The Importance of Being Earnest

Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) was born in Dublin to Sir William Wilde and his wife Jane. While studying at Oxford, he was fascinated by the aesthetic movement and eventually became a proponent for “L’art pour l’art (“Art for Art’s Sake”), and wrote the award-winning poem Ravenna. After he graduated in 1879, he moved to Chelsea in London to establish a literary career. Upon graduating in 1879, he moved to London to review art, write poetry and lecture in the UK, the United States and Canada. In 1884, Wilde married Constance Lloyd and, in the course of their turbulent marriage, had two sons. His first and only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, was published in 1891 and has been adapted for the stage. Wilde’s first successful theatrical endeavor, Lady Windermere’s Fan, opened in 1892. He went on to create the wonderfully popular comedies A Woman of No Importance (1893), An Ideal Husband (1895), and the classic The Importance of Being Earnest (1895). Not long afterward, Wilde was publicly accused of homosexuality and arrested for gross indecency. During his time in prison he wrote De Profundis, a dramatic monologue and autobiography, which was addressed to his lover Bosie. Three years after his release in 1897, he died of cerebral meningitis in a rundown Paris hotel. Known for his philosophical wit and irreverent charm, Wilde is famously quoted as saying, “Life is too important to be taken seriously.”

Michael Cumpsty has appeared in The Lion in Winter, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Absurd Person Singular, Present Laughter and Much Ado about Nothing at Two River Theater, where he also directed The Importance of being Earnest and Third. Broadway credits include Machinal, The Winslow Boy, End of the Rainbow (Tony nomination), Sunday in the Park with George, The Constant Wife, Democracy, Enchanted April, 42nd Street, Copenhagen, Electra, 1776, Racing Demon, The Heiress, Translations, Timon of Athens (Bayfield Award), La Bête and Artist Descending a Staircase. Off-Broadway credits include Hamlet (Obie Award), Richard II and Richard III (all for Classic Stage Company); Twelfth Night, Timon of Athens, All’s Well That Ends Well, Hamlet, Cymbeline and The Winter’s Tale (all for the New York Shakespeare Festival); The Body of an American (Primary Stages and Hartford Stage). He has appeared in many of America’s premiere regional theaters, and played Leontes in The Winter’s Tale for the Royal Shakespeare Company at their home in Stratford-upon-Avon. TV: recurring roles on Boardwalk Empire, Nurse Jackie and Star Trek: Voyager; L.A. Law (series regular); Red Oaks, The OA, Madam Secretary, The Good Wife, Law & Order and Elementary. Film: Eat Pray Love, Wall Street 2, Starting Out in the Evening, The Ex, Flags of our Fathers, The Visitor, The Ice Storm, Fatal Instinct, State of Grace, Downtown Express and Collateral Beauty.

Charlie Corcoran

Jess Goldstein previously designed The Ballad of Little Jo at Two River Theater. New York credits include Jersey Boys, Disney’s Newsies, On the Town, The Rivals (2005 Tony Award), The Merchant of Venice with Al Pacino (Tony nomination), Plenty with Rachel Weisz, Henry IV with Kevin Kline (Tony nomination), Proof, Julius Caesar with Denzel Washington, Love! Valour! Compassion!, Take Me Out, Tintypes, The Most Happy Fella, Buried Child, How I Learned to Drive, Stuff Happens, Dinner with Friends and The Mineola Twins (Lortel and Hewes Awards). His opera designs include Il Trittico for the Metropolitan Opera, Dead Man Walking for New York City Opera, and Two Women and Heart of a Soldier, two recent world premieres, for San Francisco Opera. Jess has also designed for film and television, most notably A Walk on the Moon directed by Tony Goldwyn, The Substance of Fire with Sarah Jessica Parker and Talking With and Far East for PBS’ Great Performances. He is the 2015 recipient of the Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award and is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama, where he has been a Professor in the design department since 1990. www.jess-goldstein.com

Yuki Nakase previously at Two River Theater: Thornton Wilder’s The Bridge of San Luis Rey adapted for the stage by David Greenspan and directed by Ken Rus Schmoll, Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest directed by Michael Cumpsty, and Tony Meneses’ The Women of Padilla directed by Ken Rus Schmoll. Recent design credits include Tiny Beautiful Things (Long Wharf Theatre), Hope (Wild Project), Queen of Basel (Colony Theatre), The Hartt School Dance Division Fall Concert (University of Hartford). Next: Triptych: Eyes of One on Another (LA Phil, University Musical Society, Kennedy Center and BAM). She was born in Tokyo, grew up in Kyoto, Japan and currently lives north of NYC in the woods.  B.A. in Dance: JWCPE, M.F.A. in Lighting Design: NYU. For more information, visit http://yukinakase.com

Elisheba Ittoop Her designs and original music have been heard at The Kennedy Center, The Guthrie Theater, Steppenwolf Theatre, Signature Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, National Gallery of Art, Soho Rep, Women’s Project, Triad Stage, Woolly Mammoth, Arena Stage, Alliance Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse, Cleveland Play House, Trinity Rep, Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, Bonnaroo Music Festival, Okeechobee Music Festival, and the Center for Puppetry Arts. Elisheba was a resident sound designer at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center for the 2010 and 2011 National Playwrights Conferences, recipient of the Kenan Fellowship at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and winner of the 2008 USITT Rising Star Award. Education: NYU, North Carolina School of the Arts. www.elishebaittoop.com

Leah J. Loukas Broadway: The Great Comet of 1812, Sweat, Oh, Hello!, The Heidi Chronicles, On the Town, A Night with Janis Joplin, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, American Idiot, Irena’s Vow. The Public Theater: Plenty, Barbecue, Fortress of Solitude, Taming of the Shrew, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Into the Woods. Regional work: Dallas Theater Center, La Jolla Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse. She made her Two River debut last season with The Ballad of Little Jo.

Heidi Griffiths has worked for more than 25 years at the Joseph Papp Public Theater in NYC, where she has cast over 200 productions Off-Broadway and at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, including Shakespeare, new plays, and musicals. On Broadway: The Girl From The North Country; The Inheritance; The Iceman Cometh; Sweat; Shuffle Along; The Crucible, Eclipsed; A Delicate Balance; A Raisin in the Sun; Lucky Guy; Chinglish; The Motherf**ker with the Hat; The Merchant of Venice; Hair; Passing Strange; Caroline, or Change; Take Me Out (Tony Award, Best Play 2003); Topdog/Underdog (Pulitzer Prize, 2002); The Wild Party; Bring in ’Da Noise, Bring in ’Da Funk; On the Town; and The Tempest. She also cast the films The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love, MURDER and murder, Saving Face and Ladybird. Radio Golf is her 12th collaboration with Two River Theater.

Two River Theater: Theo, King Hedley II, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Women of Padilla, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Seven Guitars, Your Blues Ain’t Sweet Like Mine, and The School for Wives. Broadway (as Casting Associate): The Crucible, A View from the Bridge, A Delicate Balance, A Raisin in the Sun, Lucky Guy (Casting Assistant). Additional casting credits include work with Arena Stage, Center Theater Group, The Cherry Lane, Bedlam, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, LAByrinth, New Georges, TheaterWorks Hartford, and The Studio Theatre. Kate is a Casting Director at The Public Theater.

Rick Steiger  Two River: On Borrowed Time, Lisa Kron’s 2.5 Minute Ride. Broadway: An American om Paris; James Lapine’s Act One; War Horse; Twyla Tharp’s Come Fly Away; The Royal Family; 13: A New Musical; Rock ’N’ Roll; Frost/Nixon; Spring Awakening; The Woman In White; Caroline, or Change; Topdog/Underdog; Elaine Stritch: At Liberty; Michael John LaChiusa’s The Wild Party; Epic Proportions; The Civil War; Titanic; Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk. Off-Broadway: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Bells Are Ringing (Encores!), Mother Courage and Her Children, This Is How It Goes, Radiant Baby. Regional: WARHOLCAPOTE (A.R.T.). Production Supervisor for the North American Tour & West End productions of An American in Paris.