Knox College Theatre: The Importance of Being Earnest

Knox College Theatre presents Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday through Saturday, May 10-13, in Harbach Theatre, Ford Center for the Fine Arts.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for senior citizens and Knox College alumni, free to all students with school ID, and free to Knox College students, faculty, and staff. Tickets are available at the door one hour before each performance or by advanced reservation at 309-341-7472.

"First produced in London in 1895, The Importance of Being Earnest is widely recognized as one of the finest comedies ever written for the stage," said Director Neil Blackadder, professor of theatre. The plot, which combines farce with dazzlingly witty dialogue, centers around two young women, Gwendolen and Cecily, who would happily marry the two young men, John and Algernon, who propose to them, if only the men were both called Earnest.

Much of the humor is based on Wilde poking fun at the highly stratified and rule-bound Victorian society, according to Allison Stout. The sophomore from Royal Oak, Michigan, extensively researched the play's historical context in her role as dramaturg.

"Victorians had rules for literally everything, and some of them seem so odd to us today," Stout said. "A man visiting someone's house, if he had to take off his hat, would put it down on the floor. Not on a table or a chair. It had to be on the floor."

Cast

John Worthing - Padraig Sullivan
Algernon Moncrieff - Tristan Yi
Gwendolen Fairfax - Chloe Vollenweider
Cecily Cardew - Raven Ringe
Lady Bracknell - Jordan Hurst
Miss Prism - Sosy Fleming
Rev. Canon Chasuble - Parker Adams
Lane - Michelangelo Pori
Merriman - Casey Brayndick

Production Team

Director - Neil Blackadder, professor of theatre
Assistant Director - Peter Rule
Stage Manager - Emma Lipson
Assistant Stage Managers - Natasha Caudill, Elizabeth Dehlin, Colton Denton
Costume Designer - Margo Shively, lecturer in theatre
Assistant Costume Designer - Willa Ogawa-Coufal
Set and Lighting Designer, Technical Director - Craig Choma, associate professor of theatre
Assistant Set Designer, Master Electrician - Brady Comenduley
Assistant Technical Director - Marty Helms
Props Designers - Ren Barkey, Luba Liubvina
Sound Designer - Maty Ortega
Dramaturg - Allison Stout