Reno Little Theater
in partnership with
Wooster High School
presents
The Importance of
Being Earnest
By Oscar Wilde
Directed by Michael Peters
Director Peters and the Reno Little Theater would like to
dedicate this production to the memory of Matthew Mahan, a
member of the cast of All My Sons, who died in a traffic
accident after the performance of that play on March 24, 2002.
May 24, 25, 31 and June 1 at 8:00 pm
May 26 and June 2 at 2:00 pm
2002
The Importance of Being Earnest
— a trivial comedy for serious people
O
scar Wilde’s most famous comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest,
mocks the disproportionate weight we often assign to the most frivolous
and insignificant things; fashion, appearance, social status. Although the
objects of his satire in the play are members of the English upper class, his real
targets are the superficiality and insincerity with which any of us complicate our
lives. In the aftermath of September 11, 2001 it is perhaps easier for us to recognize the genuinely important things in life–true friends, family, courage, and
self-sacrifice. Even so, Oscar’s light-hearted ridicule of our penchant to be
serious about trivia and trivial about serious things has been delighting
audiences for 107 years. We hope our efforts extend this admirable feat.
Enjoy!
Originally produced at the St. James Theatre, London, February 14, 1895.
_______________________________________________________________
Act I
Algernon Moncrieff’s flat in Half Moon Street West, London, 1930.
Fifteen-minute Intermission
Act II
The garden at Jack Worthing’s Manor House, Woolton.
Ten-minute Intermission
Act III
Drawing room Jack Worthing’s Manor House, Woolton.
_______________________________________________________________
E
ducated at Trinity College in Dublin, and later at the University of Oxford,
Oscar Wilde wrote poetry, studied the classics, and adopted a philosophy of
“arts for art’s sake.” He was often seen strolling through Piccadilly Circus in
London, decked out in silk shirt, velvet coat, silk stockings, knee breeches, and
shoulder-length hair, carrying a lily. His eccentric image was an easy target for
satire in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Patience (1881), a comic opera that paid him a
portion of its box office receipts for the honor.
Cast
(in order of appearance)
Lane, manservant ----------------------------------------------------------- David Zybert
Algernon Moncrieff ------------------------------------------------------- Cory Forson
John Worthing, J.P. ---------------------------------------------------- Kirk Gardner
Lady Bracknell ------------------------------------------------------ Harriet Beaman
Hon. Gwendolen Fairfax ------------------------------ Mari-Kristin Cetovick
Miss Prism, governess ----------------------------------------------- Julie Robertson
Cecily Cardew ----------------------------------------------------------- Bergen Kanoff
Rev. Canon Chasuble, D.D. -------------------------------------- Phil Harriman
Merriman, butler ----------------------------------------------------------- Sam Coleman
Behind the Scenes
Director ------------------------------------------------------------ Michael Peters
Assistant Director ----------------------------------------------- Linda Havens
Lighting --------------------------------------------------------------- Rick Patton
Sound --------------------------------------------------------------- Gary Helmers
Costumes ------------------------------------ Diana Carter, Julie Robertson
Set Design ------------------------------------------------ Michael Peters, et al.
Set Construction -- Harriet Beaman, Diana Carter, Sam Coleman,
Julie Douglass, Kirk Gardner, Phil Harriman,
Linda Havens, Gary Helmers, Michael Peters,
Julie Robertson, Anne Stewart, David Zybert
Piano ----------------------------------------------------------------- Tony DeGeiso
Music ---------------------------------------------------------------- Kirk Gardner
Stage Manager ---------------------------------------------------- David Zybert
Bookmaking ------------------------------------------------------- Anne Stewart
Program ------------------------------------------------------------- Sam Coleman
Publicity ---------------------------------------- Judy Mosher, Anne Stewart
Stage Crew ------------------------------------ Sam Coleman, David Zybert
Food/Cooking ----------------------------------------------------- Linda Havens
Special Thanks to
Diane Nichols
Gothic North Theater
The Hug High School Theater Department
Biographies
Cast
Harriet Beaman (Lady Bracknell) has been with RLT for seven years and has
become the resident “crazy lady”. She was last season’s Gestapo Granny in Lost in
Yonkers. This season she directed Death in England. She is thrilled to be playing in
this production of The Importance of Being Earnest.
Mari-Kristin Cetovick (Gwendolen) would like to thank the cast of The
Importance of Being Earnest for their support as she embarks on her first of twelve
steps, and would like to thank Director Michael Peters, in particular, for his efforts in
obtaining her parole officer’s permission to attend rehearsals after dark. Of her
theatrical experience, nothing is known.
Sam Coleman (Merriman) helped build sets and worked backstage for RLT’s Lion
in Winter, Crossing Delancy, and All My Sons. Discounting his one-line character
named “voice” in Crossing Delancy, this is Sam’s first speaking role. Previously, he
was a Ph.D. scientist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for 25 years
before retiring to the beautiful Reno area. When there’s nothing to do for the theater,
Sam enjoys snowboarding and hiking.
Cory Forson (Algernon) has appeared in many high school plays, including See
How They Run, Camelot, and Wait Until Dark. This is his first RLT performance and
he’s very excited. He loves to act and hopes that, even though he’s the youngest on the
set, he will still give a great show.
Kirk Gardner (Jack) is pleased to be sharing the stage with so many old and new
friends. Being a CPA who just survived tax season, he is pleased to be anywhere. Last
seen in the Riverfront Theater’s It’s a Wonderful Life, he also appeared earlier this
season in RLT’s Death in England, not realizing that he had a round-trip ticket to that
scepter’d isle. JT, Julie.
Phil Harriman (Dr. Chasuble) makes his RLT debut in The Importance of Being
Earnest after having appeared in such Gothic North productions as Picnic, Whodunnit,
and Bus Stop. This year Phil has acted with TMCC as King in Big River and as a
puppet-wielding escaped convict in Fuddy Meers. By day, Phil teaches English at
Sparks High School.
Bergen Kanoff (Cecily) is making her debut with RLT, but she is a veteran
performer at Hug High School, having appeared in such productions as Rumors,
California Suite, and Mary, Mary. She plans to attend UNR this fall as a theater major.
Julie Robertson (Miss Prism) wears many hats: wife, mother, executive, actress,
director, and stage hand. Occasionally, she rests. Active in local theater for the past
decade, she appeared most recently in 6 Women with Brain Death at Gothic North
Theater and RLT’s Strange Snow. She dedicates this performance to her extensive and
delightfully eccentric family.
David Zybert (Lane) has been annoying audiences, since the age of six, as an actor,
director, singer, and writer, but not, thank goodness, as a dancer. His credits are many
and varied—he has done television, film, and his first love, theater. Born with a twisted
outlook on life and a bizarre talent for free association and bad puns, David has finally
found peace, home, and family in Reno.
Director
Michael Peters, in his seventh season with the Reno theater community, was last
seen as Henry II in RLT’s production of Lion in Winter. He has appeared in over a
dozen productions at RLT, Bruka, Gothic North, and a mystery dinner theater.
Michael’s favorite role, besides Henry II, was as the lovable curmudgeon Weller Martin
in Gothic North’s production of The Gin Game last year. By day, James, Sean, and
Katie’s dad is an administrator in the Graduate School at UNR.
UNR’s Nevada Repertory Company
celebrates
Reno Little Theater and its 67th Season
Want to see more theater?
Give us a call at 784-6847
June 21, 22, 26, 27, 28, 29 at 7:30 p.m.
in the Redfield Studio Theatre
Comic Potential
by Alan Ayckbourn
directed by Dr. Jim Bernardi
A hilarious satire of television and a touching romantic comedy, set in a future television
studio. Adam, a young writer, falls in love with a robot created to replace actors in soap
operas. Jacie, the robot, has a “creative imagination” due to a programming fault.
“Comic Potential hurts you with the sheer exuberance of its laughter and liberates you
with its seriousness.”—London Sunday Times
Reno Little Theater
R
eno Little Theater provides a setting for people of all backgrounds to learn about
live theater. Over the years, RLT has offered adult and grammar-school drama
classes, play-writing competitions, a children’s theater, and over 400 on-stage plays.
RLT also takes its productions from the main stage to Reno parks and to other Nevada
communities. The theater offers a variety of plays each season, from September to June,
including musicals, comedy, mystery, suspense, and drama.
RLT produced its first play, Three Cornered Moon, at the University of Nevada in
1935, making it Reno’s oldest community theater. In 1941, RLT purchased Dania Hall,
at Sierra and 7th Street and, with community funding and volunteer labor,
remodeled the building and finished the interior as its first theater. The building served
RLT for over 50 years before being demolished to make room for a casino parking
garage. The Board of Directors is planning a major capital campaign to build a new
theater, to be a focal point for local talent and a cultural center for the entire community.
_____________________________________________________________________
Board of Directors
Chairman ------------------------------------------------------------ Diana Carter
Vice-Chairman ---------------------------------------------------- Julie Douglass
Secretary -------------------------------------------------------------- Judy Mosher
Financial Secretary ------------------------------------------------- Tony DeGeiso
Board Members --------------- Jack Beaman, Paul Dancer, Terri Gray,
Paula Kennedy, Steve Lybarger,
Anne Stewart, Candace Wheeler
_____________________________________________________________________
“Break a leg!”
T
hat’s what theater people say before a performance to wish each other good luck, a
phrase coined in early 20th-century theaters. But why would people twist a wish
for dreadful injury into one for good luck? Evan Morris, the “word detective”, suggests
that popular folklore through the ages is full of warnings against wishing your friends
good luck. To do so is to tempt evil spirits and demons to do them harm. Better to
outwit the demons (who must be rather dim) by wishing your friends bad fortune.
A Lifetime of Memories
RLT supporters designated as Life Members are listed below.
We thank them for their continuing interest.
Frank Bender
Peter S. Bing
Mrs. Karl Breckenridge
Mrs. Robert Brigham
Mrs. Louise Carll
Diana Carter
Lester Conklin, Jr.
Gregory D. Corn, Esq.
Mr. & Mrs. Wm. K. Cowan III
Mr. & Mrs. Ken Cusick
Countess Angela Dandini
Mrs. Jack Douglass
Robert and Kathy Easly
John Flanigan
Robert and Cathy Gabrielli
Kirk Gardner & Julie Douglass
Bert Goldwater
Mr. & Mrs. Robert Gorrell
Art and Caryn Hawman
Mrs. Helen Heppner
Patrick and Mary Hughes
Mrs. Martin Johnson
Mr. & Mrs. Larry Kirk
Joan Long
Mrs. E.F. Loomis
Mrs. Eve Loomis
Mr. George Manilla
Mrs. H.E. Manville
Dr. & Mrs. Thomas McCleary
Mrs. Rollan Melton
Mrs. Fran Merrell
Mrs. John Morrison
Mrs. Lilika Newman
David and Kelly Radu
Mr. & Mrs. George Randolph
Mrs. Warren Richardson
Mrs. Sidney Robinson
Ella Savitt
Mrs. Edwin Semenza
Carl Shelly
Donald Stanke
Anne Stewart
Mrs. Joyce Sweger
Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth Tedford
Mrs. Hewitt C. Wells
Mrs. Loring Williams
Mrs. Emerson Wilson
James and Dani Woods
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The Reno Little Theater
2002 - 2003 Season
The tentative schedule for RLT’s 68th season includes:
Back to Bacharach and David (musical review)
12 Angry Men (drama)
The Golden Age (comedy/drama)
Taking Steps (modern English farce)
Proof (drama)
For season tickets, call the theater office at
329-0661 or ask at the box office
____________________________________________________
8th Annual Blythe Awards Banquet
An evening of fun, entertainment, and good food
as we honor the best of our 67th season!
July 6, 6:00 pm at Famous Murphy’s
There will be awards for the best actors and technical people, based on our
audience ballots, musical entertainment spoofing the season, based on Broadway show tunes, plus door prizes and a great silent auction.
For reservations, pick up a flyer in the lobby or
call the theater office at 329-0661.
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION
OF COMMUNITY THEATRE