'The Importance of Being Earnest' to hit Purdue stage Sept. 22

"The Importance of Being Earnest."
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Directed by Kristine Holtvedt, associate professor of theater and head of acting, the comedy satirizes the upper crust of Victorian English society. The play tells the tale of two young men who bend the truth in order to escape family obligations and capture the hearts of their true loves. The ensuing chaos that results from their web of deceit leads to more surprises for all of those involved.

Considered by many to be his best work, Wilde wrote "The Importance of Being Earnest" in 1895.

"Born in Dublin, Wilde was an outsider to the inner sanctums of English upper-class society and he had an outsider's acute perception of its values and standards," Holtvedt said. "Wilde satirizes morality in Victorian society, its conventions of social position, income and respectability, its hypocrisy and its 'marriage market.'"

Holtvedt compares the play to the television comedy "Seinfeld."

"Wilde called his play 'trivial;' 'Seinfeld' is a 'show about nothing.' 'Earnest' parodies the British upper classes of London society; 'Seinfeld' lampoons a quartet of urban professionals living in New York City," Holtvedt said. "Both the play and the series were enormous successes. Each, with biting satire and gentle humor, create and re-create the human comedy and humanity of their own eras."

Holtvedt's previous directing credits for Purdue Theatre include "The Gut Girls," "Big Love" and "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." She taught acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City and at the St. Nicholas Theatre and Actors Repertory Company in Chicago.

"The Importance of Being Earnest" will run in the Nancy T. Hansen Theatre in the Yue-Kong Pao Hall of Visual and Performing Arts. Sponsored in part by the Purdue Employees Federal Credit Union and the Indiana Arts Commission, it is a part of Purdue Theatre's centennial celebration of Purdue student theater, which began in 1906-07 with the Harlequin Club.

The play will run at 3 p.m. on Sept. 24, 30 and Oct. 1 and at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 22-23, 28-30 and Oct. 5-6. Tickets are $16 for the general public, $12 for seniors and $9 for students. A preview performance will run at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 21. Tickets for the preview are $5.50.

Tickets may be purchased at the Loeb Playhouse, Elliott Hall of Music or Yue-Kong Pao Hall box offices or by calling (765) 494-3933 or (800) 914-SHOW. Information about all Division of Theatre productions is available online.

Writer: Bethany Bannister-Andrews, (765) 494-2073, bbannister@purdue.edu

Sources: Peggy Felix, Purdue Theatre director of marketing and donor relations, (765) 494-3084, felix@purdue.edu

Kristine Holtvedt, (765) 494-3083, holtvedt@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

CUTLINE:
Jack Worthing (Andrew Carlson) seeks the affections of Gwendolyn Fairfax (Molly McKenna) much to the dismay of her mother, Lady Bracknell (Amanda Folena) in the Purdue Division of Theatre presentation of Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest." The production runs Sept. 22-Oct. 6 in the Nancy T. Hansen Theatre in the Yue-Kong Pao Hall of Performing Arts. (Purdue photo/Richard Myers-Walls)

A publication-quality photograph is available at http://news.uns.purdue.edu/images/+2006/theatre-earnest.jpg

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