“The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People” opens tonight at the Gamm Theatre in Pawtucket. The play runs through October 15.
A farcical masterpiece with rapid-fire wit and eccentric characters, The Importance of Being Earnest is Wilde’s last and most celebrated play. In late Victorian London, companions-in-cavorting Jack Worthing and Algernon “Algy” Moncrieff have fallen in love with two ladies who have their hearts set on marrying a man named Ernest. In pursuit of romance, both men concoct an elaborate deception. When Algy’s aunt, the formidable Lady Bracknell, starts sleuthing about for the truth, an outlandish surprise is revealed. Wilde’s buoyant comedy of manners will keep you anticipating a fresh twist of plot from one moment to the next.
Brandon Whitehead plays Oscar Wilde working his way somehow into his own play. Directed by Fred Sullivan, Jr.
Tickets $44, $52 and $60. Discounts for seniors, students and groups of 10 or more.
Opens Thursday, September 14, Gamm Theatre, 172 Exchange Street, Pawtucket, (directions)