Program Notes

The Importance of Being Earnest is a classical piece by Oscar Wilde. The first production was at the St. James Theater in London in 1895. The Importance of Being Earnest does not openly suggest any controversial issues and is a great source of comedy for any age group. Although the script doesn’t have much room for directorial interpretation, it has been constantly produced throughout the years and has taken upon many different design concepts within the productions. The comedic timing in the script and the constant puns is what attracts the audience to show time after time.

This play shows the hypocrisy and the extravagant behavior of the upper class society in London during the late Victorian era. In a world where the majority of people lived in slum like areas and made their living wages by working long hours in harsh conditions, the characters in The Importance of Being Earnest have no sense of this. Lady Bracknell’s Ideas of what is fashionable is unreachable for the majority of the classes living in London at the time. Her unrealistic expectations of fashionable living is something that many people are still unable to achieve in today’s society.

A major element within this play is the idea of living a double life. The excitement of the London night life was often a great escape to for many of London’s aristocrats. In the Importance of being Earnest, Algernon uses an imaginary character with persisting bad health to escape from his family to go out to the clubs, restaurants and to the country. Both Jack and Algernon have created these types characters in which they use to escape from their normal lives. They run into trouble when both the women they want to marry believe that they are both names Ernest and would not marry someone without that name. They try to hide their real names from their fiancées by requesting to be christened. Oscar Wilde lived his own double life since he was secretly a homosexual. Homosexuality was considered to be illegal during the late Victorian era and Oscar Wilde was imprisoned in 1895. By writing The Importance of Being Earnest, Wilde made light of living a secret double life, although his caused him far more damage than the happy ending of the characters from this play. The double lives of the characters in The Importance of Being Earnest also poses a problem for Lady Bracknell, who constantly describes the inconvenience of Algernon’s “friend” Bunbury, even in the event of his “death.”

Marriage is something that the women in the play seem to have unrealistic fantasies and expectations about. From Lady Bracknell only wanting the most prestige of men marrying her daughter, Gwendolen only seeing herself marrying a man named Ernest, and Cecily imagining she is engaged before she has even met her fiancée. The idea that the women only plan on marrying the perfect man is a girly fantasy that the women are constantly chasing and are even willing to fabricate in their own minds. Lady Bracknell only wants her daughter to marry the best, which of course is every mothers inner fantasy but in the case of her daughter, a position in society is a must. This concept is something that only a few have the opportunity of achieving and is not necessarily the ingredient to a happy marriage. Even though Gwendolen seems to have her values in a husband misconstrued, having her mother disapprove of Jack and her chasing after him seems to be a form of rebellion against her mother and fulfilling a temptation that she would have not have fulfilled with a man her mother approved of. During the late nineteenth century, women were not able to divorce their husbands. Having this thought in the back of their heads may have been the reason the women were constantly chasing the perfect ideal man.

During the time of The Importance of Being Earnest, Keeping a high sense of etiquette and view of moral character was extremely important for the elite. Any minor difference in character was open for criticism. The upper class in London at this time was highly focused on what was fashionable in means of behavior, clothing, wealth, and marriage. This is all shown within The Importance of Being Earnest.

Statement: Producing the Play

The Importance of being Earnest does produce some textual problems in which the dialect of the characters is that of a British accent. The play is set in London in the late nineteenth century Victorian era and all the characters have either a level of aristocracy or intellect. This poses a problem to the actors playing these characters who do not have a natural British accent and the level of dialect coaching needed to make these characters believable. Another problem from an actor and directors concern would be hitting each line with the correct comedic timing. Without delivering the lines with a certain emphasis where need be, the audience could miss out on the irony and hypocrisy of the characters. Comedic timing would definitely be a main focus during any rehearsal for this play.

The main problem with The Importance of Being Earnest is that it is so widely known and over produced. Since this play doesn’t have many hidden themes or elements, there is not many options for a director to exhaust to make this play a new adaptation. Once a person has seen the show once, they may not feel the need to see it again even though it may have been entertaining. Although The Importance of Being Earnest is a cheerful piece, academically, it would not be a piece that the students here at Sam Houston State University would get a great learning experience from. One positive aspect of the over production of the piece is that it may bring in more attendance from the Huntsville community regardless of the age group. The Importance of Being Earnest doesn’t not openly suggest any controversial issues. Although the play is often referred to as a portrait of Wilde’s own double life with homosexuality. If produced here at Sam Houston State, it would be best if it was preformed in the main stage since the context of the play does not call for a intimate setting.

Many productions of The Importance of Being Earnest have used the assistance of a dialect coach to rehearse the actors in the correct use of the language and dialect at that period. Previous productions of The Importance of Being Earnest take a new direction on the costuming. Where as the costumes are shown to be over the top to match the outlandish behavior of the characters of the play. This can be shown by the production from the Cal Poly Department of Theater. The costumes were extravagant, and seemed to be a over the top interpretation of the characters. In this production, the Cecily almost resembles a gothic character than the innocent young woman she was originally intended to be. This seemed to not necessarily be effective but definitely eye catching to an audience member familiar with the piece. Another approach to making a production stand out from others was the Paper Mill Playhouse production. They used the actor who played the characters of Lane and Merriman to also play Oscar Wilde and placed him in a box seat so all the audience could see him during the performance. This gave the impression that Oscar Wilde was watching his own play, which gave a more interactive version for the audience.

Majority of the reviews of previous productions of this play are positive. They acclaim it to a classical piece with productions that continues to attract and amuse an audience. Although the Paper Mill Playhouse seemed to receive mainly negative reviews regarding the acting. Critics agreed that the actors different approach with the characters seemed to make the characters actions unbelievable. “As Jack's ward (and Algernon's eventual love interest) Cecily, Zoe Winters takes the production's theatricality motif way too far, turning scenes of dialogue into irritating shouting matches” (Matt Windman, Theatre Mania). Making a classical piece stand out from other productions can have its drawbacks if a director takes the play into a direction that the context of the script doest not support, as seen in the case of the Paper Mill Playhouse.

Production History

1.)The Village Theatre
Francis J. Gaudette Theatre & Everett Performing Arts Center
&
Issaquah WA, Everett WA

Issaquah production: January 21–March 1, 2009
Everett production: March 6–29, 2009

Director:Brian Yorkey
Scenic Design: Bill Forrester
Lighting Design:Tom Sturge
Costume Design: Karen Ledger
Sound Design:Gino Scarpino

The director, Brian Yorkey, makes no overt attempts to force the play to comment on our current predicament, but he does keep the Victorian setting and uses it to suggest the sunset of an empire -- and a society that's almost too frivolous to last.

By John Hartl

Special to The Seattle Times

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/thearts/2008725240_zart09earnest.html

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.
By Dale Burrows
For The Enterprise
http://www.enterprisenewspapers.com/article/20090225/ETP17/702259889&template=ETPart


2.) Michigan State University
East Lansing Michigan
Wharton Theatre for Preforming Arts
October 9th - 11th and 16th - 19th, 2003

Director: Carolyn M. Gillespie
Scene Design: Kirk Domer
Costume Design: Gretel Geist
Lighting Design: Danielle M. Baisden
Sound Design: Daniel A. Swallec

3.) Regents Park Open Air theatre:
New Shakespeare Company
London
July 3-25, 2009
Director:Irina Brown
Designer: Kevin Knight
Lighting Designer: Tim Mascall
Sound Designer: Fergus O'Hare

I believe it is a breath of fresh air that allows us to experience the play anew. The dazzling, dizzying dialogue in which Wilde treats “all trivial things very seriously and all the serious things of life with sincere and studied triviality” zings, sings and stings in this production, and there is no overplaying of the homosexual subtext about “confirmed and secret Bunburyists” leading hidden lives.
By Charles Spencer
The Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturecritics/charlesspencer/5787648/The-Importance-of-Being-Earnest-at-Regents-Park-review.html

she brings to life something that's often neglected: Wilde's double-living, duplex, bisex drama depends not only on a web of pseudonyms, invented siblings and imaginary friends but on the split between town and country, really, between London and everywhere else. It's an urban dandy's reworking of a Shakespeare pastoral comedy: all the tangles of urban life unravel out of town.
By:Susanna Clapp
The Observer
http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2009/jul/12/everybody-loves-winner-manchester-review


4.) Paper Mill Playhouse
January 14-Febraury 15 2009
Millburn, NJ
Director: David Schweizer
Set designer: Alexander Dodge
Costume Designer: David Murin
Lighting Designer: Matt Frey

David Schweizer's new production of Oscar Wilde's comedy of manners, The Importance of Being Earnest, now at the Paper Mill Playhouse, is not updated to the present, nor does it use any symbolic or surrealistic devices. Still, this is not exactly a traditional production of the classic play -- although it is a pleasantly entertaining one.
By: Matt Windman
Theater Mania
http://www.theatermania.com/new-jersey/reviews/01-2009/the-importance-of-being-earnest_17108.html

Perched in a fancy box positioned on high next to the proscenium is Oscar Wilde (Chris Spencer Wells). As expected, he is dandily dressed and undoubtedly looking forward to seeing his comedy performed. He waves and blows kisses to friends below between sips from a glass of wine. Because Wells has been assigned two other roles, that of servants Lane and Merriman, he leaves the box once the play begins. My only thought as the play got under way was had Wilde remained he might have been inclined to throw himself out of the box in light of the travesty made of his play.
By: Simon Saltzman
Curtain Up
http://www.curtainup.com/earnestpapermill09.html


5.) Theater Ten Ten
New York, NY
February 8 - March 9, 2008
Director: Judith Jarosz
Set Designer: David Fuller
Costume Designer: Shauna Horn

Many of their lines are delivered as the characters face the audience. It is not a form of direct address, per se, as they seem unaware of the audience's presence. The presentational style appears to be used more because the characters are performing for each other. They realize what they are saying is ridiculous and witty, intended to make one laugh. Occasionally, the laughter was so loud that the next lines were drowned out. As it turns out, the play is possibly the Victorian era's version of stand-up.
by: Amy Freeman
Off Off Online
http://www.offoffonline.com/archives.php?id=1290

David Fuller, formly the artistic director of the now defunct Jean Repertory Theatre on the Bowery, plays two roles: appearing first as Algernon's butler, Lane, in his London flat, and later as Merriman, manservant in Worthings counrty home. In addtion, Fuller desinged the sets, including the posh London flat and country garden filled with flower baskets.
By: Joseph Hurley
The Irish Echo
http://www.theater1010.com/images/IBE_Irish_Echo_Review_pasteup.pdf



6.) California Polytechnic University
Department of Theatre and Dance
San Luis Obispo, CA
February 28- March 7, 2002
Director: Mike Malkin
Set Design& Lighting Design: Tim Dugan
Costume Designer: Kira Franz-Knight

The World of the Play: Statement

The Importance of Being Earnest is set in 1890 London. During this time London was divided by 3 dominant and different social classes: working, middle and upper. This play has a range of different characters who each serve as a gateway to learning more about the late nineteenth century. During this time London has a large working class and was known for the terrible living conditions. The lifestyle that is lived by the working class is significantly different from that of the upper class. This is seen through the different etiquette and ideals of each social class in London. The Importance of Being Earnest exposes the satirical ideal of London’s upper class the late nineteenth century. The majority of the characters in this play are from the upper class and satirizes them by showing their outlandish views and nature of London’s most prestige. The upper class in London at this time was highly focused on what was fashionable in means of behavior, clothing, wealth, and marriage. Keeping a high sense of etiquette and view of moral character was extremely important. Any minor difference in character was open for criticism. This is shown by Lady Bracknell’s outlandish criticism towards Jack for not having any parents. This was unfashionable and unacceptable for her. The working class during the nineteenth century would have been more concerned about financial constraints rather than an orphan adult’s reputation.

Marriage is one of the many themes within the play. During the 1890s, women did not have many rights regarding marriage. Any wealth or land obtained by the woman before marriage would become the husbands after marriage. Women also did not have many rights to divorce compared to her husband. A husband was able to divorce his wife if he felt she was guilty of adultery but a divorce would not be granted to a wife if she were to accuse her husband of adultery. The women in this play are obsessed with thoughts of their future husbands. This is mainly because at this time, women did not hold much of a place in society without the help of her husband. Women, especially those of upper class were dependent on men their entire life from their fathers to their husbands. Many working class women were able to be independent but once they got married, if their husband was able to support the family, the wife would not continue to work.

Popular culture during this time included classical music, operas, attending the theater, and engaging in the night life clubs and restaurants. The excitement of the London night life was often a great escape to for many of London’s aristocrats. In the Importance of being Earnest, Algernon uses an imaginary character with persisting bad health to escape from his family to go out to the clubs, restaurants and to the country. Although many participated in the nightlife culture, Religion in the nineteenth century was highly practiced and valued. The religious service of christening is focused upon in The Importance of Being Earnest

Education in nineteenth century London along with the majority of the world, was highly focused upon the men. They received a significant difference of education compared to the women. For most women, their education was given to them at home and consisted of learning languages and basic domestic skills. For the men , they were able to attend school and universities.
Movements towards woman’s suffrage in America continued to move in the right direction in 1890. The American Woman Suffrage Association and the National Woman Suffrage Association merge, becoming the National American Woman Suffrage Association. With this merge, they were able to reach more individuals and campaign for woman’s suffrage within America. Although, women in England were granted suffrage in 1918 for women over 30 (house holders and wives) and finally for women over 21 in 1928.

The industrial revolution was also on the verge of beginning in America. The revolution led to the use of new materials and new inventions that we still use today. Important movements towards transportation also grew during this time. An example of this would be the opening of London’s underground railway. This allowed for a new way for people to get around in London. The underground railway also the world’s first electricity powered subway. The Industrial revolution and technology continued to grow from there and into the twentieth century.
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The World of the Play: Micro View

1.) Marriage Rights

In 1890, Florence Fenwick Miller (1854-1935), one of the first women to qualify in medicine, described woman's position succinctly:

"Under exclusively man-made laws women have been reduced to the most abject condition of legal slavery in which it is possible for human beings to be held...under the arbitrary domination of another's will, and dependent for decent treatment exclusively on the goodness of heart of the individual master. (From a speech to the National Liberal Club)"...

If a woman was unhappy with her situation there was, almost without exception, nothing she could do about it. Except in extremely rare cases, a woman could not obtain a divorce and, until 1891, if she ran away from an intolerable marriage the police could capture and return her, and her husband could imprison her. All this was sanctioned by church, law, custom, history, and approved of by society in general. Nor was it the result of ancient, outdated laws: the new (1857) divorce act restated the moral inequality. Mere adultery was not grounds for a woman to divorce a man; however, it was sufficient grounds for a man to divorce his wife.

http://www.hastingspress.co.uk/history/19/overview.htm

Marriage is a major theme within this play. The women are constantly fantasizing about their future husbands. Women during the 19th century are dependent on men from their fathers to their future husbands. Marrying and having children is the most important thing a woman can do during this time.

2.) Education
A lady's education was taken, almost entirely, at home. There were boarding schools, but no University, and the studies were very different. She learned French, drawing, dancing, music, and the use of globes. If the school, or the governess, was interested in teaching any practical skills, she learned plain sewing as well as embroidery, and accounts.
http://www.english.uwosh.edu/roth/VictorianEngland.htm

Cecily has a governess of her own in the play and when we meet her, she is studying her German. Women's education was not as highly valued as a mans but still necessary to become a decent wife.

3.) Religion
Victorian England was a deeply religious country. A great number of people were habitual church-goers, at least once and probably twice, every Sunday. The Bible was frequently and widely read by people of every class; so too were religious stories and allegories.
http://www.english.uwosh.edu/roth/VictorianEngland.htm

Religion is mentioned frequently throughout the play because of the men requesting to be christened, a practice that is done to children. This seems to saterize the depths of what men will do, in that, they will go through religious ceremonies to keep their lies.

4.) Social Class

Working class - men and women who performed physical labor, paid daily or weekly wages.

Middle class - men performed mental or "clean" work, paid monthly or annually.

Upper class - did not work, income came from inherited land and investments.

Typical Incomes (annual)
Aristocrats £30,000
Merchants, bankers £10,000
Middle-class (doctors, lawyers, clerks) £300-800
Lower middle-class (head teachers, journalists, shopkeepers, etc.) £150-300
Skilled workers (carpenters, typesetters,etc.) £75-100 Sailors and domestic staff £40-75 Laborers, soldiers £25
http://www.english.uwosh.edu/roth/VictorianEngland.htm

Social class is a huge factor in this play because the majority of the characters are in the upper class. It shows the concerns of the upper class is more about their social life and marriage than compared to those of the working class.


5.) Liberal Unionism

The Liberal Unionists were a British political party which split away from the Liberals in 1886, and had effectively merged with the Conservatives by the turn of the century, the formal merger being completed in 1912.

http://knowledgerush.com/kr/encyclopedia/Liberal_Unionist/

The reason for the split in the Liberals was the conversion of Gladstone to the cause of Irish Home Rule. The 1885 General Election had left Parnell's Irish Nationalists holding the balance of power, and had convinced Gladstone that the Irish wanted and deserved Home Rule. Some Liberals believed that Gladstone's Home Rule bill led to de facto independence for Ireland, and the dissolution of the United Kingdom, which they could not countenance. Seeing themselves as defenders of the Union of Britain and Ireland, they called themselves Liberal Unionists.

http://www.economicexpert.com/a/Liberal:Unionist:Party.html

The liberal unionist are significant to the play because Jack associates himself as a Liberal Unionist. This gives insight to the depths of Jacks character and his political views.

6.) Opening of London's underground Railway

London was the birthplace of underground mass transportation, and in the 1890s it remained the center of rapid transit technology. On November 4, 1890, the City and South London Railway had inaugurated the world's first electrically powered subway. Originally intended for cable power, the City and South London converted to electricity at the last moment, and its design resembled a toy train set more than a major urban railway.The new underground was only three miles long, going from the Monument in the city to Stockwell on the south bank of the Thames River, and its two tunnels had a diameter of just ten feet two inches. Its four-car trains were tiny, seating no more than 96 riders, and they averaged just 13 miles per hour. Passenger accommodations were not ideal, either. Angry riders complained that the carriages were stuffy and uncomfortable.
http://www.city-journal.org/article02.php?aid=1393

The opening of this railway could have possibly been a means of transportation for many of Algernon's "Bunburying" schemes.

7.) Jack the Ripper
Most middle-class and wealthy Londoners were blissfully ignorant of conditions in Whitechapel until the autumn of 1888, when Scotland Yard realized that a serial killer was loose in the area, and Fleet Street helped create the legend — and even the name — of the knife-wielding "Ripper." Until the brutal slayings ended some two and a half years later, sensationalistic coverage of the Ripper was relentless, his exploits recounted by reporters and artists in a manner that exposed the squalor of Whitechapel to a fascinated audience — and shaped London's perception of the East End.
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1807923,00.html

Since the characters were in the upper class, a criminal of this nature would be the perfect thing to gossip about. They do not seem interested in the natures of the poor but a criminal such as Jack the Ripper would only spark many debates and conversations about the working class and their lifestyle in London's slums.

8.) Communication

By 1878 Britain had constructed two overland and one maritime telegraph links to India, part of a network that by the end of the century had reached almost every corner of the world. Related to the telegraph, but far more practical on a personal level, was the telephone, developed by the Scotsman Alexander Graham Bell in 1876. By 1887 there were 26,000 telephones in use in Britain (and 150,000 in the United States) and multiple switchboards had been installed in most major towns and cities.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/victorian_technology_04.shtml

Communication is significant to this play because they claim their imaginary family and friends have contacted them and use it as a way to escape from their normal everyday life.

9.) Fashion

Women's dress in the 1890's continued to be built in a sturdy, heavy, upholstered style, but the silhouette changed to that of an hour glass. Female bodies were corseted to a small waist, and then padded in the buttocks, hips, bosom and sleeves to exaggerate the apparent wasp-waisted effect…Men's Dress in the 1890's took a turn towards greater formality and dandyism in Europe, and went in the opposite direction in the U.S. where the popular mode was brightly colored sportswear.

http://www.costumes.org/classes/fashiondress/TurnoftheCentury.htm Fashion is a main importance to the characters in the play because of their high social status.

10.) Nightlife Many clubs are for gambaling and betting purposes: many for dancing; some for sunday theatricals and recitals: some, under the name of the club, carry on what is a practically a "disorderly" house: on these the police are always making raids; but driven out of one place the people only flock to another...These young men gradually drifted into clubs; it became necessary to belong to one or two clubs...Another cause of the desertion of the club is the increased popularity of the restuarants. They are more expensive than the club; but they are bright and lively. Ladies can, and do, go to these restaurants without reproach..

London in the Nineteenth Century by: Walter Besant

London night life was a common activity for most of the main characters in the play. Algernon refers to not wanting to dine with LadyBracknell because of the women he will be seated by at the resturant. He explains that women are always flirting with their husbands. This is significant because as explained by Besant, women are becoming part of daily nightlife and are enjoying it.