THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 9, 1995 TAG: 9511080159
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 26 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: GATESVILLE, N.C. LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines
They studied ``The Importance of Being Earnest'' in class and liked it so much they decided to perform the Oscar Wilde play.
The Gates County High School Playmakers are presenting it as a dinner theater production Friday and Saturday, and as a dessert matinee Sunday.
``The students are excited about wearing long dresses and fancy suits,'' said Barbara B. Toti, director.
That is the wardrobe for the play, first presented in 1895. It is a production about mistaken identity, social etiquette, romance and confusion.
The drawing room comedy is filled with light and witty dialogue, Toti said.
It is Wilde's best-known work and quite different from his other writings, which are more concerned with social intrigue - a subject in vogue in those days.
``The Importance of Being Earnest,'' a combination of high comedy and farce, pokes fun at hypocrisy, also a favorite target of writers.
The play, one of the most successful 19th century comedies, is a Toti favorite.
``I like the mixed-up identity situations,'' she said. ``And, I like the social commentary.''
Toti also likes the dinner theater set-up. It has been an annual event for four years, but she says she is going to give it a rest. ``I'll start again in 2000,'' she said.
Meanwhile, she is busy with the nine cast members, and with the menu that has a southern Italy flavor.
There will be Italian wedding soup, spinach salad with creamy Italian dressing, herbchicken with sour cream-wine sauce, a vegetable lasagna, hot cheese bread and dessert.
All that and Oscar Wilde, too. MEMO: AT A GLANCE
What:``The Importance of Being Earnest''
When: 6:45 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2:15 p.m. Sunday (dessert only)
Where: Gates County High School, Gatesville
Tickets:: $15, buffet and play; play and dessert, $6. Reservations
required. Call (919) 357-1874. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by FRANK ROBERTS
Mary Beth Hudgins and Tara Owney in ``The Importance of Being
Earnest.''
by CNB