhouse in 2022, and makes her Pittsburgh Public Theater debut with THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST.

"When I saw it for the first time in high school in Minneapolis, I remember thinking that it was so wild that a play from 100 years ago could get teenagers laughing so many years later," Koons said.

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