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Word: algernon (lookup in dictionary) (lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
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Paolo Carozza's Ernest, by contrast, lacks some of the necessary dash. Whether this is inherent in the part or not, he is, unfortunately, upstaged by Algernon. As Jack's beloved Gwendolyn, Anne Higgins is marvelously coy, delivering her studied and empty superlatives with necessary aplomb...

Author: By Molly F. Cliff, | Title: Delightfully Wilde | 11/7/1984 | See Source »

...title suggests, the plot centers around the name Ernest and the troubles which arise when Jack, a young country gentleman of dubious origin, invents a rakish, city-dwelling brother named Ernest whose escapades provide him with an excuse to venture to London. Similarly, Jack's friend, Algernon, has invented a sickly friend, Bonburry, whose continual illnesses provide him, Algernon, with a reason to avoid dinners with his stuffy aunt, Lady Bracknel. It all gets messy when both Algernon and Jack fall in love with women who insist they can only marry men named Ernest...

Author: By Molly F. Cliff, | Title: Delightfully Wilde | 11/7/1984 | See Source »

...catch all of Wilde's humor. But this production does an admirable job of highlighting as much as possible. The timing, thanks to Director John Wauck, is superb, as the actors jump from one-liner to one-liner. Though the cast is consistently good, Chris Charron's, imperturbable Algernon and Valerie Gilbert's haughty Lady Bracknel steal the show...

Author: By Molly F. Cliff, | Title: Delightfully Wilde | 11/7/1984 | See Source »

Wauck has also devised simple and effective sets which suggest the fragility of the superficial English society. Although most of the costumes are nattily effective, Gwendolyn's wig makes her look more like a Muppet then a bombshell, and Algernon's disguise as Jack's devilish brother Ernest looks more like a recent arrival from Palm Beach...

Author: By Molly F. Cliff, | Title: Delightfully Wilde | 11/7/1984 | See Source »

...play hits rock bottom in Act H, the rest can only improve. In the more professional third act, the actors seemed to internalize their characters. Cecily and Gwendolyn, for example, argue seriously over trifles--lumps of sugar for their tea and cake--for the first time. Algernon declares with true earnestness about food, "One has to be serious about something in life to be amused." As the intricate plot unravels and the couples happily unite, the laughter subsides and Finnegan declares, "We have now realized the vital importance of being earnest." Maybe he has, but it would have helped...

Author: By Andrea Fastenberg, | Title: Much Too Wilde | 4/27/1983 | See Source »

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