Can't come to Broadway? Fear not, Broadway comes to you. This summer, the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center will continue hosting live broadcasts of the best productions Broadway has to offer.
The Ross will present "The Importance of Being Earnest: Live in HD Direct from the Broadway Stage" on Thursday at 7 p.m. with an encore presentation on Sunday at 3 p.m.
Throughout the past few years, there has been an explosion of interest in live broadcasts of top-tier theatrical performances around the globe. These transmissions have exposed people all over world to amazing productions they couldn't have seen otherwise.
The Ross, located on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus, is the only Nebraska venue that actively seeks out these broadcasts and brings them to the community. The Ross's upcoming live theatrical transmission will be Oscar Wilde's timeless classic "The Importance of Being Earnest."
The Ross's coordinator, Danny Ladely, explained why they choose to participate in the live broadcast and how the format lends itself to an engaging theatrical experience.
"The play has received rave reviews on Broadway and looks really great," Ladely said. "Plus, the satellite feed we get is very high quality and looks amazing on our big screen."
Wilde's 1895 farcical comedy "The Importance of Being Earnest" is a witty tale about courtship, class and false identity. The play's humorous approach provides a cleverly satirical take on the Victorian era and its rigidly structured institutions. Widely considered Wilde's most influential and enduring work, "The Importance of Being Earnest" truly was ahead of its time, making it a story audiences everywhere can still connect with today.
The play's protagonist, Jack Worthing, is a young man living outside of London just before the turn of the 20th century. Jack leads a double life, being himself in the country and taking up the persona Earnest whenever in the city. Acting as Earnest in London, Jack falls in love with a young woman named Gwendolen whose overprotective aunt, Lady Bracknell, seeks to discover the true background of her niece's mysterious new suitor. What ensues is a comedic romp that plays on the confines of London's social structures, incorporating themes of romance, deception and the triviality of societal institutions and prejudices.
This new vision of the old classic is being presented by the Roundabout Theatre Company, L.A. Theatre Works and BY Experience. Tony Award winner Brian Bedford directs and stars as Lady Bracknell in his own interpretation of Wilde's most popular play.
"Few actors are more capable of bringing out both sides of Wilde than Brian Bedford," said Susan Loewenberg, the producing director of L.A. Theatre Works. "Brian has commanded the stage for more than half a century, and with our HD broadcast of "The Importance of Being Earnest," many thousands more will have the opportunity to see this legendary actor in his element."
mikehollins@dailynebraskan.com
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