After having read The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde in October, it
almost goes without saying that I was more than excited to attend the live
performance at UK. As I walked up to my seat in the theatre no larger than a
classroom, it was already clear that this performance would be intimate and audience
oriented. The play begins with the help cleaning up from the party that occurred
the night before, a nice touch from Directors Christina Ritter and Russell Henderson.
This gave the audience a subtle yet helpful cue that the play was starting,
rather than crudely presenting it otherwise.
As
the performance progressed I was drawn in by the lofty acting Algernon (Peter Laprade) and the passionate
Jack (Curtis Lipsey III). However this was totally outshined the moment Lady
Bracknell (Jessica Agro) walked in—or should I say strutted in. Her
performance was better than what I could have imagined. The costuming was done beautifully,
with a dress that seemed as if it would be immovable due to the size, Lady
Bracknell of course overcomes to the effect that you could practically taste
the arrogance. One of the only downfalls of the play would be that this
demanded more from characters like Cecily and Gwendolen, leaving them to fall
flat in comparison.
If I had to rate this performance as a whole I
would give it a 4 ½ out of 5 stars. The absent ½ would simply be due to the
inability of the other female characters to match Jessica Argo’s stage presence
as Lady Bracknell. All things considered, I would recommend this play to any of
my friends as a must see performance.
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