Bingham High to Present Classic Comedy

By Julie Slama | [email protected]

South Jordan - About 20 Bingham High students will present the comedy “The Importance of Being Earnest” that involves characters taking on fictitious names with tangled love stories — and a plot involving a handbag — set through the classic play written by Oscar Wilde.

The performances will be at 7 p.m., Friday, Feb. 26 and Saturday, Feb. 27 and again Monday, Feb. 29 and Tuesday, March 1 in the school’s Copper Pit theatre, 2160 West 10400 South, South Jordan. General admission tickets will be available online at BinghamMiners.org.

The family-oriented show will feature period costumes, British dialects and a play on names so it makes it fun, director Michelle Robbins said.

“It’s a comedy so people will absolutely love it,” she said. “I’ve taught it in my theater concurrent enrollment class in the past, and the students are really excited about presenting it.”

The story involves two young gentlemen living in 1890s England who unknowingly use the same pseudonym, Earnest, on the sly in order to put some excitement into their lives. Jack has invented a brother, Earnest, whom he uses as an excuse to leave his dull country life behind to visit Gwendolyn. Algernon decided to take the name Earnest when visiting Cecily, who lives at Jack’s country manor. Things start to go awry when they end up together in country and their deceptions are discovered.

Robbins said that this will be the first time Bingham has presented the show in the past 20 years, and possibly ever.

Before auditions, Robbins encouraged all the students to read the play. After casting the play, the 13 students then were expected to memorize the script over the holiday break. Rehearsals began when they returned to school the week of Jan. 4.

Wilde’s play was first performed on Valentine’s Day in 1895 at the St. James Theatre in London.