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Illustrated event poster for Oscar Wilde's, The Importance of Being Earnest
March 3-6: The Importance of Being Earnest at the Otteson Theatre
In Spring 2022, The Carroll Players will present “The Importance of Being Earnest” in celebration of Carroll University's 175th Anniversary and the Carroll Players’ 125th Anniversary. The production, originally performed in 1932, is returning to Carroll 90 years later to be directed by Professor Jennifer Dobby. “The Importance of Being Earnest” is Oscar Wilde’s brilliantly-clever comedic masterpiece. It tells the story of two young gentlemen in London, who each live a double-life, creating elaborate deceptions to find some balance in their lives. John Worthing escapes the burdens of responsibility to have an exciting life in the city, pretending to be his fictitious younger brother Ernest. Algernon Moncrieff, meanwhile, has invented a convenient invalid, Bunbury, whom he uses as an excuse to gallivant off to the country whenever he pleases. When John falls in love with Algernon’s cousin, Gwendolen, he is determined to come clean, but when Gwendolen reveals she can only love a man named Ernest, it somewhat complicates things. Oscar Wilde's brilliant comedy captures the struggle of four passionate lovers trying to conform to expectations and, in the most roundabout and delightfully funny way possible, love who they wish and live how they want.