In our world of social media influencers and the pressure of amassing likes, shares, and retweets, it can feel like we—at times—lead a double life, one off the screen and one behind it, carefully curated to signal happiness, success, and stability. Now step back in time to the late 1800s—more than a hundred years ago—and we see that these questions of public prominence and acceptable appearance were as much in vogue as they seem to be today, minus the digital modality. Thanks to Oscar Wilde and his cutting critique of high society in The Importance of Being Earnest, we can feel a bit better about ourselves for not maintaining those still-present Victorian sensibilities and laugh a bit (or a lot) in the face of those who do. Directed by Christina Scott Sayer, Theatre Knoxville Downtown’s production of The Importance of Being Earnest brings a fresh, technicolor vibrance to a stuffy, verbose parody of the many absurd hoops we jump through to avoid the pressures of social life.
The Wilde play recounts the tangled affairs of two men who lead double lives: Algernon Moncrieff and John “Jack” Worthing. Algernon, played by Daniel Rickman, is a young, dandy urbanite with exceptionally refined tastes in food, clothing, and all sorts of finery. He soon discovers that his friend and fellow urbanite, Ernest Worthing, is leading a double life: his real name is Jack Worthing, and he uses the persona Ernest to escape his country life and its stuffy mannerisms. Thus Jack, played by Matthew Boshears, inspires Algernon to also secretly adopt the persona of Ernest to charm Jack’s beautiful and marriageable young ward, Cecily. As elaborate schemes of identity go, the two men’s identities become tangled, and as marriage proposals and questions of social status arise, the two men must rectify the tangled yarns they have woven.
Rickman dominates the stage as the charmingly conniving Algernon; he’s impossible to miss in a pair of tight, hot pink pants and brocade blazer. He embodies the excesses and pleasures of Algernon’s life, from first emerging on stage in a pair of boxers and sock garters to stuffing his mouth with dainty cucumber sandwiches and tiny muffins. Boshears’s Jack attempts to tame Algernon to no avail; he is just as funny when condemning Algernon’s double life as he is when he’s caught leading his own. Katy Brockway is also a commanding presence as Lady Bracknell, Algernon’s stuffy aunt, clad in the most luxurious and bustled dress imaginable in an iridescent purple. Brockway has mastered Bracknell’s lines, some of the most verbose and lavish in the whole production; she is a stern enforcer of social propriety and a bit of an unremitting matchmaker, a social anchor but not without her own secrets. The love interests, Gwendolen Fairfax (Darby Bozeman) and Cecily Cardew (Cameron Skillen), are also delightful as polar opposites of urban and country femininity. Bozeman appears first and takes a bit of time to warm up to her character, but once on stage with Skillen arguing over their shared fiancé “Ernest,” both actresses fall right into step with one another, play off each other’s differences superbly.
Mike Johnston Jr.’s Rev. Chasuble, caught up in re-christening both Algernon and Jack as “Ernest,” is hilarious because he has no idea what is going on, and his slightly quieter delivery conveys that confusion well. Jill Stapleton Bergeron as Miss Prism, Cecily’s governess and admirer of Rev. Chasuble, brings a quiet and absurd attraction for the celibate Reverend. Unfortunately, during one of their scenes, a cell phone rang somewhere in the audience, but these two recovered from the distraction quite gracefully. Noah McBrayer Jones and Matthew Brockway, as Algernon’s and Jack’s butlers, respectively, don’t have too much time in the spotlight, but their carefully timed appearances on stage interrupt the chaos in humorous ways.
I’ll admit, I was a bit underwhelmed by the set design at first; all three scenes—Algernon’s apartment, outside of Jack’s country manor, and the interior of Jack’s manor—are a stark black and white, with some elements in solid color and others in ornate patterns. However, the costuming by Traci Sisson brought the production to life and enlivened the contrast between the stuffy monochrome interiors and the vibrant characters. From Algernon’s bold appearance in hot pink and pearl-clad duds in Act I and Jack’s lush green plaid blazer to Lady Bracknell’s bold purple ruffles and Rev. Chasuble’s blood red robes, technicolor costuming characterizes just as much as each character’s dialogue. I’d say this is one of TKD’s finest costuming choices; props to Sisson!
The Importance of Being Earnest runs until March 16 with showings on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30pm and matinees on Sundays at 3:00pm. Tickets are available at their box office located at 800 S. Central Street or online at https://theatreknoxville.com/the-importance-of-being-earnest/.
