Center House Theatre, Seattle Center • 305 Harrison Street • Seattle, WA 98109
Ph: 206-733-8228 • FAX: 206-733-8202 • www.seattleshakespeare.org
For Immediate Release
February 25, 2014
MEDIA CONTACT: Jeff Fickes (206) 733-8228 x 214 / [email protected]
Wilde Laughs: The Importance of Being Earnest at Seattle Shakespeare Company
WHO: Seattle Shakespeare Company presents The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
WHAT: Wilde’s outlandish comedy where elaborate double deceptions lead to romance.
WHERE: Center Theatre at Seattle Center
WHEN: March 19-April 13, 2014 (Previews March 19 & 20, Opening Night Friday March 21)
SEATTLE, WA – Only one other writer could compete with Shakespeare for the title of the most quoted playwright,
and that is Oscar Wilde. Seattle Shakespeare Company produces their first production of a Wilde play with The
Importance of Being Earnest directed by Victor Pappas this spring.
The Importance of Being Earnest is Oscar Wilde’s last play and has been hailed as one of the cleverest comedies in
the English language. Dapper Jack Worthing and Algernon, his compatriot in cavorting, have fallen for two ladies
who have their hearts set on marrying a man named Ernest. In order to pursue the romance, both men concoct an
elaborate deception which leads to an even more outlandish surprise when the formidable Lady Bracknell starts
sleuthing about for the far-fetched truth.
Wilde was a great admirer of the social commentary plays of Shaw and Ibsen. At the first rehearsal for the play,
director Victor Pappas remarked that The Importance of Being Earnest was written after Wilde’s series of “Society
Plays” where the characters all had great secrets they were trying to protect. The play was a departure from his
previous works in that Wilde set aside the earnest social commentary and focused on his humor and triviality he
saw in his society. “He calls the play a trivial play for serious people. It is indeed that,” said Pappas. “It says: `Look
at the things we take seriously and look at the things we treat as trivial....I'm going to invert that, and that's going
to be a reflection of our society.’" The Importance of Being Earnest was written during the period of Wilde’s life
when he had his own secrets. A happily married man with children, Wilde also conducted a whole other life with
Lord Alfred Douglas. The Importance of Being Earnest opened on Valentine’s Day in 1895 and shortly thereafter
the great scandal of Wilde’s life became public. He was imprisoned, his named removed from the play, and Wilde
never came back as a literary force within his lifetime.
Pappas makes his Seattle Shakespeare Company directing debut with The Importance of Being Earnest. He served
as the Associate Artistic Director of Intiman Theatre for seven years and recently directed Other Desert Cities, Old
Times and Mary Stuart at ACT Theatre. He spent a decade as Associate Chair of the Graduate Acting Program at
NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he received the David Payne Carter Award for Teaching Excellence.
Husband and wife actors Connor Toms and Hana Lass will play Jack and Cecily. Both have appeared frequently at
Seattle Shakespeare Company, Toms most recently as Duke Orsino in the Wooden O production of Twelfth Night
(2012) and Lass as Rosalind in As You Like It (2012). Emily Grogan, who also appeared in the Wooden O production
of Twelfth Night as Olivia returns to play Gwedonlen. Making their Seattle Shakespeare Company debuts are
Quinn Franzen as Algernon and Kimberly King as Lady Bracknell. Also appearing in the production are Kate
Wisniewski as Miss Prism, Charles Leggett as Rev. Chausible, and Michael Patten in the dual roles of Lane and
Merriman.
Tickets to The Importance of Being Earnest are available now through the Seattle Shakespeare Company Box Office
at 206-733-8222 as well as online at www.seattleshakespeare.org.
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The Importance of Being Earnest Fact Sheet
WHAT: Seattle Shakespeare Company presents The Importance of Being Earnest
WHEN: March 19-April 13, 2014 (Previews March 19 & 20, Opening Night Friday March 21). Performance times:
Wednesday-Saturday at 7:30 PM with selected Saturdays at 2PM and selected Sundays at 2PM and 7:30PM
The Importance of Being Earnest
By Oscar Wilde
Directed by Victor Pappas
PRODUCTION TEAM
Victor Pappas ............................................................... Director
Carey Wong ................................................................. Set Designer
Melanie Burgess .......................................................... Costume Designer
Kent Cubbage .............................................................. Lighting Designer
Evan Mosher ................................................................ Sound Designer
Marleigh Driscoll .......................................................... Properties Designer
Gin Hammond .............................................................. Voice and Text Coach
Miranda C. Pratt .......................................................... Stage Manager
CAST (in alphabetical order)
Quinn Franzen ............................................................. Algernon Moncrieff
Emily Grogan ............................................................... Gwendolen Fairfax
Kimberly King ............................................................... Lady Bracknell
Hana Lass ..................................................................... Cecily Cardew
Charles Leggett ............................................................ Rev. Chasuble
Michael Patten............................................................. Lane/Merriman
Connor Toms ............................................................... Jack Worthing
Kate Wisniewski ........................................................... Miss Prism
WHERE: Center Theatre at Seattle Center, 305 Harrison Street, Seattle, WA 98109
TICKETS: Tickets to The Importance of Being Earnest are now on sale and range from $25-$48 for adults and $25$33 for seniors and students. A Pay-What-You-Will preview is on March 18at 7:30 PM. Discount tickets are
available for groups of ten or more. For ticket, call the Seattle Shakespeare Company box office (206) 733-8222 or
go online at www.seattleshakespeare.org.
PR: Jeff Fickes, Communications Director, Seattle Shakespeare Company (206) 733-8228 x214 or
[email protected]. This phone and email are not for publication.
Support for Seattle Shakespeare Company’s production of The Importance of Being Earnest is provided by The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation,
4 Culture, Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes Catering and Events, and KUOW. Season support is provided by ArtsFund.