The Importance of Being Earnest

Oct 13, 2024 - Dec 9, 2024

Recommended for Ages 10+

Run Time: 2 hours and 10 minutes, including one 15 minute intermission.

All remaining performances are SOLD OUT. Please check back for cancellations, or join a waitlist in person one hour before showtime.

If you are a SUBSCRIBER, please call us at 818.506.5436.

Runs now through December 9!

“Oh, pleasure, pleasure! What else should bring one anywhere?”

When bachelors Jack and Algernon both create alter egos, the lies quickly spiral into chaos, hilarity, cucumber sandwiches, and Victorian handbags.

Oscar Wilde’s “Trivial Comedy for Serious People,” with its sparkling wit, quotable lines, and unforgettable characters promises to be just the antidote for our own troubling times. Antaeus Company member Gigi Bermingham (You Can't Take It With You) helms this delightful high farce.

Photo: Alessandra Mañon and Jay Lee, by Frank Ishman

Proud Partner Of:

Any teenager (13-19 years old) can sign up for a FREE Teen Tix Pass. The pass entitles them to purchase $5 show tickets to any of Teen Tix’s partner organizations.

For more information, please visit la.teentix.org.

Cast

Alex Barlas

JOHN WORTHING, J.P.

Alex embarked on a transformative journey toward his artistic aspirations, earning an MFA in Acting from California Institute of the Arts in 2020. He has illuminated renowned venues, notably portraying the complex character Oswald Alving in Ghost at The Odyssey Theater. He captured audiences' hearts as Sunny, a visual artist grappling with self-doubt, in Edgar Arceneaux's Boney Manilli, staged at the iconic Walt Disney Concert Hall's RedCat Theater. Most recently, Alex delighted audiences with his performance in A Christmas Carol at South Coast Repertory, showcasing his dedication to bringing stories to life. He is currently in residence at The Reef, developing his one-man show, Take Me Home Country Road. Alex is honored to be a part of The Antaeus Theater Company's production of "The Importance of Being Earnest.

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Anne Gee Byrd*

LADY BRACKNELL

At ANTAEUS: Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Autumn Garden and Mother Courage (LA Weekly Award). Other recent credits include: Good People at La Mirada, Three Views of the Same Object and Four Places (LADCC Award) at Rogue Machine Theater, The Savanna Disputation at the Colony Theatre and Kate in All My Sons (LADCC Award) at the Matrix Theater, Breadcrumbs at Theater 150 in Ojai, I Never Sang For My Father with The New American Theater Company. She has also appeared in L.A. at the Mark Taper Forum, the Geffen Playhouse, the Pasadena Playhouse, L.A. Theater Works, the Odyssey, and the Andak Stage Co. Regionally, she has worked at South Coast Repertory, The Old Globe,San Diego Rep, Seattle Rep, La Jolla Rep, ACT, San Francisco Rep, The American Shakespeare Festival , Connecticut Rep, the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival, the McCarter, Princeton Rep to name a few. She recently appeared on TV in Murder in the First and in the motion picture Wild.

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Julia Fletcher*

MISS PRISM, GOVERNESS

Julia Fletcher has been a theater professional for more than 35 years, working in new play development, as an adapter of the works of Shakespeare, as a director, an Equity stage manager, and a master teacher. She trained and worked as an actor with the American Conservatory Theatre, and has performed with the Old Globe, the Intiman, San Jose Rep, ACT/Seattle, Antaeus, P.C.P.A., and the Pittsburgh Public Theatre, among others. She was also the Founding Artistic Director of the Pacific Resident Theatre in Los Angeles.

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Bo Foxworth*

REV. CANON CHASUBLE, D.D.

Bo has been a proud member of Antaeus for a decade now appearing in productions of Measure for Measure as Lucio/Juliet, Cloud 9 (LADCC and Stage Raw Best Actor Winner), Henry IV, The Liar, The Crucible (Ovation nomination), the title role in Macbeth, The Seagull and The Malcontent. Other LA theater includes Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing with SOC and Arthur Miller’s The Price at I.C.T., Henslowe in Shakespeare in Love at South Coast Rep, King Charles III at Pasadena Playhouse and Building The Wall at the Fountain Theatre. He has also worked at The Skylight Theatre, Ensemble Theater Company, La Mirada, Laguna Playhouse, The Geffen, Disney Hall, LATheatreWorks, Theater @Boston Court, The Hollywood Bowl and A Noise Within where he received two Ovation nominations. He has worked in numerous theaters in NY including a year in the Off-Broadway Way hit As Bee’s in Honey Drown at the Lucile Lortel. He has appeared in regional theatre’s through out the country including The Long Wharf, Yale Rep, The Shakespeare Theatre, Vienna’s English Theatre, Baltimore Center Stage, The Old Globe and many others. He has numerous film and television credits including Modern Family, VEEP and the HBO movie All The Way starring Bryan Cranston. He is a graduate of UCLA and received his Masters at Yale School of Drama.

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Jay Lee

ALGERNON MONCRIEFF

At ANTAEUS: Three Days in the Country. Other Theater: Henry IV, Part One (Show Me State), The Madwoman of Chaillot (A Noise Within), The Tempest (Shakespeare Orange County), Vieux Carre (Coeurage Theatre Company). TV/Film: Angie Tribeca (TBS), Colony (USA), Bully (Lazy Racer prod.). Other recent projects: CBS Diversity Showcase (2018 cast), The Filth (web series), Giggle Break (a sketch comedy channel). Training/Awards: B.A., USC; John Blankenchip / William C. White Award.

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Alessandra Mañón*

CECILY CARDEW

Alessandra is thrilled to be making her debut with Anteus! She is an LA based actor that works in theatre, film, and tv. Alessandra has previously performed with Kingsmen Shakespeare Co, South Pasadena Theatre Workshop, Sacred Fools, Orange County Shakespeare, Austin Shakespeare, and ZACH Theatre. Her film & tv credits include Rich Kids, Vida, Queen of the South, Crazy Ex Girlfriend, Walker, and Murder Made Me Famous. Off stage and screen Alessandra studies Argentine Tango at the Los Angeles Tango Academy and can be found rock climbing at The Stronghold Climbing Gym.

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Jules Willcox*

HON. GWENDOLEN FAIRFAX

At ANTAEUS: The Liar, The Seagull, The Malcontent. Theater: Macbeth, Pericles, Eurydice, The Doctor’s Dilemma at A Noise Within; Hippolytos at the Getty Villa; Gruesome Playground Injuries at Rogue Machine; Othello, Fashion, A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum; Stages at the Hudson Theatre; The Beaux Stratagem, Charles Mee’s Summertime, Butterfly Kiss, The Tempest, and Hamlet. Jules is also a member of the Pacific Resident Theatre where she has appeared in Becky’s New Car, Rachel Ray, Time of Your Life, Macbeth, Stanton’s Garage and The Contest which was followed by the critically acclaimed international premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. TV: Friends With Better Lives, Teen Wolf, 10,000 Days, CSI. Film: Styria, You’re Still Here, Snake and Mongoose. Education: MFA from University of California, Los Angeles.

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Michael Yapujian*

LANE/MERRIMAN

At ANTAEUS: The Importance of Being Earnest, All My Sons. OTHER LA THEATRE CREDITS: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (A Noise Within), Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (The Odyssey), A Christmas Carol (A Noise Within). Michael recently worked on the HBO Max series Hacks. He is a graduate of USC's School of Dramatic Arts and The Second City Conservatory program.

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Production Team

Gigi Bermingham

Director

At ANTAEUS: Glass Menagerie, Native Son, Cloud 9, Picnic, The Liar, The Seagull, Tonight at 8:30, Mother Courage, Pera Palas, Trial By Jury; and directed The Importance of Being Earnest and You Can’t Take It With You. OTHER STAGE: Pasadena Playhouse, Old Globe, Kirk Douglas Theatre, La Mirada, ETC Santa Barbara, Rubicon, MainStreet, Skylight, Blank, Odyssey, Boston Court, Playwrights’ Arena, and New York’s Public Theatre. FILM: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Amsterdam, Alex and Emma, etc. TV: Recurring on NCIS: Origins, Platonic, Loot, Chicago Fire, Clipped; guest appearances include: Hacks, The Last Thing He Told Me, 9-1-1 Lone Star, Terminal List, S.W.A.T., American Horror Story, Jane the Virgin, etc. 2013 L.A. Stage Alliance Ovation Award for Leading Actress for portrayal of Maria Callas in Master Class at International City Long Beach; and L.A. Drama Critics Circle Natalie Schafer Award and an Ovation for Solo Performance for her solo comedy Non-Vital Organs. Gigi coaches actors and is a career mentor. gigibermingham.com

Angela Balogh Calin

Scenic Designer

Julie Keen

Costume Designer

Ken Booth

Lighting Designer

Salvador C Zamora

Sound Designer

John McElveney

Properties Designer

Jen Albert

Intimacy Director

Paul Wagar

Dialect Coach

Tayla Camras

Production Stage Manager

Rachel Berney Needleman

Production Dramaturg

Casey Collaso

Assistant Stage Manager

Frank Ishman

Artwork

*member, Actor’s Equity Association, the union of professional Actors and Stage Managers in the U.S. This production is presented under the auspices of the Actors’ Equity Los Angeles Membership Company Rule

Earnest Production Photos

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"RECOMMENDED... Top Ten"

Amanda L Andrei, Stage Raw

"FRESH...ZINGY...INSPIRED...Antaeus informs [Earnest] with all the right beats."

Harker Jones, Broadway World

"CAPTIVATING... CLEVER... EXTRAORDINARY actors..."

Joe Mosqueda, Glamgical

"... a rib tickling, gut busting good time."

Patrick Chavis, LA Theatre Bites

"Wickedly Witty...a MUST-SEE"

Sarah A. Spitz, Stage and Cinema

"... as PERFECT... as any Oscar Wilde fan could wish for."

Steven Stanley, Stage Scene LA

"a WITTY good time... TERRIFIC performances."

Terry Morgan, Arts Beat LA

The Importance of Being Earnest