FARMINGTON – Elegant ladies, dapper men and more puns and absurdity than you can shake a cucumber sandwich at mark the Sandy River Players’ production of Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest.”

The classic comic farce will run Wednesday, April 30, through Sunday, May 4, at Alumni Theater on the University of Maine at Farmington campus.

First published in the 1890s, Wilde’s script continues to capture audiences with its humor and offbeat comical suspense. “Earnest” presents the story of two men in search of love, or something like it, and the challenges family, friends, business and etiquette all pose in that quest. Along the way, the audience meets meddling aunts, naive debutantes and philosophical butlers.

A severe case of mistaken identity makes quite a mess of the entire affair, and it takes a governess with a steel-trap memory to sort the whole thing out.

Directed by Kyla Wheeler, “The Importance of Being Earnest” cast includes Sandy River Players regular John Logan as Jack, the hero; UMF student Mark Lemos as Algernon, Jack’s friend but source of continued stress; UMF’s Kristin McCormack as young Cecily Cardew, Jack’s ward; Miranda Gauvin as the lovely but somewhat fickle Gwendolyn; and Deb Mason as the matriarch, Lady Bracknell. Also appearing in the production are Dan Gunn, Margaux DePue, Matt Black and Benjamin Gray.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $8.50 for students and seniors. Tickets are available at Howard’s Rexall in the downtown. Discounts are offered on opening night. For ticket reservations, call 779-7084. For more information, e-mail sandyriverplayers@hotmail.com.


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