FollowWhat do you get when you take the intellectual wit and literary genius of Oscar Wilde and combine it with the quirkiness and progressiveness of Berkeley? BareStage’s rendition of the classic The Importance of Being Earnest.
Nestled as a vibrant and lively diamond in the rough of Berkeley’s midterm angst and the monotonous shuffle of bustling Sproul, The Importance of Being Earnest is a play sure to make you cry of riotous laughter while questioning some of the societal issues relevant today.
Set in a late nineteenth century England, the play follows a man named Jack Worthing and the secret double life he leads. Out in the country, Jack takes care of his ward Cecily Cardew, and often visits London to spend time with his fake brother Ernest, who is actually just the alibi he uses to partake in the more scandalous frivolities, including dinners with his friend Algernon Moncrieff and flirting with the beautiful Gwendolen Fairfax.
One day Algernon discovers that Ernest is merely Jack’s alter ego, and uses this to his advantage to meet Cecily, stating that he is Jack’s brother. While Algernon fights for Cecily’s affection, Jack tries to win over the favor of Lady Bracknell to marry Gwendolen—under the name of Ernest, of course.
The catch is that both women dream of marrying a man named Ernest. Yet, when they meet and realize that both of them are engaged to one mister Ernest Worthing, chaos ensues Hunger Games style. The men must confess their true identities. That is, until Lady Bracknell recognizes the governess of Cecily and realizes that she is the woman who lost her sister’s child years ago. Turns out—after listening to a Jerry Springer-esque scenario of the child amiss—that this child is Jack. With his newfound identity also materializes his new life—he does indeed have a brother, who just so happens to be Algernon, and a new name. Ernest.
As complicated as the plot seems, BareStage’s interpretation does a superb job of keeping the audience engaged and immersed in their heinous acts. From the flawless ease and confidence that they carry themselves with to the perfect timing of their witty comebacks, this cast would make Wilde proud. They took his fierce, forceful irony and created a show that both celebrates life’s silly moments and challenges the audience to question the seriousness of the world around them.
With a knockout cast of comedians, the show buzzes with a smart humor that will keep you laughing as you leave. Zachary Brown, who plays Jack, perfectly delivers lines with an enviable comedic timing. He knows when to be serious and when to say the most ridiculous lines with a sense of ironic seriousness.
Speaking of which, Carl Jones wins the award for facial expressiveness throughout the play. As Algernon, he did not even need to speak to make the audience burst out laughing, gracefully withering his eyebrows with precise skill. Jones encapsulates the frivolity Wilde hopes to push to the limelight, with his unusual obsession with eating, his nonchalance for responsibility, and his reckless abandon. But he does so in such a charming way that you cannot help but want to love him as much as Cecily does. Together, Brown and Jones capture the audience’s heart with their wit, charm, and absurdity. From Jones slapping Brown in the face with a cigarette case to fighting over who gets the last muffin, this dynamic duo encapsulates a heartwarming and hilarious essence of friendship.
With two strong male leads, BareStage needed an equally capable female cast. And they garnered one that goes above and beyond the call of duty. Mercedes Li, who plays Lady Bracknell, assumes the authoritative and judgmental familial role so well, I was convinced I was watching a conversation with my own family members. Gwendolen, played by sophomore Elizabeth Mathis, enchants the audience with her over exaggerated flirting. I wondered if that’s what I looked like when I attempt to flirt with men and I could tell others around me felt the same way. It was as embarrassing as it was hilarious. What made Mathis’ rendition of Gwendolen so wonderful, however, is the depth of her character. On the surface, Gwendolen seems respectful and quiet. but underneath the gaudy blue dress lies a rambunctious, conceited, and quite impatient woman. Even though I hate to admit it, I think we all have a bit of Gwendolen Fairfax in us.
Linda Girón exudes spunk and sassiness as young Cecily. In her first BareStage production, Girón brings the trivial daydreams of an innocent girl lusting after a “bad boy”—well, as bad as they get in Wilde’s time—to life. She never misses a beat with her fluid movements bounding across the stage or delivering a line. She makes the audience laugh with her relatable teenage wonder and her energy never falters, which only makes watching her that much more infatuating.
But what makes this play special is more than the energy that the cast spends bringing their characters to life. It is the messages of progressivism subtly, and not so subtly, found within the show that make this version unique to Berkeley and its audience. Besides focusing solely on the messages of the divide of social classes and the strict social code of marriage, BareStage takes two of the most prevalent issues in Berkeley and creates two of the most poignant takeaway messages from The Importance of Being Earnest.
BareStage director Ran Flanders, states: “As [The Importance of Being Earnest] was first written with the female characters, they were written very weak. I pushed to make them more cunning and more powerful.” While it was common for women to play submissive roles in London society at the time, the women in this performance show no signs of frailty. Dominating forces, these women deliver their lines with a grace, strength and prowess that even Lena Dunham and other self-proclaimed feminists wish that they could emulate. It’s refreshing to see a cast of woman overpower the men with their humor and strong stage presence. “In terms of this play, there is a lot of ways you can twist things to make it progressive,” Flanders comments, and he uses this to his advantage to challenge these actresses to channel their own personal fierceness in a creative decision that ultimately pays off.
Another progressive role the play assumes pays homage to Wilde himself. The servants, Lane (Leland Fernando) and Merriman (Ryan Odening) playfully flirt with each other throughout the show, insinuating a homosexual relationship not previously revealed in Wilde’s play. Flanders and his assistant director, Katie Valtcheva, wanted to celebrate Wilde’s own homosexuality while simultaneously challenging the audience’s view of sexuality. According to Valtcheva, “Queerness and sexuality have been around for hundreds of years. And just because these people seem prim and proper doesn’t mean that they are and they hold back a lot of things, and we still do the same things today… It’s not that different of a time and humans are still humans.”
Wildly entertaining, BareStage does not rely on cheap jokes to make the audience laugh, but rather does the smart wit of Wilde justice. You will be doubled over with laughter. “As a cast, we all love each other. In that way, it translates onstage because we all have a really good connection with each other,” Mathis says about her castmates. This energy not only helps audiences enjoy themselves, but also positively encourages us to question the normative cultures surrounding women and sexuality that survive today. With each serious thought and each comedic moment, The Importance of Being Earnest takes one out of Wilde’s London and into thriving societal issues still prevalent in Berkeley and beyond. Don’t be surprised if you see me there again; my laughter will not be as fake as Cecily’s and Gwendolen’s in the tea scene. Neither will yours.
Catch BareStage’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” in the choral hall at the Cesar Chavez Center on Sunday October 18th at 5pm, Friday October 23rd and Saturday October 24th at 8pm, and Sunday October 25th at 5pm.
Images: Riley Bathauer Photography
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