‘Being Earnest’ in a Classically Wilde Way

The Grove Theater Center may get more adventurous in September when its playwriting contest gains momentum with staged readings, but recently the Garden Grove company has been content with a blithe revival of Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest,” whose cast moves to Fullerton next month.

This old standby, the author’s best and one of the most frequently produced comedies at smaller houses all over, was straightforward and likable at the Grove, where director Kevin Cochran knows that the language is the thing. Wilde’s wit (once described as like light shimmering off rushing water in a fountain) was in peacock display, thanks to the respectful approach.

That’s no small victory. Directors have often acted as if Wilde’s small talk isn’t enough, jazzing up “The Importance of Being Earnest” with antic performances that flatten the dialogue’s natural froth. But Cochran won’t have that; even when his cast gets too smug, underscoring a line with a nudging grin, the humor refuses to collapse.

Most of that humor, punctuated by Wilde’s epigrammatic asides, sticks it to an English upper crust ripe with pretensions. And when it comes to pretense, Algernon (J. Todd Adams) and Jack (Michael Serna) are top dogs.

They gleefully live double lives, with Jack having invented a brother named “Earnest,” whom he “visits” in town. Not to be outdone, Algernon has his own creation, an ill pal he regularly “visits” in the country. Both fellows use the masquerade to avoid responsibilities (including boring lunch dates with relatives, especially the imperious Lady Bracknell, played by K.B. Dulude) until reality stomps in.

That happens soon after Jack falls for the comely and vapid Gwendolen (Mary Ellen Taylor), who happens to think he is “Earnest.” Making things even messier is Jack’s equally comely and vapid ward, Cecily (Shauna Markey), waiting for him back home. Algernon, of course, is wild about her.

This light froth is whipped nicely by Adams, who infects Algernon with an almost religious devotion to his own pleasure. Serna keeps pace, feeding the vibe of self-interested obliviousness that hangs over “The Importance of Being Earnest” like a chiffon.

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But the funniest turn comes from Taylor. Her Gwendolen may not have much gray matter, but her few brain cells are firing nonetheless; Taylor’s expressions and inflections show just how hard she’s trying to sort out the confusion. Markey is clearly too old for Cecily, but she brings a girlish conceit to the role that helps carry her through.

As for the playwriting contest, called the New Play Initiative, Grove officials said it has an unveiling from July 16-Aug. 5 with informal readings of the six semifinalists in the Gem Theater’s upstairs cafe. It gets more formal from Sept. 27-Oct. 28 when the three finalists are given staged readings at the Gem, leading up to the winner presentation Jan. 30-Feb. 16.

* “The Importance of Being Earnest” moves to the Muckenthaler Cultural Center, 1201 W. Malvern Ave., Fullerton, July 5-21, to play Thursdays through Sundays, 8:15 p.m. $21.50 to $25.50. (714) 738-6595.