Actresses steal the show in well-staged 'Importance of Being Earnest'

FORT WORTH -- Maybe they should call this production The Importance of Being Gwendolen and Cecily.

The Stolen Shakespeare Guild is presenting Oscar Wilde's immortal comedy The Importance of Being Earnest at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center. This vedy, vedy British farce from 1895 centers on Jack Worthing (Mickey Alpert), a well-heeled layabout who concocts a fictitious alter ego named Earnest to help him dodge onerous social engagements with elderly relatives -- the closest thing to work he does. His friend, the equally useless Algernon Moncrieff (Ian Ferguson), is a kindred spirit who has created his own handy excuse -- the sadly sickly, but fortunately nonexistent Bunbury.

So productions of this play are usually all about these male leads, who hack their way through the confusion created by their deceptions with the help of an abundance of Wilde witticisms.

And the men are strong in this production. Ferguson is especially good, bringing a breezy insouciance to his role that is exactly right. And his British accent may be the best in a show where all the language is handled extremely well, capturing not just the geography of the show but also its class trappings. Alpert matches Ferguson in his overall portrayal, but he was having trouble getting comfortable with the physical aspects of his character at Friday's opening-night performance seen for this review. Two of his three costumes are ill-fitting, and much of the time he just didn't seem to know what he should do with his right arm.

But as good as the gentleman are, the ladies steal the show. Jule Nelson-Duac, as Jack's love interest, Gwendolen, and Kierstin Curtis, as the apple of Algernon's eye, Cecily, are delightful. The former is the embodiment of an iconic Victorian female, displaying an hourglass figure, a stiff upper lip and a cast iron spine. The latter is all girlish spunk and sparkle. This production reaches its peak when the pair square off for a catfight in the second act that is somehow simultaneously civil and vicious.

Adding icing to this hilarious cake is Cynthia Matthews as the overbearing plutocrat Lady Bracknell. She builds her character on a solid foundation of Victorian imperiousness and bluster that serves her (and us) well.

These fine performances are complemented by outstanding sets (by director Steven Lindsay and Keith Glenn) and costumes (by Lauren Morgan).

Lindsay deserves a lot of credit for preparing his performers so thoroughly and maintaining a blithe pace that brings the show in right at two hours. Ironically, in his small role as Jack's butler, he was the only player who didn't have his lines down Friday night.

So there may be a few minor flaws in this production. But if you see this show (which I think is among the best I have seen by this company), I feel sure you will be impressed by its Earnest-ness.