Review: THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST is Wilde and Wonderful at The Grandel

Insight Theatre is an equity theatre in its 11th season, and Artistic Director Maggie Ryan says she has wanted to produce The Importance of Being Earnest for years. "I delight in the language of this play," she says of the classic farce. It's a "trivial comedy for serious people," which showcases playwright Oscar Wilde's intellectual genius. This is quite simply a brilliant play for smart audiences that stands the test of time. It overflows with hilarious double entendre and euphemisms aplenty, and if you've never indulged yourself in seeing it, make plans now to do so, as we can all delight in this spectacular performance, directed by Ed Reggi.

Insight's production opens to Algernon Moncreiff's modest but sophisticated sitting room set in affluent 1890s London. It is here that we meet society friends Algernon Moncreiff (Will Bonfiglio) and John Worthing (Pete Winfrey), who wear handsomely tailored suits. Within moments of their first exchange, we know we are settling in for some hilarious and fast-paced highbrow comedy. Soon we discover that both friends are guilty of Bunburying. That is, they have both manufactured fictitious, needy kin (each cunningly named Ernest, of course) to escape their oh-so-arduous social obligations, which consist mostly of dressing nicely, making appearances, and being charming. When John's young female ward Cecily Cardew (Julia Crump) and Algernon's cousin Gwendolyn Fairfax (Gwen Wotawa) each fall in love with the not-so-earnest Ernests, the charade comes unraveled. Algernon's disapproving aunt, Lady Bracknell (Tom Murray), Cecily's governess Miss Prism (Ruth Ezell), clergyman Dr. Chasuble (Steve Springmeyer), and butlers Lane/Merriman (Spencer Kruse) round out this fantastic ensemble cast.

Murray as Lady Bracknell, who seems to be in charge of pointing the moral compass for everyone else, is captivating, and I could not stop watching for fear of missing one of her marvelous nonverbal censures. Her expressed "horror and bewilderment" are sidesplittingly funny, and she steals the show in her ostentatious, corseted getups. Gwendolyn and Cecily are sweet contrasts in both their sunny dispositions and their bright finery, but the subtle twists that even Dr. Chasuble and Miss Prism deliver via their shared looks and snappy lines all work to expose upper crust hypocrisy and result in hysterical plot twists and amusing surprises.

I have to hand it to this entire ensemble cast. This is a near flawless execution of a difficult script. The actors genuinely play off of one another appearing to have great fun and skilled collaboration. They move on set with purpose and practiced motivation. A shout out to dialect consultant Jeff Cummings as well, as the British English is believable, nicely enunciated, and well projected - all extremely important to catching all the witticisms in this show. The wisecracks and banter come so quickly and clearly - the pacing right on point - your only job as an audience member is just to keep up.

Laura Hanson's costumes are appropriately well appointed and work nicely to heighten each character. Makeup and hair are attractively detailed as well, although Lane is quite clearly a young actor wearing a gray wig. Lucas Shryock's set, which is transformed a couple times while we watch, is stylish and elegant. The well-designed garden with trellises and roses is just as lovely as the sitting, garden, and morning rooms, and all of this works splendidly at The Grandel, a comfortable and intimate venue - the ideal space for this show.

You might have difficulty catching every joke, most of which poke fun at high society, but you are going to chuckle, and you are going to laugh out loud. Highlights are Wotawa's and Crump's tit-for-tat which really highlights the differences in Victorian city/country perspectives, Bonfiglio's boundless energy, Murray's comical facial expressions, and familiar TV anchor and Senior Producer at the Nine Network of Public Media, Ruth Ezell, performing in her professional stage debut. Without ever reducing the characters to caricatures, this cast charms us, delivering delightful exchanges in all the poetic, acerbic, satirical ways that would have certainly pleased and delighted Oscar Wilde, the clever master of this classic masterpiece. While Wilde challenges Victorian ideals and social mores, this play is timeless, with many relatable contradictions and consequences, particularly in the age of social media where many people create personas that are a bit unlike themselves.

Don't shilly shally around. Get your tickets now. The Importance of Being Earnest continues playing this Thursday - Saturday, July 18-21 at 8pm with a final performance and talkback with Insight's dramaturg, Nate Wetter, on Sunday, July 22 at 2pm.

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