Like, local theatre group performs totally rad play

Like, local theatre group performs totally rad play

By Megan Landry
Staff Writer

The original play of The Importance of Being Earnest, written by Oscar Wilde, was first performed in 1895. On January 17-19, the play was performed at ACTS Theatre - with a twist. The Lake Charles School of Bunburying with Bard Upon the Lake Productions presented The Importance of Like Totally Being Earnest, a comedy set in the 1980’s.  

ACTS Theatre performed this adaption several years ago but set it in the 1920’s. It was while rehearsing for this play that the director, Michael Muffuletto, got the idea to set it sixty years later. 

This idea occurred to him as one of the male actors was trying to get into character by putting on a dress that happened to be from the ‘80s. The idea came up again over this past summer as Muffuletto was having drinks with a few fellow ACTS actors. That is when the planning process began and nearly all of the original cast was on board.

The setting of the story was changed to California in 1987. The character, Gwendolen, was modeled after a mean girl character from the film, Heathers. Another character, Cecily, became a Valley Girl. A reformed ‘70s porn star was also added to the mix as the character of Dr. Chasuble. The characters of Lane and Merriman were changed to be less formal and almost disrespectful.

Muffuletto not only had the task of directing, but he was also an actor in the play. He said, “The biggest challenge in directing was being at the disadvantage of not being able to see the whole picture since I was on stage.”

Another challenge the production faced was which ideas to use in the play, and with nine people involved, there were many. 

An additional disadvantage was working rehearsal times around two other productions. Some rehearsals even took place at cast members’ homes. Muffuletto said, “We are very thankful to the board of ACTS who gave us permission to do our show. We are also thankful to Walt Kizer who allowed us to squeeze our show between two of his larger productions.”

The cast included Aaron Webster as Jack Worthing, Michael Muffuletto as Algernon Moncrieff, Sarah Parks Plauche’ as Gwendolen “Gwenny” Fairfax, Kelly Rowland as Cecily “Cecie” Cardew, Mark Bowling as Mrs. Senator Bracknell, Kris Perez Webster as Senorita Prisma, Casey B. Doucet as Dr. Chasuble, Diki Jines as Lane, and Julian Quebedeaux as Merriman.

Muffuletto finished by saying, “I love working on stage with the cast. The biggest joy I got from the production was hearing the audience laugh at the bits and gags we added it.”