Caltech’s student theater group EXPLiCIT will present Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” for three performances starting Nov. 21 at Dabney Hall, offering audiences in Pasadena an opportunity to experience one of the most quotable comedies in theatrical history.
The production will run Nov. 21-22 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. Tickets range from $5 to $15, with an approximate runtime of two hours.
Wilde’s 1895 farcical comedy follows two young men who lead double lives using the assumed name “Ernest” to escape social obligations. The play, subtitled “A Trivial Comedy for Serious People,” satirizes Victorian society’s rigid standards through witty dialogue and absurd situations.
EXPLiCIT (EXtracurricular Players at California Institute of Technology) functions as the student production arm of TACIT (Theater Arts at Caltech), which has been under the direction of Brian Brophy since 2008. Brophy is a veteran actor and Fulbright Scholar who also serves as Scholar in Residence at the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar.
“The Importance of Being Earnest” premiered Feb. 14, 1895, at the St. James’s Theatre in London. Despite its abbreviated initial run after Wilde’s arrest and conviction, the play has demonstrated extraordinary longevity over 130 years, remaining one of the most frequently produced plays worldwide. The work is said to be second only to “Hamlet” in quotability among English-language dramatic works.
The venue, Dabney Hall, was designed by architect Bertram Goodhue and constructed from 1928 to 1929, featuring pueblo architecture with Mayan-inspired abstract decoration.
EXPLiCIT presents Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” will run on Nov. 21 at 7:30 p.m., Nov. 22 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. Dabney Hall, 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena. For more information, call (626) 395-4652 or visit https://explicit.caltech.edu/. Ticket prices: $5-$15.
