<< Previous   of   Next >> (click to enlarge) contributed photo/Jay Koh Jason Collins as Algernon Moncrieff and Angela DiMarco as Cecily Cardew in Village Theatre’s production of “The Importance of Being Earnest.”

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‘The Importance of Being Earnest’

• On stage: Village Theatre presents the Oscar Wilde comedy about deceptions and mistaken identities, at the Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave., Everett. • Performances: 8 p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Saturdays & Sundays, 7 p.m. selected Sundays, through March 29. • Tickets: $16-$52, available by calling 425-257-8600 or 888-257-3722, or online at www.villagetheatre.org.

CONTACT THE ENTERPRISE Jocelyn Robinson, News editor jrobinson@heraldnet.com

Village runs Wilde with 'Earnest'

By Dale Burrows
For The Enterprise

Oscar generates. The cast animates. Village orchestrates.

In "Earnest;" Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest." This is Village running Wilde.

Imagine a lie, a tiny white lie, one that trips innocently off the tongue of an obviously dizzy-headed British aristocrat during a perfectly meaningless chat with his fop friend. That is what gets this rolling stone that gathers nothing but gloss, going and going, on and on; contagiously, outrageously and wonderfully.

And what is this insanely miniscule, microscopic deception about?

What else?

Love, sweet love, the love of woman this British silly-Willie nurtures in his heart of hearts, in secret.

The mistake he makes?

Confiding in his fop friend. The man's a merry mischief-maker with time on his hands. Fathom that. The possibilities are endless.

And of every single one, Village makes the mirthful most.

Paul Morgan Stetler leads as the lead headed, straight man that gets played like a ping pong ball. Battered, bruised, bewitched, bothered and bewildered, Stetler's the study in gullibility that anyone who's ever been the butt of a joke won't have trouble empathizing with. Laugh at him, you laugh at yourself.

Same for Jason Collins except he makes you kick yourself.

Collins is the instigator. How many times has your practical joke backfired? You thought you were being funny. Someone you cared about got hurt. Laugh at Collins' shenanigans. But beware. What goes around comes around.

Steady yourself for Laura Kenny. Kenny blusters, bellows and bullies with hurricane force as the mother of all mother-in-laws, Lady Brackneil or "Aunt Augusta" as her nephew calls her. Truly, Kenny's Augusta, like a female Caesar Augustus, rules.

Jennifer Lee Taylor and Angela Dimarco mix and match as batty babes sweating suitors through their paces. Why girls get engaged, what they tell themselves and what they don't tell their guys, Taylor and Dimarco reveal all. Serious, they pretend to be. Tongue-in cheek, they clearly are. Heaven help the objects of their affections.

Over 55 and carrying a torch? Jane Muirhead and Richard Ziman brighten the prospects. Muirhead and Zimany are seniors who got the hots for each other.

Over 55, single and content to observe? Clayton Corzatte's wry reactions defy description. Corzatte's the butler in the background. He chuckles, you chuckle. Why? Who knows?

Sets, costumes and designs, Brian Yorkey's direction pulls it all together. This is Great White Way brightness applied to Victorian-era comedy. It is fast-paced, charming, clever, uproariously funny and a perfect prescription for today's ailing times.

See Village run Wilde.



Reactions? Comments? E-mail Dale Burrows at entfeatures@heraldnet.com or grayghost7@comcast.net.