Let’s get Wilde – Oscar Wilde! (Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.) This episode allows me the opportunity to talk to amazing director, actor, and human Lance Marsh as we delve into directing not one cast but TWO in the co-production of The Importance of Being Earnest. We discuss the difference between directing and acting in a production, why Marsh is directing The Importance of Being Earnest once again and why he decrees it the all-time funniest play. We talk about the tragic history of Wilde and how it might impact Wilde’s comedy and our reception of the play. We discuss the similarities and differences between Shakespeare and Wilde, the outrage of a society when you take them out of their comfort zone, and maybe even talk about a certain halftime show. **Listen up as Head of Performance from Oklahoma City University gives some important advice to all our auditioning actors out there on how to get the part - especially when returning for call backs. This show is running at OSP from February 19th to March 1st. If you are looking for a Valentine’s Day present that sparkles, look no further than this romantic comedy. Also, with two different casts, you can see the same (but very different) show twice! Synopsis: Oscar Wilde’s most celebrated comedy sparkles with wit, charm, and razor-sharp satire. The Importance of Being Earnest follows two young gentlemen, Jack and Algernon, who create elaborate double lives to escape social obligations and pursue romance. But when their deceptions collide, the result is a whirlwind of mistaken identities, outrageous revelations, and Wilde’s trademark epigrams that still dazzle over a century later. Audiences are treated to a delightful romp through Victorian society, where cucumber sandwiches, handbags, and the pursuit of “earnestness” become hilariously entangled. Beneath the laughter lies Wilde’s clever critique of class, marriage, and the absurdities of social convention. The arts are under attack, and buying tickets and books is a great way to show your support and fight back. Buy Tickets for OSP’s: The Importance of Being Earnest — Oklahoma Shakespeare PLEASE SUBSCRIBE! www.theshakespeareanshrew.com https://www.youtube.com/@ShakespeareanShrew Please follow us on Instagram: @theshakespeareanshrew TikTok: @theshakespeareanshrew The new season of shows for OSP is available here! Please donate to OSP: https://www.okshakes.org/donate Thank you for listening! Host/Shakespearean Shrew: Karen Feiner Co-Creator/Brew Shrew: Michelle Coffman Cover Art Creator/Artistic Shrew: Katie Kimberling www.halfmaverick.com Intro/Outro Music: “Tangled” by Nihilore: Creative Commons Music Thank you to our guest, D. Lance Marsh. D. LANCE MARSH (he/him/his) is proud to be serving in his seventeenth year as an Associate Artistic Director for Oklahoma Shakespeare and in his twentieth year at TheatreOCU, where he serves as a Professor and Head of Performance (and briefly as an Acting Associate Dean). For OSP, he has acted in Hamlet, Emma and Blythe Spirit, and The Merry Wives of Windsor and directed Misalliance, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Merchant of Venice, A Comedy of Errors, The Seagull, Othello, Measure for Measure, Macbeth, Blythe Spirit, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, GB Shaw’s You Never Can Tell, and Much Ado About Nothing. A proud member of Actors Equity, he has performed in the City Rep productions of Our Town, Hay Fever, Moonlight and Magnolias, August: Osage County, Much Ado About Nothing and as Mark Rothko in Red and in Peter and the Starcatcher. His most recent projects include playing the role of Sam Byck in Assassins, Richard Nixon in Frost/Nixon, and Ebeneezer Scrooge (twice) in A Christmas Carol at Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma.
