Last week the Catawba College Theatre Department ended the 2013-2014 season with its production of The Importance of Being Earnest, a show written by Oscar Wilde and directed by Craig Kolkebeck.  The romantic comedy centers around two young men, portrayed by Greg Stoughton and Eric English, who find themselves in uncomfortable (and amusing) situations after pretending to be other people and multiple cases of mistaken identity.

It is important to mention how much effort went into the set and costumes you see in this show. The set took a really long time to paint. It included a set of gorgeous French doors and a beautiful floor. I admire those especially who worked on the floor, which was added to the stage itself and hand-painted to look the way it does. The costumes, designed by Jacquelyn Loy, were another huge part of the production, seeing as the play is set in a very specific time period. Not only were the costumes accurate for the time period, but she even managed to color coordinate certain characters’ clothing to their love interests’ clothing.

The show itself was exceptionally funny and the humor was thought-provoking. If the witty dialogue itself was missed at times, the physical humor provided by the actors had the whole room shaking with laughter, especially during the cleverly choreographed scene changes. Stoughton and English delivered their lines quickly and convincingly to each other, as though their accents were innate. Sumur Neace’s portrayal of Lady Bracknell stole the show at times, her sarcasm catching on effortlessly, as though the language of the show was the same sort of language we use today. The two leading ladies, Amanda Becker and Michelle Newberger, did not disappoint either. These two women were able to convey innocent sweetness in some moments during the show and then effortlessly shift into a snarky determination in others.