“Oscar Wilde, truly a master of wit and satire, is celebrated for his unwavering and humorous critique of Victorian society,” writes Theater Director David McCamish in the playbill for The Importance of Being Earnest, which opened in the Norris Ely Orchard Theater on Wednesday, October 30. “His works, which continue to resonate for their unique comedy and insightful sagacity of relationships, have delighted audience for well over a century.”  

The Loomis Chaffee student production of Earnest is yet another example of that delight. Performances continue on Thursday, October 31, and Friday, November 1, at 7:30 p.m., as well as a matinee on Saturday, November 2, at 2 p.m.  

Insightful sagacity. Check. Wit and satire. Check. The 11-member cast played off each other expertly on opening night, with laughs filling the theater. The set design, lighting, and costumes all contributed to transporting the audience to England in the late 1890s.  

Act I takes place on an early-autumn afternoon in 1895 in Algernon Moncrieff’s flat on Half-Moon Street in London. Senior Iris Sande, a veteran of LC performances, plays Algernon with high energy and flair.  

Act II is set on the following afternoon in the garden of Jack Worthing’s English manor house in Wilton, Hertfordshire. Junior Zane Habig plays Jack Worthing, whose alter ego is Ernest. Zane gets to say one of the most famous lines of the play as the plot thickens at the end: “It is a terrible thing for a man to find out suddenly that all his life he has been speaking the truth. Can you forgive me?”  

In an interview after the show, Zane discussed forming a “connection with the other actors. And we had an amazing crew, and Mr. McCamish is an amazing director. All-around this is a great experience, and I’m glad I did it.” 

Members of the cast talked about the work that went into playing their parts. Zane described the process as “feeling what the character is feeling, putting myself in his shoes. And the character background — I put a lot of time into making my version of Ernest. Because I have this personal connection with him, it’s a lot easier.” 

Junior Nina Gitlitz, who plays Gwendolen Fairfax, explained her approach. “I always like to write down the physical traits of the character first and think about their relationship with other people and how they see the world,” she said. “Once that happens, it becomes easy to fall into the mindset of the character.” 

Nina’s words were almost drowned out as each actor walked out to the lobby of the Nichols Center for Theater and Dance to a large round of applause.  

“The community of the NEO is wonderful,” Nina said. 

Junior Natalie Pereira’s role, Cecily Cardew, was listed in the character breakdown for auditions as “a simpler, more innocent country contrast to Gwendolyn Fairfax’s sophisticated city girl, but in her own way, formidable.” 

“I loved how playful she was,” Natalie said. “She’s very expressive, which is fun for a show.” 

Like the others, Natalie has her way of getting into character. 

“I like journaling as my character, whatever the character is feeling or past memories they may mention in the text, just so I have something to connect with when speaking,” Natalie said. 

The Cast: Junior Nina Gitlitz (Gwendolen Fairfax), junior Zane Habig (Jack Worthing), senior Zaryjha Harrison (Lady Bracknell), senior Victoria Kenton (Miss Prism), junior Adam Pendergrass (Lane, butler), junior Natale Pereira (Cecily Cardew), senior Syd Robinow (Merriman, butler), senior Iris Sande (Algernon Moncrieff), junior Evan Thomen (Dr. Chasuble), junior Angelina Wang (Lane, butler), senior Bill Zhou (Merriman, butler). 

The Crew: Senior Boden Bubb (stage manager), junior David Shim (assistant stage manager), senior Natalie Poole (lighting board operator), junior Shane Lischin (sound board operator). 

Production Team: David McCamish (director), Will Eggers (associate director), Lisa Bebey (costume designer), Tate R. Burmeister (lighting designer), Susan Barone Chrzanowski (performing arts department chair), Jo Dexter (playbill, ticketing), Alec Drohan (assistant technical director), Kendra Jones (set design, technical director), Kate Loughlin (properties designer/choreographer).    

View a gallery of photos from the production