Being Earnest

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple,” once said the legendary Oscar Wilde, a Dublin-born writer of poems, novels, and plays.

When I began illustrating The Importance of Being Earnest for Portland Stage’s production, I was eager to tackle the Victorian era fashion. Aspects of dress, etiquette, and courtship were at the center of all my visual ideas.

In my first sketch, I included a portrait of Wilde, as if he is serving up his witty farce like a confection.

In others, I tried variations of figures, flowers, and romance.

I couldn’t resist using a parasol as a prop.

With this one, I’m obscuring the identity of the male figure, a nod to the mistaken identity that’s at the heart of the premise.

This idea hints at the double lives that the leading men pursue. According to Director Christopher Grabowski, this is “an important queer play.” That Wilde himself led a double life at the time, that his success was doomed by his homosexuality, both play a part in our modern reading of the apparent comedy.

Two more roughs with sly gents.

Last one, a variation on a previous sketch.

The very first idea was chosen. I did a black and white drawing as one part of the final illustration.

The color pastel was done separately, broad strokes of pigment areas.

The illustration was merged in Photoshop along with my hand-lettering.

It’s almost a year later, and still fun to see the poster in place.

Thanks to Assistant House Manager Chris DeFillip for this photo of me with my theater guest, Gunnel. The Importance of Being Earnest was the first American play she saw after arriving from Sweden many decades ago.

As always, the sets were stunning. Bravo to Set and Lighting Designer, Stephen Jones.

I love that even the stage hands were in period dress between sets.

The three acts roll along at a jovial clip. The entire cast pulls off a marvel of physical comedy and flawless diction in this entertaining period piece set in turn-of-the-century London.

My theater mates and I headed to King’s Head where we toasted to a fantastic performance.

As Wilde said, “Work is the curse of the drinking classes.”

You’ve got til February 17 to see this show. As Steve Feeney says in today’s Portland Press Herald: You must stop “Bunburying” and go.