'Importance of Being Earnest' by Remy Bumppo: Lady Bracknell hardly a drag
THEATER REVIEW: "The Importance of Being Earnest" ★★½ Through Jan. 9 at Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave.; Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes; Tickets: $40-$55 at 773-404-7336 or www.remybumppo.org
Lady Bracknell, that caustic queen of Oscar Wilde's comedies of obfuscation, tends to be played by men in drag. I doubt the doyenne would approve of this pervasive trend on Broadway and beyond — not that anybody ever asked the old buzzard. But she would, I think, take comfort in the dignity provided her at the Greenhouse Theater Center by the venerable Chicago actor David Darlow.
Assuming she could get past his resemblance to a hairy prune.
Most Lady Bracknells — whatever their gender — tend to treat this authoritarian anti-heroine of “The Importance of Being Earnest” as a chance to have a little campy fun. Not so, Darlow — who puts on his dress, purses his lips and delivers Lady B's incomparable utterances in the same deadpan, world-weary style that he has hitherto applied to the various corrupt politicians and immoral businessmen in whom he has long specialized for the Remy Bumppo Theatre Company.
Continue reading "'Importance of Being Earnest' by Remy Bumppo: Lady Bracknell hardly a drag" »