[NEohioPAL] IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST opens at Actors' Summit

[Neil Thackaberry]

*Actors’ Summit*

*Presents*

*The Importance of Being Earnest***



Actors’ Summit, Akron’s Equity professional theatre, has announced the
opening of its 108th major production, Oscar Wilde’s* The Importance of
Being Earnest.*  The play is widely acknowledged to be the playwright’s
masterpiece and the finest comedy of manners of the past 125 years.  The
show will have a preview performance on Thursday, March 29th and run
through Sunday, April 22nd at Greystone Hall in downtown Akron.  There will
be no performances April 5th – 8th because of Easter and Passover.



*The Playwright*



Oscar Wilde’s rich and dramatic portrayals of the upper classes came during
the height of the prosperity that swept through London in the Victorian Era
of the late 19th century.  At a time when all citizens of Britain were
finally able to embrace literature the wealthy and educated could only once
afford, Wilde wrote short stories, plays and poems that continue to be
studied and read all over the world.  His only novel, *The Portrait of
Dorian Gray*, was a sensation when it was published and continues to be
read and studied.  *The Importance of Being Earnest* (1895) was Wilde’s
ninth and final play.  In 1895, Wilde was convicted of ‘‘gross indecency’’
for his homosexual relationship with the son of the Marquis of
Queensberry.  He was sentenced to two years in prison.

* *

*The Director*

*   Neil Thackaberry** has directed plays in Detroit, New Orleans and
Illinois in addition to his work in Ohio.  Locally, he has directed for
Cleveland Signstage Theatre and Weathervane Community Playhouse, in
addition to over 60 productions for Actors’ Summit, the theater he
co-founded with MaryJo Alexander in 1999.

*
*

*The Cast *

*   MaryJo Alexander* *(Lady Bracknell) has appeared onstage in *Woody
Guthrie’s American Song*, as Joan Didion in *A Year of Magical Thinking*,
as Emily Dickenson in *The Belle of Amherst*, as Fanny Kemble in *Shame the
Devil* as well as numerous other productions.  An Equity actress, she has
performed with Porthouse Theater, Ensemble Theatre and Cain Park.  When not
onstage at Actors’ Summit, MaryJo keeps busy as the Co-Artistic Director,
directing shows for the company and designing costumes for every production.

* *

*   John Bruce *(Merriman) is making his second appearance with Actors’
Summit.  Last season he played one of the clowns in *A Christmas Carol*.  A
retired teacher from University School in Shaker Heights, John has been
active in theater for more than forty years.

* *

*   Tess Burgler *(Cecily Cardew) is in her first Actors’ Summit
production.  Most recently, Tess was in Coach House Theatre productions *
Shipwrecked!* (Player 2), *And Then There Were None* (Vera) and *The
Philadelphia Story* (Tracy Lord).

* *

*   Leah Frires *(Gwendolen Fairfax) is making her second appearance at
Actors’ Summit.  She was last seen at Actors’ Summit as Suzanne Aubin in *The
Ladies Man.  *

* *

*   Trey Gilpin *(Algernon Moncrieff) is making his debut at Actors’ Summit
in one of his favorite works.  Favorite roles include Freddy Benson in *Dirty
Rotten Scoundrels* and Aldolpho in *The Drowsy Chaperone*.



*   Alex J. Nine *(Lane) just appeared on stage at Actors’ Summit in *A
Girl’s Guide to Coffee.  *Last season he made his debut with the company as
Gustav Aubin in *The Ladies Man.  *

* *

*   Mary Jane Nottage *(Miss Prism) is happy to be back at Actors’ Summit
for her fifth production with the company.  At Actors’ Summit, Mary Jane
has  appeared in productions of *The Glass Menagerie, Tartuffe*, *A Child’s
Christmas in Wales *and *Uh Oh Here Comes Christmas*.



   *Mark Seven* (Rev. Chausable) is delighted to return to the stage at
Actors’ Summit having appeared in last season’s *A Christmas Carol*.  Last
year, Mark appeared in *The Underpants* (Beck Center), *Endgame* (Cleveland
Museum of Art), and *Showboat* (Mercury Summer Stock).

* *

*   Keith E. Stevens* *(Jack Worthing)* *with this show marks his 24th
production with Actors’ Summit.  You may have recently seen him in *Woody
Guthrie’s American Song, Five Course Love*, or* Romantic Fools.  *Favorite
shows with Actors’ Summit:*  Proof, Romantic Fools, Last Train to Nibroc*, *Big
Boys *and *Macbeth.*  Keith is also a lifetime member of the Actors
Studio.



*Ticket Information *

* *

Individual ticket prices are $19 at the preview on March 29th and the
Saturday matinee on April 14th.  Thursdays and Sundays adults are $28 and
seniors over 65 are $25.  Opening night and all Saturdays are $30.
Fridays, other than opening night, are $28.  All full time students with ID
can attend any performance for $9.  Thursday, Friday, and Saturday
performances are at 8:00 PM.  Sunday matinees are at 2:00 PM.  There is a
single Saturday matinee on April 14th at 2:00 PM.  **



Tickets *can be purchased by phone at (330) 374-7568.  *

* *

*More information is available at Actors’ Summit website:
www.actorssummit.org*
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