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The Importance of Being Earnest - Oscar Wilde (CD)
Title: Title: The Importance of Being Earnest Author: Oscar Wilde Genre: Classics / Literature Format: CD, 1 CD Synopsis: Oscar Wilde’s genius was such that he created masterpieces in every literary form he attempted, whether it be plays, fiction, essays, or poetry. Among his plays, The Importance of Being Earnest—the last he wrote—is certainly the most celebrated. H. G. Wells and George Bernard Shaw thought it one of the funniest plays ever written, and it has continued to amuse theatergoers the world over for more than a century. The play pokes fun at the aristocracy, the literary world, and British manners and customs, while calling into question the very notion of “identity.” The characters’ plans are constantly sent topsy-turvy by unexpected turns of events. Along the way, Wilde’s wit-sharpened dialogue skewers nearly everyone, throwing into high relief the strains of class pretension, social ambition, and romantic gamesmanship. Readers who have enjoyed Oscar Wilde’s barbed prose will find his pointed dramatic dialogue equally enticing. Review: AudioFile Shaun MacLaughlin's direction of this Wilde play strives for an effective dramatic reading, rather than a fully realized radio-drama production with sound effects and atmospheric music. The production uses a narrator (Michael Drew) to read the stage directions. Such directorial emphasis calls attention to Wilde's brilliant dialogue and the strong performances. In THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, one of the most celebrated of all stage comedies, a faster pace helps Greg Wise and Richard Pearce sound young and carefree as they concoct witty deceptions to pursue their sweethearts. Wilde's comic attack on the shams of superficial earnestness in late-Victorian society finds rich expression in Miriam Margolyes's comically formidable Lady Bracknell. She plays the role slightly less broadly than Edith Evans did in the old Angel recording, and her performance keeps with MacLaughlin's subtle approach to Wilde's comedy of manners. G.H. AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine