The winter play, “The Importance of Being Earnest,” is debuting Friday, Feb. 13, and according to cast members, it will make the audience laugh, cry and wish they were part of the theater community.
Times of the show are 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 13 and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 14. Activity passes are valid for entrance. Tickets can be purchased now online, but will also be available outside of the cafeteria starting the week of the show.
The tickets cost $5 for adults and $4 for students. The Fine and Performing Arts Department is also offering dinner at Trattoria Pomigliano and a ticket to the show on Friday night for $20.
The show consists of a nine-person cast: seniors Austin Mateer, Jane Recker, Keith Wilson, Jonathan Lester, and Issac Shur; juniors Joe Sullivan, Jackie Ovassapian, and Libby Conley; and sophomore Georgia Sampson.
The play centers around its main protagonist Jack Worthing, played by Mateer, who invents a fictitious brother “Ernest” in order to leave his country home and journey to London. There he meets a woman, Gwendolyn Fairfax, played by Ovassapian, who he falls deeply in love with and asks for her hand in marriage; which is unacceptable to Gwendolyn’s mother, Lady Bracknell.
Unbeknownst to Jack, his close friend Algernon, played by Wilson, travels to Jack’s country home. There, Algernon falls hopelessly in love with Jack’s ward, Cecily Cardew, played by Conley, while convincing her that he is Jack’s brother, Ernest. Thus the two men, Jack and Algernon, become entrapped in their own lies and the story ends in a twist that viewers will not expect.
“There is definitely going to be some parts where they are not going to know what is going on,” stated Recker, who will be playing Lady Bracknell. “Then there [are] definitely going to be some parts where they are laughing so hard they are crying, including a muffin scene.”
The plot surrounds multiple love stories, which are easily portrayed by the cast since they are such a tight group.
“We are basically a family because there are only nine of us and we are stuck together from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. each day,” stated Ovassapian.
The director of the play, Kevin Holly, has directed numerous plays at the school in previous years, but seemed especially excited about this production.
“It’s a fantastic script. I think the actors in this show are going to have a really fun time playing these characters,” said Mr. Holly.
People helping to produce the play behind the scenes include stage manager Joanne Brundza, a senior, and assistant stage manager, junior Julia Wilson.
