Director doesn’t trust Wilde’s ‘Earnest’ script

"The Importance of Being Earnest" is a wildly funny Oscar Wilde farce, and on occasion, the Nevada Conservatory Theatre's production calms down enough to capture the humor. But director Paul Barnes makes the mistake of being too aware of the jokes. The actors seem to wear a sign that announces "Aren't we silly?," and that's about as off-the-mark with Wilde as you can get.

Of course, summing up the plot doesn't do justice to the author's magnificent wordplay. So let's just say two young men, Algernon and Jack, are trying to scheme their way into marriage with the attractive and air-headed Gwendolen and Cecily. They have the stern Lady Bracknell to deal with, as well as the mysterious case of an abandoned baby, which winds up determining the entire affair.

Wilde uses the story to make some serious comments on 1895 society. You have to listen carefully, but that's no problem when you're constantly gifted by witticisms such as, "One should always play fairly when one has the winning cards."

Union actress Le Clanché Du Rand finds the perfect playing style as the uppity Lady Bracknell. She makes the comedy hit home while never suggesting she's going for laughs. She makes her character's skin her own. Ryan Fonville creates a realistic Jack, which is at times amazing considering all the nonsensical things he's required to do. And Griffin Stanton-Ameisen has such a good time as the mischievous Algernon that he makes us want to go along for the ride. He's an inventive and relaxed performer.

But there are too many actors like Elisabeth Bokhoven, who is directed as the proper Miss Prism to mimic a human being, rather than become one. Barnes spends so much time punching up jokes with exaggerated movements and silly voices that by the time we get to the third act -- where all the looniness explodes -- we're too tired to care. If only he had pulled back a couple of notches and trusted the script to do its work.

Joseph Varga's set is enchanting and rooted in a blown-up caricature of Queen Victoria. There's a plush red curtain marking an entrance in the place where her heart should be. I took this as a statement on the Queen's England and its puritanical attitudes that edged Wilde toward imprisonment and a tragic death at age 46.

Anthony Del Valle can be reached at DelValle@aol.com. You can write him c/o Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125.