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What Critics are Saying About 'The Importance of Being Earnest'
Washington City Paper
". . .Oscar Wilde’s best-built frivol. . . the charming thing about Earnest: It’s chock-full of brazen deception and shameless manipulation, rather like Washington, only unlike in Washington no one cares in the slightest when they get found out. . . Wilde’s marvelously mannered comedy—supposedly a near-indestructible edifice, to the point that it’s been called “the perfect play”—can in fact come rapidly apart if directors forget how crucial the question of style can be . . . it’s something of a relief to discover that director Dorothy Neumann hasn’t felt the need to second-guess Wilde. Her crisp, unfussy, and blessedly fleet-footed staging for the Keegan Theatre’s no-frills New Island Project feels nicely attuned to what makes this play work: a delicate but crucial balance of solemn nonsense and playful seriousness. Because make no mistake, Algernon and Jack—and the equally entertaining women they wind up pursuing—are deeply serious about their silliness. “Produce your explanation, and pray, make it improbable,” demands Algy when Jack-Ernest’s name game first makes itself apparent, and the fact that Neumann has Michael Innocenti’s insouciant, piano-playing Algy provide a musical punctuation for said explanation just points up one of the play’s central gambits: These are people for whom style and wit aren’t just the garnish on a conversation. . . even the servants in their fashionable bachelor establishments get in on the act: “I have only been married once,” Melissa Hmelnicky’s unflappable housekeeper says. . . Domesticity, of course, is what Wilde’s lead foursome is pursuing, though for them you can’t imagine it ever quite becoming dull. Algy’s cousin Gwendolyn (Erin Buchanan) conceives an admiration for Jack, but only because she thinks his name is Ernest, and in any case their union hasn’t quite won the blessing of Gwendolyn’s famous Gorgon of a mother, Lady Bracknell (a deliciously snappish Barbara Klein). Algy, meanwhile, conceives an instant passion for Jack’s pretty young ward, Cecily (a perfectly pert Suzanne Edgar)—who returns the favor. . ." Reviewed by Trey Graham
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DC Theatre Reviews
" . . . Wilde’s wit is timeless and eternal and simply must be relished at every opportunity. Fortunately, the New Island Project’s perfectly cast production provides one here that hits all the marks with delightful flair. Paired off again after their wildly successful run in Mojo Mickybo are Christopher Dinolfo as John . . . and Michael Innocenti as his friend Algernon . . .The chemistry of these two is palpable, energetic and refreshing. . . Matching . . . in perfect counterpoint are love interests Erin Buchanan as Gwendolyn and Suzanne Edgar as Cecily. . . Director Dorothy Neumann sets up the particularly effective tension. . . Melissa Hmelnicky as the parlor maid gets to shine. . . It’s quite an experience. . . Barbara Klein as Lady Bracknell . . perfect for the role, working each scene with polish and snap. . . the always rock solid Rosemary Regan . . . as Miss Prism, so prim and proper but with flirtatious bespectacled eyes firmly set on the unsuspecting Reverend . . . like a delicious meal, Earnest simply must be savored. The set design by Eric and Kerry Lucas works effectively . . . The costumes designed by William Puscilowsky are exceptionally eloquent and stylish. . .The New Island Project, an offshoot of the Keegan Theatre, “was created to produce Irish plays… [and] to bring new and contemporary plays to the forefront as well as shedding new light on well known classics,” which explains what seems to be diametrically opposed styles of its recent productions. Co-Artistic Directors, Eric Lucas and Kerry Waters Lucas have given the project their all . . . The astonishingly and consistently high quality of work from this new company raises the bar of expectation for the entire metro region. Yes, I’m a fan, and if you haven’t seen their work, stop by and see for yourself, and that’s in earnest." Reviewed by Debbie Minter Jackson
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The Metro Herald
" The Importance of Being Earnest is one of those plays that, despite being produced frequently and upon multiple viewings, never grows stale. . . it is refreshing to encounter a production that pares the play down to its essence, letting the words and characters shine through without frills. This is what Keegan Theatre’s New Island Project has to offer at Arlington’s Theatre on the Run, an intimate black box that is perfectly suited for hearing Wilde’s epigrammatic dialogue delivered, generally, with aplomb. Director Dorothy Neumann has reduced the set to a few wooden benches, a tea cart, a movable doorframe, and a piano (used to great effect). The costumes are full and reflective of late-19th century England, but not so elaborate as to inhibit the actors’ movement. Neumann has a flair for pulling line readings from her actors that are just-so. With surprising turns of vocal modulation, she and her cast have transformed many of Wilde’s witticisms from the clichés they have become through a century of repetition into surprising and trenchant comments on life and society. The two pairs of lovers. . . fit together delightfully. . . Barbara Klein, as Lady Bracknell, ostentatiously enjoys one of the meatiest roles for women-of-a-certain-age in the theatrical literature. Wilde gives her the lion’s share of his best epigrams, and Klein revels in them without overdoing it. . . Prism, played by Rosemary Regan, and the Reverend Chasuble, played by John F. Degen (returning to the stage after a two-decade absence, long overdue), suggest autumnal romance and affection that drifts dangerously close to lust, but without crossing that line. The tension that results from Prism’s prissiness and Chasuble’s self-effacing shyness is spot on. . . " Reviewed by Rick Sincere
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Potomac Stages". . . a very enjoyable evening. . . Director Dorothy Neumann varies the pacing as the evening progresses and keeps the focus quite clear. . . The play is brimming with the wit and charm of Oscar Wilde. . . Christopher Dinolfo and Mike Innocenti play the two gentlemen caught up in their own machinations. . . energetic and spirited. . . Barbara Klein . . . is the very essence of a haughty society matron as the insufferable Lady Bracknell. When she’s on stage, you can believe this comedy of class is targeted with precision. . . Erin Buchanan and Suzanne Edgar. . . create a chemistry between them that sparkles. The secondary roles of the governess and her own suitor are given sharp performances by Rosemary Regan and John F. Degan. . . the team of Regan and Degan is memorable for the way they look deep into each other’s eyes. . . the costumes by William Pucilowski are hardly simple hints at the fashions of the day or the class. . . the women are decked out with colorful gowns of sumptuous fabrics that are distinctly late nineteenth century English society. Suzanne Edgar is resplendent in a pink confection which ties to the script when Innocenti compares her to a pink rose in act three." Reviewed by Brad Hathaway
Please visit www.potomacstages.com for the full reviewArlington Weekly News TV"The Keegan Theatre has two productions going on—one in D.C., 1776 which I reviewed last week and one here in Arlington at Theater on the Run, Oscar Wilde’s successful, The Importance of Being Earnest. Set in Victorian England, it’s about the veddy, veddy proper upper crust. This is a presentation of Keegan’s New Island Project whose aim is to give the audience the unembellished work. In Earnest you have two young men, Algernon (Mike Innocenti) and Jack (Christopher Dinolfo), romantically interested in two lovelies, Gwendolyn (Erin Buchanan) and Cecily (Suzanne Edgar). The boys quite innocently mislead the ladies into thinking they are someone else named Earnest. A fine cast including Barbara Klein as Lady Bracknell and Rosemary Regan as Miss Prism help to tie up loose ends about heritage and other things to make this show a delightful package of word play and identity. Director Dorothy Neumann makes sense of the farce. . . " Reviewed by Rich Massabny
Broadcast Channel 69: Thurs., 6/14, 6 p.m.; Sat., 6/16, 10:30 a.m.; Mon., 6/18, 8:30 p.m.
Please visit Rich Massabny at www.richmassabny.com
Sun Gazette Newspaper"Local actors Mike Innocenti and Christopher Dinolfo remind me of a couple of entertainment-biz Jons - Lovitz and Stewart, respectively. . . Barbara Klein as a dominating, aristocratic aunt . . . offers up a look of detached psychosis that fits her character well. Buchanan is fine as one love interest, while Suzanne Edgar is equally adept as the young woman Algernon (Innocenti) attempts to woo. . .The technical aspects were fine . . . Credit Dan Martin with light and sound, Bill Puscilowsky with costumes and Eric and Kerry Lucas with sets. . . " Reviewed by Matt Reville
Please visit www.sungazette.net for full review
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