Elegant ‘Fan’ at UCI

Tom Titus

One can only shudder at what Oscar Wilde might concoct if the

celebrated (and infamous) Victorian playwright were practicing his

craft today, given the artistic license modern playwrights enjoy.

In Wilde’s time, the England of the late 19th and early 20th

centuries, playgoers were required to read between the acid-tipped

(for those times) lines to fully appreciate his social satire. Two

Wilde plays, “The Importance of Being Earnest” and “Mrs. Warren’s

Profession” -- both presented on local stages just this season --

appear inconsequential and overdramatic, respectively, when viewed

through 21st century sensibilities.

Before either of those social comments saw the light of day, Wilde

honed his craft on a script that seems to veer between drawing room

comedy and edgy melodrama, “Lady Windermere’s Fan,” which is enjoying

an elegantly well-staged production at UC Irvine.

Guest director J.R. Sullivan has mounted a tantalizingly

intriguing rendition of this early Wilde work, which teases its

audience with a Big Secret that hangs over the theater throughout the

second act. Since this is the first time “Lady Windermere’s Fan” has

been mounted locally in some four decades, it shan’t be revealed here

just what that secret is, although discerning playgoers should be

able to ferret it out before the first-act curtain.

The lady of the title -- married two years and a mother, but who’s

just come “of age” -- is a fascinating character, torn between a

husband she believes has little time for her and a lovesick would-be

swain who has plenty. When she discovers Lord Windermere has been

funneling large sums of money to a strange woman, which he refuses to

explain, marital tension (Victorian-style, always well mannered)

approaches the boiling point.

Sara Parry delivers a superlative performance in the title role,

balancing her often-melodramatic dialogue with a high degree of

sincerity. Taking the audience into her confidence -- a rather cheesy

ploy in today’s theater -- somehow works quite well in a period piece

such as this.

Michael P. Morgan as her secretive husband treads a fine line

between fidelity and deception as he endeavors to ensure that his

young wife remain unaware of the scandalous secret. Andrew Samonsky

thrusts his heart onto his sleeve in his fervent pursuit of this

unavailable women.

The “scarlet woman” in question is exceptionally well interpreted

by Ailene King, whose effect on the production grows immeasurably in

the second act. Windell D. Middlebrooks plays her corpulent swain

(known as “Tubby”) with appreciable comic bluster.

There are some roles not overly consequential, but filled with

rich social commentary which receive particularly adept treatment in

the UCI production. Mandy Schmieder excels as the loquacious duchess

pursuing ripe gossip on one hand while overtly protecting her

virginal daughter (Jessica May Stevenson) from it on the other.

Martin Swoverland is Wilde’s personal voice in this play, peppering

social commentary in all directions.

Some of this commentary will ring familiar to UCI audiences. We’ve

all heard the expressions “I can resist anything but temptation” and

“a cynic is one who knows the price of everything and the value of

nothing,” but how many of us realized both sayings came from this

play?

Technically, the UCI production revels in depth and elegance.

Christopher Sousa-Wynn’s beautifully realized settings are dressed

with Victorian flourish by Samantha E. White’s superbly fashioned

costumes. Christina L. Munich’s lighting designs further embellish

the overall effect.

“Lady Windermere’s Fan,” first produced in 1892, is a valuable

history lesson for today’s students of the theater, in which manners

and morality take center stage and the sly wit of Wilde skewers both

effectively. UCI’s marvelous production is a splendid recreation of

this bygone period.

* TOM TITUS’ columns run Thursdays and Saturdays.