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
Resources
STUDY GUIDE! A great resource for all. Download it here.
Learn about the playwright’s life by visiting here and here.
A fascinating comparison between the playwright’s life and the tragedy in Orlando can be found here.
Discover a past production of the play’s musical adaptation, performed with an all-women cast, here.
Keep tabs on an all-women cast performing the play this upcoming Fall by visiting here.
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.”
Photos
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