The trivialities of high society get thrown on the chopping block in the Pacific Conservatory Theatre’s (PCPA) rendition of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. In order to win their loves’ hearts, Jack Worthing (Michael Brusasco) and Algernon Moncrieff (Yusef Seevers) must be christened new identities, for both Gwendolen Fairfax (Emily Trask) and Cecily Cardew (Katie Fuchs-Wackowski) are quite certain they could not justify marrying any man whose first name wasn’t … Earnest.
That’s only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to comedic complications, as both women are led to believe they’ve become engaged to the same man, one named Earnest Worthing (a title both Worthing and Moncrieff assume at one point with riotous results). The most hilarity ensues, in my opinion, immediately following a confrontation between Fairfax and Cardew on the subject, when tea is being served and the two try to keep their cool in front of Worthing’s servant, Merriman (Peter S. Hadres, who doubles as Moncrieff’s butler, Lane, with equal excellence). The servant is visibly confused as the passive aggressive Cardew serves tea cake rather than bread and butter to Fairfax, against her specific request.
Speaking of food, I can’t be the only one who left the theater craving cucumber sandwiches and muffins, right?
As for the rest of the cast, every character gets a standout performance. Erik Stein and Polly Firestone Walker play off one another perfectly as Rev. Canon Chasuble and Miss Prism, respectively. And Kitty Balay probably has the most fun with wordplay as the disapproving Lady Bracknell, the most formidable obstacle between Worthing (the real Worthing) and Fairfax’s proposed engagement, aside from the much more pressing Earnest dilemma, of course.
Among the best Wilde witticisms she delivers is: “To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune. To lose both looks like carelessness.”
“The Importance of Being Earnest is like a linguistic ballet, or a verbal opera,” Trask, who gets to dish out her own share of witticisms as Fairfax, told the Sun. “Once you get Oscar Wilde’s lines down, performing them feels like the best glass of Champagne—bubbly, refreshing, delicious, and just a little bit dangerous.”
For Trask, part of the fun in playing Fairfax was acting opposite Brusasco, her real-life husband. Although the two have acted together in several productions over the years, Earnest marks the first occasion in which they play love interests. Trask’s and Brusasco’s onstage romance in the show posed a unique opportunity for their families, who never got to see the couple get married.
“We ran off to the West Texas desert and eloped in a tiny town called Marfa,” Trask said. “It was just the two of us, and we were married in a pink stucco courthouse by a judge in snakeskin cowboy boots and magenta tinted glasses. It was a dream.”
Although Fairfax and Worthing don’t get married onstage during the play, the engagement aspect was enough for both Trask’s and Brusasco’s parents to fly in for the show.
“Since they didn’t have a chance to meet at the wedding, this will be the first time that any of our parents will meet each other,” Trask said. “They all separately bought plane tickets to come out and see. I suppose if they couldn’t be at the wedding, they can at least be at the engagement.”
Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood is still craving cucumber sandwiches. Reach him at cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Aug 22-29, 2019.