Published: Friday, March 6, 2009
Village Theatre's 'Earnest' gives audience time to laugh
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"The Importance of Being Earnest," presented by Village Theatre, opens tonight in Everett.
Neither the fact that Village Theatre primarily produces musicals nor that actor Jason Collins lately has performed in mostly musicals got in the way of making "The Importance of Being Earnest."
And for that, the audience will be grateful.
"Honest to goodness, it's been a dream," Collins said. "The audience is right there with us. There are jokes set up in Act One that don't pay off until later and they still get their huge laughs, so absolutely it's been really great."
That's been the response from audiences who have seen Village Theatre's production of "The Importance of Being Earnest" in Issaquah. Tonight, the show opens in Everett. It runs through March 29.
Collins plays Algernon Moncrieff. He said the tricky part about doing this production was mastering the art of letting the audience laugh.
"My advice to the audience is go ahead and laugh," Collins said. "We are very aware that you want to laugh and not miss anything so we'll always give you plenty of room."
"Earnest" is Oscar Wilde's wildly funny play about mistaken identities, forbidden romances and the aristocracy making fools of themselves.
It's set in the Victorian era where Jack wants to marry Gwendolen, but must prove his worthy parentage to Lady Bracknell. Meanwhile, Gwendolen's cousin Algernon loves Cecily, who happens to be Jack's ward. However, Cecily and Gwendolen both love Ernest, a man they've never met.
Critics have been bullish on Collins' portrayal of Algernon, the Oscar Wilde presence in the story, calling Collins a visual charmer.
Collins, 37, said he's enjoying a role in which he can "be fairly amused at what matters to everybody else and poke fun and point out the ridiculousness of others.
"I think one of the funniest and most clever things about this play is none of the main characters is behaving well," Collins said.
"Despite that, we still want them to succeed, so that's really kind of the brilliant piece of this show, watching them dig their own holes and then how they try to make things right."
And the beauty of this farce lies in Wilde's precise language. Words were chosen carefully for their funniness or cleverness or social commentary. Collins said he and the talented cast and brilliant directing by Brian Yorkey pay homage to Wilde's genius.
"The language of this play," Collins said, "is almost like listening to a musical."
"The Importance of Being Earnest"
Opens at 8 p.m. Friday at Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave., Everett. Shows at 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays, 2 p.m. Saturdays, and 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays through March 29. $16 to $51. 425-257-8600, 888-257-3722, www.villagetheatre.org.
And for that, the audience will be grateful.
"Honest to goodness, it's been a dream," Collins said. "The audience is right there with us. There are jokes set up in Act One that don't pay off until later and they still get their huge laughs, so absolutely it's been really great."
That's been the response from audiences who have seen Village Theatre's production of "The Importance of Being Earnest" in Issaquah. Tonight, the show opens in Everett. It runs through March 29.
Collins plays Algernon Moncrieff. He said the tricky part about doing this production was mastering the art of letting the audience laugh.
"My advice to the audience is go ahead and laugh," Collins said. "We are very aware that you want to laugh and not miss anything so we'll always give you plenty of room."
"Earnest" is Oscar Wilde's wildly funny play about mistaken identities, forbidden romances and the aristocracy making fools of themselves.
It's set in the Victorian era where Jack wants to marry Gwendolen, but must prove his worthy parentage to Lady Bracknell. Meanwhile, Gwendolen's cousin Algernon loves Cecily, who happens to be Jack's ward. However, Cecily and Gwendolen both love Ernest, a man they've never met.
Critics have been bullish on Collins' portrayal of Algernon, the Oscar Wilde presence in the story, calling Collins a visual charmer.
Collins, 37, said he's enjoying a role in which he can "be fairly amused at what matters to everybody else and poke fun and point out the ridiculousness of others.
"I think one of the funniest and most clever things about this play is none of the main characters is behaving well," Collins said.
"Despite that, we still want them to succeed, so that's really kind of the brilliant piece of this show, watching them dig their own holes and then how they try to make things right."
And the beauty of this farce lies in Wilde's precise language. Words were chosen carefully for their funniness or cleverness or social commentary. Collins said he and the talented cast and brilliant directing by Brian Yorkey pay homage to Wilde's genius.
"The language of this play," Collins said, "is almost like listening to a musical."
"The Importance of Being Earnest"
Opens at 8 p.m. Friday at Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave., Everett. Shows at 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays, 2 p.m. Saturdays, and 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays through March 29. $16 to $51. 425-257-8600, 888-257-3722, www.villagetheatre.org.
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