Portal Players Dramatic Society production of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest opens this Thursday, May 5 at the Capitol Theatre and runs select dates till Sunday May 22, when it will open the North Island Zone Drama Festival (NIZ).
Directors Derek and Debbie Burke have assembled a fine cast of Portal Players’ veterans to bring this classic comedy to life. Among them are last years NIZ Best Actor, Ryan Gander and VIOAP Best Actor, Elliot Drew.These gentlemen take on the classic duo of Algernon Montcrieff and John Worthing, both of whom go by the name of Earnest.
Joined by female counterparts Melissa Lowe, as Cecily Cardew, and Megan Cathers, as Gwendolen Fairfax, they discover how earnest one must be to make love work.
The iconic Lady Bracknell is played by Yvette Deveaux, who captures just the right amount of aristocratic contempt to bring this overbearing character to life. Rounding out the cast are Teresa Drew as Miss Prism, Chuck Shobe as Dr. Chasuble, Dave McGarry as Lane and John Milne as Merriman.
Two special nights will help kick off this production. Friday, May 6, will be a ladies night out sponsored by Walk the Coast Footwear and Apparel, Urban Design Hair Studio and Van Isle Ford. This evening will include a fashion show, silent auction and a chance for one patron to experience a night of spa pampering and a complete makeover to be revealed after the show. There is no up charge for this evening but entries for the makeover are $5 each.
Secondly, on Sunday, May 8, the only matinee performance for Earnest, Portal Players is offering a “pay what you can” event. This means that all door sales that day are by donation and 50 per cent of the proceeds go to Relay for Life by way of Portal Players relay team, The Capitol Thespians.
Tickets for The Importance of Being Earnest are on sale now at the Capitol Box Office, Tuesday through Friday from 1–5:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults, $13 for seniors and students. The show runs May 5-8, 12-14, 19-21. Curtain rises at 7:30 p.m. for all performances except the May 8 matinee, which starts at 2 p.