The First Niagra Fringe Festival was, once again, a huge success. It brought hundreds of performers to venues all over downtown Rochester and presented shows to thousands of audience members over the course of two weeks. “The Importance of Being Earnest”, presented by The Opposite of People (TOOP) theatre group fit right in with the feel of the whole festival: it was clever, creative, and overall a great performance.
The venue of the show, Writers and Books on University Avenue, was small to say the least. The “theater” is actually a small lecture-style hall with very limited seating of 65 at its absolute limit. Perfect for small-scale poetry readings, it was slightly too small for the show’s popularity and some eager audience members were turned away at the door. Eager to see the show, I stood out in the hallway and watched through the small glass windows, occasionally squeezing against the wall to allow set pieces or actors to pass by.
The set, designed by David Libbey ‘15, was simple and suited the small space. Only the necessary lights and sound were used, making the show even more intimate. All the costumes, designed by Stephanie Busch ‘17 and made by Jennifer Uvina ‘15, were beautifully made to fit the time period. True to TOOP’s style, this show was entirely produced and acted by UR students and was certainly a display of the talent on our campus.
The play itself was hysterical – it’s amazing that Oscar Wilde, the same man who wrote “The Picture of Dorien Grey,” wrote this show over a hundred years ago. The script itself has a timeless humor to it, which was obvious from the audience’s response. Daniel Mensel ‘16 and Michael Tamburrino ‘16 played Algernon and John, the two lead gentlemen in the show, respectively. The dynamic between these two characters and between the actors themselves was the best part of the show. Both displayed an impeccable understanding of comedic timing and the humor in small expressions or gestures. The charming grin of the clever Algernon, combined with the distressed expressions of John as they navigated through their own unraveling webs of lies, kept the audience engaged for the entire 80-minute run of the show.
The ladies of the cast included Murie Gillett ‘17, Kathryn Loveless ‘15, Amelia Norvell ‘17, and Sarah Kingsley ‘17 who played Lady Bracknell, Gwendolen Fairfax, Miss Prisim, and Cicily Cardew with the elegance and grace befitting the time period. All had their fair share of clever lines and also showed their skills with comedy. Rounding out the cast were Alberto Carillo Casas as Reverend Chausible and Shane Saxton as the butler/manservant. Casas and Norvell made an adorable couple as the reverend and the governess, adding a few “aww” moments to the laughter. Even Saxton’s smaller part received a few laughs thanks to his facial expressions and timing.
Since this was the final performance, word of the show was all over campus. Students who were able to get a ticket and see the production agreed that it was worth the trip downtown. If this is the quality of show that TOOP will present for the rest of the school year, we are all in for a great time and some fabulous theater.
Sanguinetti is a member of
the class of 2015.
