The Importance of Being Earnest

What’s in a name? John Worthing and his friend Algernon Moncrieff find out when they fall in love with two young ladies who have their hearts set on marrying men named Ernest. Rather than confront the situation directly (where is the fun in that?), Jack and Algy engage in an elaborate deception featuring a fictional wayward brother and an imaginary invalid, which leads to more surprises than even they could have envisioned. Oscar Wilde’s effervescent masterpiece presents a drawing-room world peopled with lively, unforgettable characters who say the cleverest, most scandalously unsentimental things about, life, love and Victorian society. Peter Amster directs.