Oscar Wilde would be proud of Janine Christl’s wonderfully funny production of The Importance of Being Earnest in the Fresno City College’s theatre.
The Importance of Being Earnest is a British play that concerns a young man named Jack Worthing who goes by Jack in the country and Ernest in the town. Jack’s friend, Algernon Moncrieff, also pretends to have a friend, Bunbury, who calls on Algernon whenever he needs to escape high society. Jack becomes engaged to Algernon’s cousin, Gwendolyn, who seems to love him only because she believes his name is “Ernest”.
When Algernon discovers Jack’s deception, he uses it for his own entertainment and visits Jack in the country, pretending he is Jack’s adventurous brother, Ernest, and falls in love with Jack’s eighteen year-old niece, Cecily. Deception after deception complicates this masterfully ironic comedy of errors.
The production boasts a wonderful cast of opposites whose chemistry complements each other perfectly. The big booming personality of Kenn Arola as Jack balances out the comparatively small-statured Jarod Caitlin as the wittily sarcastic Algernon. Gabriela Lawson as the proudly self-assured Gwendolyn balances Ashley Hyatt’s charmingly cheery Cecily. Even the servants Lane and Merriman (played by Sam Munger and Eric Armstrong respectively) utter their sly quips in balancing merriment. The chemistry between seasoned actors Tim Quinn as the affable Rev. Chasuble and Laurie Gambero as the strict schoolteacher Miss Prism is remarkable.
Janine Chistl’s directing is not detectable upon first viewing, which is a grand compliment; the acting style, tone, and visuals all seem so natural to the universe created by the play. Any musical cues are too subtle to even remember. The world she created fits together so well that any directorial choice is not detectable.
The scenic design is elegantly simple, flavored with warm color schemes of blues and reds, which harkens back to Victorian watercolors.
The play mainly consists of two principal sets, the town house and the country house, both of which are fairly straight forward and not too complicated as to distract the audience from the performance. The costumes were nothing groundbreaking but natural enough to fit the style of the show.
If the Victorian setting of the show puts anyone off, be not afraid; the show is very relatable to a modern audience. Wilde is not Shakespeare; the jokes, characters and plot are much easier to understand for the general audience, especially this rendition.Final Grade: A
