The Importance of Being Earnest

Steven Stanley Alhambra, CA

This is an Earnest full of color, imagination, and panache. Director Warner Shook’s inventive touches are everywhere, and the cast which he has assembled is, to risk hyperbole, sheer perfection, beginning with Kandis Chappell’s dryly imperious Lady Bracknell; Michael Gotch’s Algernon, the flamboyant and supremely witty Oscar Wilde himself come to life; and Tommy Schrider, equally good as Jack, uptight and reserved where Algernon is exuberant and larger-than-life. Christine Marie Brown is a spunky delight as Gwendolyn. Elise Hunt’s outwardly sweet and retiring Cecily conceals fires under the surface. Finally, milking every moment as a pair of butlers is vet John-David Keller. There may be other Earnests on the horizon, but that is no excuse to miss this one, which sets the bar very high indeed for future productions. Read my full review at www.LAStageScene.com.