THEATER

The Importance of Being Earnest

by Oscar Wilde

directed by Chris Scully

at Leverett House

Last weekend, the Leverett House Arts Society presented a very sane, sophisticated interpretation of The Importance of Being Earnest, which managed to capture much of the relentless charm and wit of Oscar Wilde's masterpiece.

Wilde's play is a farce of the most entertaining kind which parodies the coyness, the absurd misunderstandings and the stock situations of less accomplished playwrights. It focuses, among other things, on the importance of names and naming, doing its best to refute Shakespeare's dictum that a rose by any other name smells as sweet. As a result, Wilde presents Prism, the angular and edgy governess, Merriman, the gloomy butler and Chasuble the priest.

Chris Scully's set design picked up on Wilde's deliberate symbolism. In Act III, the drawing room of the country house was a mirror image of Algernon Moncrieff's London flat in Act I. Whatever Wilde's personal opinion of country and city might have been (`...and never the twain shall meet,' perhaps?) Scully has added his own sardonic note.

The country garden of Act II was rendered elegant by a green-ribboned swing suspended from pipes attached to the ceiling. White trellises and plaster cherubim supporting a bird bath also added a certain turn-of-the-century air.

It would have been nice if Scully's directorial work had been as restrained. Unfortunately, at rare but important intervals, the spirited acting was prone to becoming a little too feverish and overworked. Furthermore, the characters who had nothing to say in a given scene might have had something more meaningful to do than twiddle their thumbs and stare off into space.

Jack Worthing, played by David Javerbaum, was perhaps the worst afflicted. Although he seemed to be admirably suited to the role by virtue of a rather innocent, angelic aspect (red cheeks and curly flaxen hair) he did not appear to be quite comfortable in his depiction of amiable stupidity. His casual attitude was somewhat forced; his smile just a little fatuous. And one could have wished that he had not struck quite so many classical poses.

On the other hand, Mark Fish, playing Algernon Moncrieff, seemed completely at home. Although he could have tried for a little more eye contact with whomever he was talking to, and although his diction seemed a little muffled, these points did not disturb the audience's credulity.

The inevitable comparison of Fish's effortless Moncrieff and Javerbaum's mechanical Worthing throws a whole new light on this play's theme of being yourself and pretending to be other people.

Francesca Delbanco was a superb Cecily, presenting just the right mixture of child-like innocence and teenage romance. Janine Poreba was also entertaining as Gwendolen, although her accent was rather precarious at times.

Actually, it might have been better to have presented The Importance of Being Earnest with an American flavor than to have created this harsh imitation of the upper crust English accent. It was one of the few flaws of this performance: this attempt to bridge the Atlantic gap was often wildly funny, but it was certainly not Wilde.