THE BASICS: The Buffalo State Theater Department and Casting Hall’s presentation of Oscar Wilde’s most famous comedy “The Importance of Being Earnest” continues on campus at Upton Hall in the Warren Enters Theatre tonight through Friday, March 20th at 8:00pm.
THUMBNAIL SKETCH: Fans of the PBS series “Downton Abbey” will immediately feel at home with the characters and social situations involving butlers, having both a town and a country home, taking tea, and keeping up appearances as well as with the character “Lady Bracknell” upon whom the “Downton” character “The Dowager Countess” must have been based in part. Fans of the TV show “Seinfeld” will feel comfortable with a play “about nothing.”
Algernon Moncrieff is a somewhat louche member of the idle rich while his friend John Worthing, slightly more responsible, is aiming to propose to Algernon’s cousin, Gwendolen Fairfax, who is under the care of her mother, Lady Bracknell, a force unto herself. Both men are duplicitous, Algernon having an imaginary friend, the always ailing “Bunbury” who provides an excuse to avoid social obligations, while John leads a double life as the responsible country squire caring for his ward Cecily Cardew in the country, but as “Ernest,” a bit of a libertine, in town.
The title of the play is a pun where the plot requires the young men to claim that their name is “Ernest” while their entire lives are devoted to that peculiarly English occupation of appearing to be anything but earnest.
THE PLAYERS, THE PLAY, AND THE PRODUCTION:
Full disclosure: the role of “Lady Bracknell” is played by Anthony Chase, who is my co-host of “Theater Talk” (Friday mornings on WBFO 88.7 FM).
The Warren Enters Theatre is a very comfortable venue with aggressively raked seats so that sightlines are excellent and the staging by Scenic Designer/Master Carpenter Ron Schwartz was very, very clever, quickly transforming from a drawing room to a country garden to the living room of the country manor. Since this is a production of the theater department of Buff State, one would expect that everything would be first rate, and it is, including the lighting, staging, costumes, and direction. The roles were well cast, and every role was played by a theater major, with three seniors and one junior taking the leads. Everyone on stage (and almost all the actors were from the Buffalo area) spoke with an English accent. I’m not sure that worked, but I have nothing to compare it to.
Of course, the strongest performance was by Dr. Anthony Chase, and that is to be expected, having devoted his life to theater both as teacher and reviewer. Having said that, and mindful of my full disclosure above, his performance was absolutely wonderful, delivering those famous Oscar Wilde lines with just the right level of English imperiousness. Reprising the tradition of “Lady Bracknell” being played by a man (Geoffrey Rush and Brian Bedford come to mind), it adds even more ferocity to “her” role.
It is almost always the case with high school plays and usually in college that the women out-perform the men. And senior Deonna Dolac as Gwendolen and junior Molly Bader as Cecily were wonderful, but seniors Daniel Torres as Algernon and Jesse Tiebor as Jack were right up there. One of the hardest things to do as an actor is be present on stage when you are not speaking. And that skill was in evidence all evening. Nobody ever appeared awkward or in the wrong place or “waiting until it’s my line.” Far from it. According their bios, all four plan to move the New York City to pursue acting careers and from what I saw they should do well.
Lead image: Anthony Chase appears on stage with student Daniel Torres. Photo by Kwame Agyapon/SUNY Buffalo State
*HERD OF BUFFALO (Notes on the Rating System)
ONE BUFFALO: This means trouble. A dreadful play, a highly flawed production, or both. Unless there is some really compelling reason for you to attend (i.e. you are the parent of someone who is in it), give this show a wide berth.
TWO BUFFALOS: Passable, but no great shakes. Either the production is pretty far off base, or the play itself is problematic. Unless you are the sort of person who’s happy just going to the theater, you might look around for something else.
THREE BUFFALOS: I still have my issues, but this is a pretty darn good night at the theater. If you don’t go in with huge expectations, you will probably be pleased.
FOUR BUFFALOS: Both the production and the play are of high caliber. If the genre/content are up your alley, I would make a real effort to attend.
FIVE BUFFALOS: Truly superb–a rare rating. Comedies that leave you weak with laughter, dramas that really touch the heart. Provided that this is the kind of show you like, you’d be a fool to miss it!