Wilde Again: Musical Ernest in Love, With Fowler, Racey, Maloney, Begins NYC Run

By Kenneth Jones
12 Dec 2009

Beth Fowler
Beth Fowler
Photo by Aubrey Reuben

Broadway's Beth Fowler, of The Boy From Oz and Beauty and the Beast, is Lady Bracknell, famous for her withering looks, in Irish Repertory Theater's new production of the cult-favorite musical Ernest in Love, beginning previews Dec. 12.

The revival of the Off-Broadway cult classic based on Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest will open Dec. 20. It also features Annika Boras (as Gwendolyn Fairfax), Brad Bradley (Lane/Merriman), Kerry Conte (Alice/Effie), Katie Fabel (Cecily Cardew), Kristin Griffith (Miss Prism), Ian Holcomb (Algernon Moncrieff), Peter Maloney (Dr. Chasuble) and Curtains star Noah Racey (John "Jack" Worthing).

Ernest in Love is directed by IRT artistic director Charlotte Moore. Barry McNabb choreographs. Performances play to Jan. 31, 2010, at Irish Rep's Off-Broadway home at 132 W. 22nd Street.

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The 1960 musical is known for its frisky comic score, which is beloved by cast album collectors. The show has book and lyrics by Anne Croswell and music by Lee Pockriss.

Ernest in Love, according to Irish Rep notes, is "a sparkling and witty musical about social hypocrisy among the crème de la crème of Victorian England, is a faithful adaptation of Wilde's superb comic masterpiece, The Importance of Being Earnest — featuring all of its much-beloved characters. … The clever, tuneful score is the perfect complement to Wilde's incomparable wordplay and sharp witticisms."

The creative team will include set designer James Morgan; costume designer Linda Fisher; lighting designer Brian Nason; and musical director Mark Hartman.

Collaborators Pockriss and Croswell also penned the score the Broadway's Tovarich, another cult favorite known primarily today for its cast album, featuring original star Vivien Leigh.

Director Moore staged Irish Repertory's acclaimed revival of Finian's Rainbow during the company's 2004-05 season, and most recently directed Take Me Along, a musical adaptation of O'Neill's Ah, Wilderness!, winning a 2008 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Revival of a Musical.

Performances play Wednesdays-Saturdays at 8 PM; plus 3 PM matinees on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays (with the following exceptions: no performances on Fridays, Dec. 25, 2009 or Jan. 1, 2010.).

Tickets are $65 and $55, and are available by calling (212) 727-2737. For more information visit www.irishrep.org.