JCCC Academic Theatre Presents ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’
College Information and Publications 10/19/05 OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – The Importance of Being Earnest will be performed by the Johnson County Community College academic theatre department at 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 17-19, and 2 p.m. Sunday, in Polsky Theatre of the Carlsen Center. The play is free and open to the public. No reservations are required. The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde’s most successful play, is a comedy of “manufactured” mistaken identities and satirizes the English upper class with light-hearted but biting wit. The plot revolves around two fashionable young gentlemen and their courtships. Jack Worthing lives in the country and pretends to have a younger brother, Ernest, whose escapades frequently call Jack to London. In London, Jack takes on the persona of Ernest, and courts Gwendolen, cousin to his friend, Algernon Moncrieff. Trouble erupts when Algernon appears at Jack’s country estate portraying himself as the brother Ernest, delighting Jack’s ward, Cecily, and complicating Jack’s courtship of Gwendolen. “The Importance of Being Earnest is a great comic work,” said Sheilah Philip, JCCC theatre professor. “Performing it gives student actors an opportunity to speak with a British dialect and learn about the manners, style and culture of upper-crust British society during the late Victorian period.” Philip directs the play and also performs the role of Lady Bracknell, Gwendolen’s imperious mother. Jim Lane, JCCC academic theatre, technical director, will direct Philip in her scenes. For more information, call Philip at 913-469-8500, ext. 3132. |
