Written by Kylie Akins
After nearly three months of preparation, Harding University’s theatre department will feature Oscar Wilde’s classic comedy, “The Importance of Being Earnest,” April 1-3 and 8-10 in the Ulrey Performing Arts Center.
This comedy follows Jack Worthing through the humorous dilemmas caused by his creation of a double life under the name Earnest. After falling in love with Gwendolen Fairfax, the cousin of his good friend Algernon Moncrieff, he attempts to propose to her under his false name, Earnest.
However, as Jack struggles to keep his identity play a secret from Gwendolen’s disapproving mother and Cecily, the ward left to him by his late adopted father, his worlds are forced to mingle and unravel.
Set in the proper aristocratic society of the 1880s, a time when appearances were everything yet ironically nothing in the end, the play highlights the whimsical and imperfect nature of being in love.
“It has remained a constant favorite over the past century because it deals with the universal theme of men in love with and yet in competition with women,” Robin Miller, director of Harding’s theatre program, said. “This theme is explored in a laugh-out-loud way where you find yourself laughing at the fallacies of the cast then realizing you are laughing at yourself.”
Miller said one of the reasons the faculty chose the show is the opportunity it creates for theatre students to experience a different style of acting and set production.
“It requires a different style of acting,” Miller said. “This is be honest, be real, be big and be funny at the same time. Because some of the things you say are ridiculous.”
Student stage manager Megan West said she was eager to gain experience in a position she hoped to pursue after college. She said she enjoyed watching the cast discover the humor in the script as they learned their lines.
“It is a very wordy show with witty comedy, and the absurdness of these characters sometimes is great,” West said. “They have such highs and lows, and there is such variety that can be played in their lines. It is just really fun.”
The Spring Sing weekend hardly interferes with the spring play, Miller said. Rather, the play brings variety for the Easter crowd to enjoy.
“It’s not competition; it’s complimentary,” Miller said. “They go together.”
Miller said he believes comedy is most effective when it highlights a real part of ourselves. The play may cause members of the audience to reflect on their own behaviors, but they will laugh as they quickly realize they are hardly different from the ridiculous characters on stage.
“It is a very fun script,” Miller said. “It is making fun of the foibles of humankind. Yes, it’s over 100 years old, but quite honestly, except for the fact that the clothes are different, we still behave the same way today. We know these people, and it’s very fun.”
All shows will begin at 7 p.m., excluding April 3, which will be a 2 p.m. matinee only. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online at www.hardingtickets.com or at the door if the show is not sold out in advance.
