All Female Cast
The Importance of Being Earnest
May 16 - June 12, 2017
Alder Stage
By Oscar Wilde
Directed by Michael Mendelson
An all-female, all-star Portland cast leads this production of Oscar Wilde’s magnificent 19th Century comedy of manners and social status. Lovely Gwendolyn and adorable Cecily don’t care who they marry as long as his name is Earnest (so manly and respectable!). Jack and Algernon are utterly smitten and only too happy to ditch their given names to bamboozle their way into the ladies’ hearts. Imperious Lady Bracknell is aghast, agog and practically apoplectic, but her efforts to impose propriety prove useless against Cupid’s earnest truth. High jinx, bon mots and cucumber sandwiches are served.
- “A trivial comedy for serious people.” – Oscar Wilde
- A fresh take on an enduring farcical masterpiece
Press
“…unabashed delight… this winning production is a joy in every way.”
“…a positively delightful show…”
“…superlatively talented women…”
“I loved this show…pleasure of watching an incredible all-female cast totally rock some really killer hats.”
“Director Michael Mendelson…given the show a fluid buoyancy, an almost musical flow, that allows the play’s caprices to slide easily forward and carry the audience mostly happily with them.”
“The play is two hours of rapier wit, small prevarications, heady but exacting language, and cucumber sandwiches…”
“…fluff and frolic…what the country needs now…a little perspective…so we can get on with our lives!”
“…delicately placed layers creating an energetic and vibrant production.”
“The casting doesn’t subvert gender roles so much as draw attention to them.”
“Wilde’s masterpiece is so legendarily evergreen, it practically performs itself.”