Stage Review: Moments of wit sparkle in pleasing 'Earnest'

Skip Hooper

Jack (Brian Everson) plays high-browed straight man to mischievous dandy Algernon Moncrieff (Stephen Garrett) in Theatre Memphis' production of Oscar Wilde's comedy "The Importance of Being Earnest."

To writers, scholars and aficionados of mordant wit, Oscar Wilde bequeathed a quotation for nearly every occasion.

For instance:

On dating: "The only way to behave to a woman is to make love to her, if she is pretty, and to someone else, if she is plain."

On family: "Relations are simply a tedious pack of people, who haven't got the remotest knowledge of how to live, nor the smallest instinct about when to die."

On knowledge: "It is a terrible thing for a man to find out suddenly that all his life he has been speaking nothing but the truth."

Wilde is always fun to read because he offers that surprise at the end of the sentence, when your brain suddenly takes an unexpected detour.

But say each line aloud, and the problem of technique arises. First, Wilde comes off as wordy. The lines don't roll trippingly off the tongue; you risk running out of breath before the payoff. Furthermore, there's much room for interpretation. Which words are accented? How do you say these lines to emphasize the funny? Must the funny be forced?

All actors have this internal debate once they find themselves rehearsing the above lines in "The Importance of Being Earnest," Wilde's greatest work of theater, which can now be seen in a fairly -- ahem -- earnest production at Theatre Memphis.

By "earnest," I mean that director Jerry Chipman has re-created this classic Victorian comedy with lightness, eagerness and great respect for the material. This show wants to please you, to make you laugh, even if it could be more amusing with slightly less effort.

One of the juiciest roles in theater is Algernon Moncrieff, a droll and mischievous dandy who has most of Wilde's best lines. Actor Stephen Garrett gives in to the temptation to make him a fast-talking egomaniac who broadcasts every bon mot with a smug, satisfied glance. In theater, as in life, nothing is less funny than someone who fancies himself the funniest person in the room.

Though Wilde's best quips landed with a thud at Sunday's matinee, this production still has sparkling moments of wit in the direction and acting.

As Jack, Brian Everson plays the high-browed straight man to Algernon's chaotic clown. His goal is to marry the charming and beautiful Gwendolen, but he finds himself against two obstacles. First, she'll only marry a man called "Ernest," and that clearly is not his name. Second, her aunt, Lady Bracknell, won't allow the marriage because Jack doesn't have the right breeding.

Jude Knight is splendid as the imperious grand dame of the play, whose volcanic indignation famously erupts when she discovers that Jack's closest relative is "a handbag." Costume designer André Bruce Ward doubles Knight's comedic presence with a dress that resembles an enormous green cake topped with swirls of red icing.

The two dearest performances in this show, however, are given by Emily Childers (as Algernon's love interest, Cecily) and Meghan Lisi (as Gwendolen). Though some of Wilde's sharpest satire is aimed at the flighty, whimsical nature of young women, these comediennes are equally sharp with his repartee.

"In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity, is the vital thing," says Gwendolen, and by extension, Wilde. Theatre Memphis strikes a balance between the two in this "Importance of Being Earnest," and the result is an enjoyable revival of Wilde's work.

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"The Importance of Being Earnest"

Performances continue at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through Feb. 12 at Theatre Memphis, 630 Perkins Ext. Tickets are $23 adults, $15 students. Call (901) 682-8323.

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