The Importance of Being Earnest
at Oakcrest School

Reviewed on February 27, 2015

Gillian Wright
McLean High School
Submitted for publication to Washington Post - Fairfax

The cucumber sandwich is the quintessential British snack, bursting with crunch and releasing subtle flavors. But perhaps the quaint finger food is more than a symbol of mild English culinary taste; perhaps the cucumber sandwich is indicative of British humor as a whole, full of sharp wit and cunningly hidden puns. Oakcrest School's production of "The Importance of Being Earnest" encapsulates the undeniably fresh humor presented in a show that takes place over one hundred years ago.

Oscar Wilde proclaimed his 1895 play to be "a trivial comedy for serious people," and such it is. Wilde's piece satirizes upper-class British culture with a focus on the pettiness of romance. Gwendolen Fairfax and Cecily Cardew are two lovely debutantes singularly focused on marrying men by the name of Earnest. Bachelors John Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff strive gallantly to overcome these women's fixations on the name in the pursuit of the ladies' affections.

The chemistry between the two men, Algernon Moncrieff (Grace Pluta) and John Worthings (Jill Collins) is undeniable. Though it may seem ill advised for an all-girls school to produce a play with more than half of the roles intended for men, the actresses push past their personal identities, embracing mannerisms and stereotypes that make each character's gender seem genuine. Pluta plays an especially authentic young man as Moncrieff, displaying clearly masculine physicality and humor.

In order to juxtapose their lovers' masculinity, Mary Cate Diederich (playing Gwendolen Fairfax) and Sofia Lulli (playing Cecily Cardew) play up their femininity without verging on melodrama. The haphazardly developed relationship between Moncrieff and Cardew is silly yet charming, while Fairfax combines a bold personality with high-strung emotion. Lulli skillfully fills the auditorium with laughter time and time again with her ditzy yet lovable personality.

Completing the energy onstage is a lively ensemble of house servants. Each maid seems to have her own characteristics despite not having any lines. Standing out among the servers is Lane (Stephanie Dolan), who manages to express a range of emotion through tone and inflection. In an effort to build momentum, the show occasionally feels too fast paced, with several words lost to quick speaking. Despite this, clear audio and strong acting always bring the theme across.

Student-run sound management projects the actresses' voices throughout the broad auditorium, despite the occasional issue with pitch. Efficient stage management demonstrates organization and efficiency of the rehearsal process. Costumes and props are generally well suited to the time period and keen artistry is evident in hand-painted set pieces.

What is true love, and in the end, will it prevail? What's in a name? How important is it for men to be Earnest? Lenses to view love abound in literature, both modern and ancient. Oakcrest School's production of "The Importance of Being Earnest" explores the theme of romance from a posh, Victorian perspective, revealing the frivolity which can be enrapturing in daily life even today.

Sarah Santoro
Stone Bridge High School
Submitted for publication to Washington Post - Fairfax

There are many qualities that mark a distinguished man: intelligence, kindness, integrity. But the most important of all is, of course, being earnest. The all-girl cast of Oakcrest School's production of The Importance of Being Earnest brought the clever and witty story to life with clear talent and humor.

Referred to as A Trivial Comedy for Serious People, Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest was first performed on February 14, 1895 at London's Saint James's Theatre. Considered the culmination of his career as a playwright, the show only ran for 86 performances before being cut short by Wilde's persecution for "gross indecency" because of his relationship with the Marquess of Queensberry's son. However, Wilde's signature sharp wit and the play's elevated levels of comical farce continue to make the play popular today and have inspired a myriad of productions and film adaptations.

In the play, Algernon Moncrieff and his friend Ernest Worthing are members of Victorian London's wealthy aristocracy, with all the dinner parties, social politics, and serious triviality it entails. One day it comes to light that both men have created fictional personae in order to escape tiresome social obligations, and Mr. Worthing's name is in fact John; Ernest being a fake brother he uses to escape from his ward Cecily in the country for pleasure in the city. As Algernon and John maintain and even expand their charades while pursuing the engagement of Cecily and Algernon's cousin Gwendolen, their lies become hopelessly entangled and messy; the complications showing that maybe it is much better to be earnest after all.

With comical adroitness and a bit of rakish charm, Grace Pluta skillfully embodied the character of Algernon, with his penchant for speaking in pithy phrases and huge appetite for both muffins and mischief. The more refined, cultivated John was brought to life with equal believability by Jill Collins. Both actresses developed distinctive mannerisms in order to completely and convincingly sell themselves as Victorian men. Their banter and teasing exchanges created the show's most engaging relationship and showcased the witty dialogue.

One of the play's most grounded characters, sweet but sharp-witted Cecily was brought to life by Sofia Lulli with a natural ease. Mary Cate Diederich played sophisticated Gwendolen with her nose in the air and an appropriately affected voice well-suited to the highborn, strong willed character. The mercurial, often scathing interactions between the two actresses added to the comedy of the performance and highlighted some of the more ridiculous aspects of Victorian culture.

The ensemble of maids, butlers, and servants created an animated backdrop for the show, remaining engaging and high energy without drawing too much attention away from the main action of each scene.

While rushed lines and overall enunciation and diction issues meant some iconic and famously witty lines were lost, the banter was still believable and entertaining because of the authentic, playful relationships built between characters.

Hand painted sets charmingly placed the production in Victorian London, from the rich blue and gold wallpaper of Algernon's home in town to the ivy covered stone walls of John's home in the country.

The cast and crew of The Importance of Being Earnest delivered a clever and creative production with charm, believability, and authentic relationships. The talented students of Oakcrest School added their own engaging touches to the popular story, producing a thoroughly entertaining performance.

Jessica Dallessandro
Oakton High School
Submitted for publication to Patch.com - ARL/MC/Mont/DC

"The Importance of Being Earnest," performed at Oakcrest School, combines witty banter and vivid expression into a feel-good piece of theater. The show, written by Oscar Wilde in 1895, follows Mr. John Worthing (Jill Collins), a foundling left in a suitcase when he was a baby, as he attempts to win the hand in marriage of Honorable Gwendolyn Fairfax (Mary Cate Diederich) by reinventing himself as a top tier aristocrat. He claims to be named Earnest, and a dear friend of Mr. Algernon Moncrieff (an exceptional performance by Grace Pluta). This is his only choice, as Gwendolyn would not marry a man with any other name. Algernon discovers, however, that John is living a double life in the country. He travels to John's country home and pretends to be John's brother Earnest, winning the heart of Miss Cecily Cardew (Sofia Lulli). When Gwendolyn and Cecily meet, and believe they are both in love with the same Earnest, chaos ensues before John's lies are revealed. Gwendolyn's mother (Maeve Ponticiello) then reveals that John/Earnest is the son of her brother, before the women forgive their lovers and all is well. As it turns out, John's true birth name really is Earnest. A complicated plotline, but delivered with excellent comedic timing and delicious chemistry between the principle characters.

Among the most impressive aspects of the play was the all female cast, and their transformation into male characters. Jill Collins as Mr. Worthing exemplified this shift, carrying herself with masculine posture and inserting mannerisms that made her role believable. Character development throughout the show took time, but many actors brought an exciting twist to their role with every scene. Sofia Lulli, as lovely Cecily Cardew, spoke with innate naiveté and innocence, adding a charismatic appeal to the part. Miss Prism (A standout performance by Erin Paulson) used a clever and consistent accent that brought new energy to the stage. The ensemble of servants, while sometimes a bit distracting, inserted themselves cleanly into their scenes. Chemistry between pairs of actors, such as Earnest/Algernon and Algernon/Cecily, was interesting and dynamic, even when the pair was not meant to be the focus of attention. There were scenes when the actors' diction and pacing needed refinement, but their timing was comedic and fun to watch.

The show's other extremely impressive aspect was that it was not performed on a traditional stage, but in a church. As a result, every actor was on a body microphone, flawlessly switched around between scenes with careful sound monitoring by Maria Kehrli. The sets from both acts were gorgeously executed, hand painted by members of the crew, though not always true to the time period of the play. The transformation from men to women was not always clean in terms of the costuming and hair, though it was apparent and nicely done. Prop work, done by Alexis Miller, was detailed and beautiful, including the edible cucumber sandwiches and muffins.

"The Importance of Being Earnest," presented it's actors with an abundance of amusing dialogue, well executed with increasingly smooth flow as the show developed. The characters were well explored and satirically authentic, while the technical elements added a new, sublime dimension to the show. A truly well done performance by the cast and crew, enjoyable and entertaining from beginning to end.

Nikki Amico
West Potomac High School
Submitted for publication to The Catholic Herald

When two men pretend to have a brother of the same name, then pretend to be that brother, then court women under the persona of that brother, then discover a secret about their own identities, chaos is sure to ensue. Add into this mix a female playing each male role, and you have the delightful insanity that was Oakcrest School's "The Importance of Being Earnest". The all girl cast brought irrepressible charisma to this timeless classic, livening each character and illuminating the modern relevance of Oscar Wilde's witty societal critique.

The play begins with Algernon Moncrieff, a rowdy bachelor, awaiting the arrival of his friend, John Worthing, whom he knows as "Ernest", his aunt, Lady Bracknell, and his cousin, Gwendolyn Fairfax. John informs Algernon of his request to propose to Gwendolen, a request Algernon denies until John explains his double life as the upstanding John and his dissolute brother, Ernest. John later proposes to Gwendolen, who also believes his name is Ernest. In the second act, John returns to his country estate where he cares for a wealthy young lady, Cecily. Algernon arrives under the identity of John's brother Ernest and proceeds to court and propose to Cecily. Gwendolen arrives at the estate to see John/Ernest, but instead runs into Cecily and learns that they are both engaged to "Ernest". Lady Bracknell arrives in pursuit of Gwendolen and ends up exposing a revelation about the identities of John and Algernon.

The madcap, slapdash "The Importance of Being Earnest" is considered the most well known work of the great playwright Oscar Wilde and Oakcrest's production showed us why. Even with girls playing men, each character was remarkably animated and believable. An especially enjoyable element of their performances was the lively chemistry between each of the duos onstage. Grace Pluta as Algernon and Jill Collins as John handled both the complex comedic banter and playing members of the opposite sex with ease, effectively portraying the longstanding, hilarious relationship between their characters. Jill Collins and Mary Cate Diederich as Gwendolen Fairfax also delivered a compelling onstage relationship as they were consistently in the moment and telling the story of their characters even when not in focus.

Many of the actors made bold choices to characterize their roles, especially Maeve Ponticiello as Lady Bracknell. To this character, Poniticiello brought an amusing character voice and strong presence onstage. Grace Pluta as Algernon utilized her energetic physicality to characterize Algernon, a choice that both served the character and made the audience forget she was a girl playing a man.

Despite the challenges of performing the show in a sanctuary, the technical elements of this production effectively served the storytelling. The set, designed by Grace Allen and Martina Bucheli, was very detailed, with the business of Algernon's home and beautifully hand painted stone walls. The sound, controlled by Maria Kehrli, was especially impressive as the microphones amplified the actors' voices without any issues and the cues were consistently seamless and sharp.

From the complex storyline to the Victorian-era humor, this play is no small feat to accomplish. Even with the further complication of an all-female cast, Oakcrest school's production attacked this trivial comedy with gusto. The show was hilarious and enjoyable, reminding the audience that "style, not sincerity, is the vital thing".

Zoe Hawryluk
Westfield High School
Submitted for publication to Connection

What happens when two women are engaged to the same man? Naturally, one can assume that things get dramatic. But when mistaken identities, good friends, and true love are involved, pandemonium erupts as Oscar Wilde's most beloved play, The Importance of Being Earnest, withstood the test of time and exuberantly came to life on the stage of Oakcrest High School.

Written in 1895 by the brilliantly witty Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest had a highly anticipated premiere at the St. James's Theatre, and is considered Wilde's most popular work. The show has endured numerous stage adaptations, as well as three film adaptations from 1952 to 2011, proving the show to be just as big of a success in modern times as it was in Wilde's time.

John Worthing is an Englishman who absolutely despises the drudgery of conservative society in 1895, and invents a double life for himself where he is known as "John" in the country and "Earnest" in the city. In order to earn the approval of Lady Bracknell to become engaged to his love Gwendolyn, John must prove he has at least one living parent. Upon returning to the country, he finds that Algernon has proposed to young and beautiful Cecily Cardew, John's ward, while he is pretending to be John's younger brother "Earnest." As the two women believe they are engaged to the same man, chaos ensues as this tangled plot unfolds.

Being an all-girls school, the students at Oakcrest faced the daunting task of playing roles of both genders, which they believably executed through masculine mannerisms and thoughtful hair and makeup. The cast had animated energy that was infectious to watch, portrayed through their strong blocking and acting choices. Despite some issues with diction and enunciation, the students displayed an acute understanding of the classic text and superbly pushed through microphone issues.

As Algernon, Grace Pluta accurately maintained a masculine physique throughout, while utilizing grand gestures and dynamic vocal inflections to emphasize the character's mischievously quick wit. Algernon's playfulness was contrasted by the realistically uptight views of his good friend John Worthing, played by Jill Collins. Collins maintained a consistent English accent, and chose to use fewer, more deliberate arm movements to contrast further from her counterpart. John's relationship with Gwendolen Fairfax, played by Mary Cate Diedrich, was believable and tender, even though both roles were portrayed by female actors. Another notable performance was that of that of Sofia Lulli as the young and innocent Cecily Cardew. Lulli was unbelievably sweet, and proved her comedic talents when she reveals her fantasy three month engagement to "Earnest" (who is really Algernon under a false name), when they meet in the garden for the first time.

The set for the show was extremely versatile; it featured four navy blue panels embellished with gold fleur de lis, which were rotated to reveal a lush garden scene, complete with hand painted stones, climbing vines, and delicate flowers. Even though some props did not reflect the time period of the show, the cast utilized real food and drink onstage, including tea and cucumber finger sandwiches, popular snacks at the time.

"The truth is rarely pure and never simple." However, the cast of Oakcrest High School's The Importance of Being Earnest gave a pure performance of this complex classic, proving that age most definitely does not come before beauty.

Margaret O'Meara
West Potomac High School
Submitted for publication to Fairfax County Times

"The truth is rarely pure and never simple." Deception and love go hand-in-hand in Oakcrest School's production of the farcical comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest.

Oscar Wilde's comedy first premiered in London in 1895, but closed after 86 performances. Since, Wilde's play has been revived many times and adapted to film thrice. The Importance of Being Earnest follows two bachelors who escape from their social obligations by visiting their fictitious brothers. John Worthing (Jill Collins), uses his phony brother, "Earnest," to escape from the country to visit his friend, Algernon (Grace Pluta), and his future fiance, Gwendolen (Mary Cate Diederich) in the city. When Algernon visits John in the country under the name Earnest, he falls in love with, and proposes to, John's ward, Cecily (Sofia Lulli). When the two women reveal to each other that they both are engaged to an "Earnest," ridiculousness, hilarity, and confusion break loose. Through comedy and chaos, The Importance of Being Earnest shows that being earnest is of great importance when dealing with matters of the heart and marriage.

Jill Collins as John Worthing brought out both the sensible and nonsensical side to her character. Collins portrayal of John/Earnest as a reasonable man complimented the character of impulsive and impatient Algernon. Grace Pluta physicality and mannerisms as the witty and clever Algernon added to the illusion of her playing a male. Pluta's comedic timing and outlandish behavior on stage flaunted at Algernon's eccentric and paradoxical character triumphantly. Pluta and Collins charm and brotherly love between their characters instantly made them loveable and engaging to watch whenever interacting on stage.

The catty relationship between Cecily and Gwendolen was played friendly by Sofia Lulli and Mary Cate Diederich, making their character's relationship comical and cute. They both captured the lady-like and proper attitude of their character's time genuinely.

When the ensemble of maids and servants entered a scene, laughs were not far behind. The attentive and expressive maids were all engrossed in the action happening on stage, ensuring entertaining faces and mannerisms from behind the action. Stephanie Dolan specifically stood out as Lane. Dolan's portrayal as the obedient, slow-talking butler to John Worthing perfectly captured the role with poise.

Make-up designer, Da'jah Crayton, successfully transformed and disguised the female actresses into the male roles through the use of makeup and wigs. Set designers Grace Allen and Martina Bucheli created a simple yet elegant set that complimented the scene, focusing the attention on the acting rather than the backdrop.

"Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone." Oakcrest School's production of The Importance of Being Earnest was a farcical comedy that used wit and cleverness to tell a romantic story of phony identities and earnest love.