As Earnest as ever: A review of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest

Crown City Theatre Presents Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest
​Directed by Michael Marchak
Running February 1st - March 31st. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm, Sundays at 3:00pm.
Crown City Theatre, 11031 Camarillo Street, North Hollywood, 91602

This classic piece of literature,"The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People" by Oscar Wilde was first performed on February 14, 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London. Despite the fact it has recently celebrated its 120th anniversary, this facetious satire feels just as fresh and witty in Los Angeles 2019.

The show contains a tremendous amount of nuanced dialogue that can be tricky to perform, but each actor delivers the many epigrams with clarity and gusto. It is apparent that this crew relishes the opportunity to develop these characters and brilliantly rise to the occasion. 

On the evening I attended, I was privileged to watch Hans Obma bring a sweet, sincere naïveté to Jack Worthing, a perfect foil to Bobby Slaski as Algernon Moncrieff who plays the role with roguish and debonair charm. They are supported by Riegan Sage as Gwendolen, Megan Cochrane as Cecily, Mouchette van Helsdingen as Miss Prism, John Sala as the Rev. Canon Chasuble, and Will Potter as the butler. Michael Mullen commands the room as Lady Bracknell,  and his extraordinary outrageous performance is worth the ticket price alone. The costuming and staging deserve praise, making great use of the space to transport you to the Victoria-era city/countryside. 

Perfectly paced, the entire cast does a tremendous job of keeping the energy high and engaging. This is a long show with a run time of 2.5 hours and a three-act structure, containing two 10- minute intermissions. That being said, never does the performance feel sluggish or dull.

Wildly entertaining and a guaranteed night of raucous laughter, Crown City Theatre is in rare form in its iteration of  The Importance of Being Earnest. I highly recommend catching this show while you have the opportunity. 
of one hundred twenty-four, at Crown City Theatre it seems scarcely a day older than 
The creative team includes Joanne Lamb (Scenic Design), Michael Mullen (Costume Design), Zad Potter (Lighting Design), Joe Shea (Sound Design), Renee Cohen (Casting), and Zad Potter (Production Stage Manager).

Tickets and information available at https://www.crowncitytheatre.com