Trivial comed y for serious people

Story by Amanda Martin

1 rivial comedy for serious people is a good description of "The Importance of Being Earnest," the spring production presented on the nights of April 25, 26,28-30 and May 2, 3, 5, by LBC's drama department

"The Importance ofBeing Earnest" essentiallydealswith two friendswho discover that they have been engaged for a long time in similar schemes Each one pretends tobe a fictional person when he is outside of his particular sphere ofinfluence: Jack (Steve Dowell) resides in the country so that when he is in thecity, where nooneknows him, hetakes on the name ofEarnest; Algernon (Bart Truman, a freshman from San Jose, California),a city dweller,adopts the name of Bunbury

Each wants toconduct his clandestineaffairs so he may be irresponsible on occasionand still protecthisgood and "respectable" name.

Oscar Wilde uses various forms of humor inorder tomake this play hoverbetween comedy and farce Virtually all of the characters are involved insome sortof deception, yetonly thetwo who do it in full consciousness and with purpose are exposed and presumably excused intheaudience's eyes. Wilde creates very dissimilar characters for the scrapes he contrives:

Jack issincere in hisdissembling and is easily frustrated; Algernon, on theother hand, isaneasy manipulator andenjoysa situation more^ themore desperate it becomes. The author alsoenjoys using familiar expressions in rather twisted ways. These two lead rolesare head tohead with the beautiful Cecily (Pam Napier,a freshman from Freeport, Tex.)and the notorious Gwendolyn (Linda Henry, a freshman from Haddon Heights,N.J.).

Mr. Stephen Wedan comments, "Although Oscar Wilde wrote 'The Importance of Being Earnest' in a very short time andconsidered it a minor play,it is a brilliantly complex and lasting institution of the theatre."