Sara Miller as Lady Bracknell and Karen Stoll as Miss Prism
Algernon “Algy” Moncrieff played by Joseph Watts and Cecily Cardew played by Tessa Sentell
DJ Lovett as Mr. Gribsby
Emily Miller as Gwendolen Fairfax
Back Alley Productions will perform The Importance of Being Earnest in the Face of the Zombie Apocalypse. Show dates are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. from May 27 through June 11 with Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m. on May 29, June 5 and June 12.
General admission is $15, $12 for seniors age 55 and up and $10 for students with a valid school ID. Shows are at The Mars Theater at 117 N. Chattanooga St. in LaFayette. Visit www.backalleyproductions.org to purchase tickets.
Review The Importance of Being Earnest in the Face of the Zombie Apocalypse:
You may recall the cleverly outrageous plot of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. But you may never have imagined it with zombies. Back Alley Productions is excited to add in the Face of the Zombie Apocalypse to the famous show title, heightening the laughter by immersing a myriad of walking corpses into famous scenes already dripping with situation comedy. Thomas White heads the brigade as the adapter of the script as well as director.
“We’re keeping the clever lines, the ridiculous characters," said Mr. White. "We’re just adding zombies into a 20th Century aristocratic world. It creates hilarious contrast. There’s fun in it for those who love dry comedy, love zombies or love both."
Staying true to Wilde’s plot, the story involves two young gents who have taken to bending the truth in order to put some excitement into their lives. Worthing has invented a brother, Ernest, whom he uses as an excuse to leave behind his dull life to visit his love interest, Gwendolen. While Worthing is in town, Moncrieff also disguises himself as Ernest and goes to the country to secretly visit Worthing’s young, beautiful ward, Cecily. The situation goes awry when both men end up in the country and their deceptions are discovered just as the undead come alive.
“Adding zombies emphasizes Wilde’s theme in the play of society placing too much emphasis on trivial matters and ignoring significant issues,” said Mr. White. “For example, even though they can easily be bitten by a zombie and turn into one themselves, the characters carry on daintily drinking tea and enjoying their finger sandwiches. They’re indifferent to the zombies, who are dull-brained anyway, more funny than scary. The characters have absolutely hilarious interactions with them.”
The show will run approximately two hours. For more information, call 706.621-2870 or 706.996-8350. Find them on Facebook by searching “Back Alley Productions.” Back Alley Productions is an award-winning theater company on its sixth season. Visit www.backalleyproductions.org for a full list of upcoming shows.