Back Alley Productions is excited to announce auditions for "The Importance of Being Earnest" on December 29th and 30th from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at The Mars Theatre, 117 North Chattanooga St. in Lafayette.
Come join them as they follow the misadventures of two young bachelors, John Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, as they lead double lives and pursue love and marriage.
Meet the formidable Lady Bracknell, who will stop at nothing to find a suitable wife for her son, and the rebellious Gwendolen Fairfax, who agrees to marry John despite her mother's disapproval.
Don't miss the opportunity to be a part of this classic comedy! To sign up for an audition, visit bapshows.com/auditions
Synopsis
John Worthing, a carefree young gentleman, is the inventor of a fictitious brother, “Ernest,” whose wicked ways afford John an excuse to leave his country home from time to time and journey to London, where he stays with his close friend and confidant, Algernon Moncrieff. Algernon has a cousin, Gwendolen Fairfax, with whom John is deeply in love.
During his London sojourns, John, under the name Ernest, has won Gwendolen’s love, for she strongly desires to marry someone with the confidence-inspiring name of Ernest. But when he asks for Gwendolen’s hand from the formidable Lady Bracknell, John finds he must reveal he is a foundling who was left in a handbag at Victoria Station. This is very disturbing to Lady Bracknell, who insists that he produce at least one parent before she consents to the marriage.
Returning to the country home where he lives with his ward Cecily Cardew and her governess Miss Prism, John finds that Algernon has also arrived under the identity of the nonexistent brother Ernest. Algernon falls madly in love with the beautiful Cecily, who has long been enamored of the mysterious, fascinating brother Ernest.
With the arrival of Lady Bracknell and Gwendolen, chaos erupts. It is discovered that Miss Prism is the absent-minded nurse who twenty years ago misplaced the baby of Lady Bracknell’s brother in Victoria Station. Thus John, whose name is indeed Ernest, is Algernon’s elder brother, and the play ends with the two couples in a joyous embrace.
Characters
- John (Jack) Worthing -- A young, eligible bachelor about town. In the city, he goes by the name Ernest, and in the country he is Jack. He proposes to The Honorable Gwendolen Fairfax and, though leading a double life, eventually demonstrates his conformity to the Victorian moral and social standards.
- Algernon Moncrieff -- A languid poser of the leisure class, bored by conventions and looking for excitement. He, too, leads a double life, being Algernon in the city and Ernest in the country. Algernon is not serious and is generally out for his own gratification. He falls in love and proposes to Jack's ward, Cecily, while posing as Jack's wicked younger brother, Ernest.
- Lady Bracknell -- Lady Bracknell is Algernon's aunt trying to find a suitable wife for him. A strongly opinionated matriarch, dowager, and tyrant, she believes wealth is more important than breeding and bullies everyone in her path.
- The Honorable Gwendolen Fairfax -- Lady Bracknell's daughter is submissive to her mother in public but rebels in private. While demonstrating the absurdity of such ideals as only marrying a man named Ernest, she also agrees to marry Jack despite her mother's disapproval of his origins.
- Cecily Cardew -- Jack Worthing's ward, daughter of his adopted father, Sir Thomas Cardew. She is being tutored at Jack's secluded country estate by Miss Prism, her governess. She is romantic and imaginative and feels the repression of Prism's rules. She falls in love with Algernon but feels he would be more stable if named Ernest.
- Miss Prism -- Cecily's governess. She is educating Cecily to have no imagination or sensationalism in her life. She reveals a secret life of passion by her concern for the whereabouts of her misplaced novel and her flirtation with the local vicar.
- Rev. Canon Chasuble, D.D. -- He is the source of moral judgments, but under the surface, he appears to be an old lecher. However, beneath the religious exterior, his heart beats for Miss Prism.
- Lane and Merriman -- Servants of Algernon and Jack. Lane says soothing and comforting things to his employer but stays within the neutral guidelines of a servant. He is leading a double life, eating sandwiches and drinking champagne when his master is not present. He aids and abets the lies of Algernon. Merriman keeps the structure of the plot working: He announces people and happenings. Like Lane, he does not comment on his "betters," but solemnly watches their folly. His neutral facial expressions during crisis and chaos undoubtedly made the upper-class audience laugh.
HEALTH PRECAUTIONS
For the health and safety of the cast, and to ensure the success of the production, Back Alley requires the following health precautions:
- Wearing a facemask at all times inside the Mars Theatre (excluding eating/drinking). Other forms of face coverings, such as kerchiefs, are not allowed.
- Being fully vaccinated (including booster shot) against COVID-19 for both auditions and performances.
- Agreeing to COVID-19 or other viral testing if necessary, as determined by infection rates in the area from COVID-19, flu, RSV and other highly contagious raspatory viruses.