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The Importance of Marrying Wells

nytheatre.com review by John Samuel Jordan
August 15, 2005

The Importance of Marrying Well$ is a smart, well-crafted, laugh-a-second, all-out riot!!! But seriously, folks...this farce is by far one of the funniest plays I have seen in a loooooooooooooooong time.Billed as a “not-so-classic retelling of [Oscar Wilde’s] The Importance of Being Earnest,” this is a story of love, friendship, and well-intentioned deceit. Gavin and Jake are friends—both harbor secrets. Gavin is gay and pretends to be in a troubled marriage to a male Canadian Mountie in order to get work in Connecticut (those suburban socialites love a good sob story). Jake is a very wealthy heir, but pretends to be a starving artist to win the love of Gwyn. Gwyn’s mother knows who Jake really is and just adores Gavin, not to mention the fact that she runs Golgotha Christian College in New Haven, Connecticut, where the girls are “forbidden to be pretty.” Enter Jake’s friend Caesar, who has a few secrets of his own, and catches the lustful eyes of Gavin, who will stop at nothing to get some. Add to this mix an insane sex-starved psychiatrist, a workaholic guilt-ridden attorney, and an exasperated fourth-wall-breaking stage manager, and one has the makings of a tremendous outing at the theatre.Meticulously written by Dana Slamp, the intelligent humor and harmonious organization of the overall plot is awe-inspiring. The fourth wall is broken, put back together, and then shattered all over again.Nancy S. Chu’s direction is a perfect match for this madcap play. Chu takes the script and the cast and makes magic before the audience’s eyes. The scene changes, blocking, pacing—everything is flawless.I am a true believer that farce is one of the more difficult genres of acting to pull off. Well, this cast not only pulls it off tremendously, they do it effortlessly. Each actor shines throughout. They work together as a team... a well-oiled, freakin’ hysterical team. I honestly cannot pinpoint a standout/scene-stealer. They all stand out;. they all steal every scene they are in: Cheryl Lynn Bowers, Maria Deasy, Antony Hagopian, Celia Howard, Peter Macklin, Michael Malone, Brian Russell, and Jere Williams. They all deserve a standing ovation.Alison Yuhas’s lighting design gets all the action, where and when it is needed. Raf Ricci’s set is simple, yet gives the much-needed impression of an “upper-crusty” atmosphere. Just goes to show you one doesn’t need to spend a million dollars to get the point across.I am allotted somewhere around 500 words to write each review. I would have preferred to just repeat "BRILLIANT" 500 times. Kudos to all involved—the cast, the crew, and most importantly, the playwright.Also, as this is DRD Productions’ premiere effort, I am most definitely looking forward to their future endeavors.