ORANGE COUNTY STAGE REVIEWS : ‘IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST’

Ana-Modjeska Players’ “The Importance of Being Earnest” is indeed earnest in its approach, delivering an unabashedly silly production of the Oscar Wilde classic.

Wilde’s memorable portrait of the Victorian-era leisure class concerns the romantic adventures of Jack and Algernon, two British gentlemen who have little else to do, it seems, than travel to the country to chase after two ridiculous young ladies, each of whom proclaims that she could love only a man named Ernest. Of course, there are the usual rounds of mistaken identity and questions of parenthood. In taking up the challenge of presenting high comedy, director Ross Clark and his cast have kept matters pleasantly light, maintaining an air of whimsy without overdoing it.

Clark’s tone is inconsistent, however, and he frequently brings in stylistic elements (as when the action freezes and one character addresses the audience) that seemed more at home in “Tom Jones,” and others that seem to belong in Shaw or Coward. So much goes right in this production that such elements are not only unnecessary but also tend to belabor the proceedings. Wilde’s style can stand on its own; it needs no embellishment.

The characters are all very much taken with their own fine looks and good breeding, and here we have a lot of amusing preening in mirrors and window panes. Oddly, the actors take this aspect of their roles a bit too much to heart, occasionally giving the disconcerting impression that they’re doing the play for one another rather than for their audience. Additionally, the cast falls into the trap of emphasizing British intonation over enunciation, and they frequently adopt unchanging rhythms, which makes it difficult to comprehend the comic subtlety in the lines.

John Lander as the assured aristocrat Algernon creates a nice contrast to the sunny, open-faced manner of Todd Breaugh as Jack, although Lander’s characterization seems to fluctuate from act to act. Breaugh has an effective (if overused) pained expression, and his rendering of Jack’s self-conscious man-of-the-manor affectations is highly enjoyable. Deborah Leigh Schmidt is delightfully self-possessed as the pseudo-sophisticate Gwendolyn; and as the younger, more romantic Cecily, Ann Marie McFadden shows an intelligence underneath the giddiness that gives her character a good edge of realism.

Carole Phillips is too young to convince us entirely of Lady Bracknell’s imperiousness and dragonlike nature, but she plays the role with a lot of flair. Marion Christie, likewise, is too young for the absent-minded governess Miss Prism, and she delivers a fairly stereotypical schoolmarm. Don Barrett, though, is utterly charming as the visiting minister who is perplexed by the goings-on.

The costumes, from the Fullerton Civic Light Opera, are individually appropriate but create a hodgepodge effect overall. The music, consisting of Gilbert and Sullivan perennials, is a welcome mood-maker.

“The Importance of Being Earnest” continues through Jan. 26 at the Anaheim Cultural Center, 931 Harbor Blvd., Anaheim. Information is available at (714) 937-0379.