Stage Review - The Importance of Being Earnest (Valley Center Stage)
Stage Review - The Importance of Being Earnest
Presented By: Valley Center Stage - North Bend, WA
Show Run: April 10 - April 26, 2026
Date Reviewed: Thursday, April 23, 2026
Run Time: 2 Hours, 45 Minutes (including three 10-minute intermissions)
Reviewed by: Breanne Jensen
On a beautiful sunny afternoon my husband, sister-in-law and I ventured up to North Bend to see Valley Center Stage’s closing weekend performance of, “The Importance of Being Earnest”. I have seen quite a few different versions of this show, and I have never seen it reimagined to take place in the year 1969! With eccentric clothes, vibrant colors, mod themed art and the unchanged dialogue of Mr. Wilde’s work, this production, directed by Eric Lewis is the best “Earnest” I have seen to date! The Importance of Being Earnest is a play about two men who are in upper class English society. One man, whose nickname is Earnest, is in love with a woman named Gwendolyn Faifax, and they wish to marry, primarily because she loves that his name is Earnest. Earnest, aka, Jack Worthing, does not have the heart (or guts) to let her know his real name, in fear she may not still love him. The other fellow is an interesting wild hare by the name of Algernon Moncrieff. He has far too much money, a lot of wit and charm, too much time on his hands and a bad spark of curiosity. Algernon decides to go to Jack Worthing’s country home to surprise him and ends up meeting Mr. Worthing’s ward, Cecily Cardew. Mr. Moncrieff introduces himself to Miss Cardew as none other than, Mr. Earnest…. (I’m sure you can see where I am going with this) the only name by which Cecily could ever love someone. But what happens when Worthing, Moncrieff, Gwendolyn and Cecily all end up together, with so many things to hide? That’s a secret Ill never tell, you must wait and see for yourself!
The space is well designed and imagined giving the audience a floor seat or mezzanine option even in an intimate setting. The set work, lighting, musical choices for intermission, costume design are all close to excellent as well as functional and cohesive. Wonderful job on a polished, joyous and clearly directed production by Eric Lewis, refreshing costumes by Elizabeth Powers and flawless work achieved by stage manager Laura Manuel, from managing front of house, working backstage and quick clean set/prop changes. The hard work provided by the stage craft team; Kimberly Borum, Karen Chang, Cass Leen, Julien Williams and Jim Snyder are evident in their finished product. Effective and thorough job also provided by the sound/lighting designer Sam Saulnier and Lead Tech Operator, Maxfield Powell-Brown. Dialect/ Dialogue coach, Chelsea Hoyle, tremendously led her cast with soft and proper accents and pronunciations that truly stood out in each actor.
Co-leading man, Jack Worthing, is played by Riley Wilk who executes his character’s proper, uptight, somewhat goofy, very sarcastic demeanor and never misses a beat with any of his costars. Our other leading man, Algernon Moncrieff, is played by local Highschool teacher, Nick Brown. Brown is exuberant, infectious, professional, effortless, hilarious and brilliantly talented. For me personally, Brown was the standout in this production (though all did an incredible job!) he has star quality. Trust me on that fact, even his giggly students behind me were made up of equal parts proud and embarrassed of his performance (and especially his on-stage kiss) but from listening to them speak, it sounds like their admiration for him as a teacher is equal to the talent level he possesses. Gwendolen Fairax, poignantly played by Lillie Paries, embodies class, privilege and a delusionally in love woman with a hint of rebellion and exudes chemistry with all her castmates. Cecily Cardew, played by Viana Jo Carter, does a delightful job playing her character’s young, doe eyed, naive, bratty and highly immature nature elevating her role to a humorous place while still differentiating from her female costar in Gwendolen. The little details put purposefully or later develop in a show is what makes it stand apart from the same productions being done and, in this production, director Eric Lewis, added masterful comedic bits with the different pairs of characters that are so subtle you laugh after the fact because it entrenches you in the story. Comedy also follows actress Melissa Henderson, who plays Lady Bracknell, Miss Fairfax’s mum. Henderson’s portrayal is stringent, comedic and high class from start to finish. Additional cast members, Heidi Wills (Miss Prism the governess), Bruce Erickson (Butler), Ryan Hartwell (Lane/manservant) and Mark Rice (Reverend) lead the production to victory with strong characters and support for their leading members at every moment.
Hopefully if you are reading this review, you have come to understand that “The Importance of Being Earnest” at Valley Center Stage was a huge success! I say, was, because sadly it concluded on Sunday April 26th, 2026, so you won’t have the pleasure of supporting this production. However, I encourage you to attend their next production, Murder on the Nile, running June 12th, 2026- June 28th, 2026 because the production level of this organization is professional and friendly and a reminder to never judge a book or theatre by its cover.
Some of the best local art in our area takes place in grange community buildings (such as theirs), church gymnasiums, cafeterias, underneath the space needle and even strip malls. “The important of Being Earnest” is a fun story from an older time in which the materials still relate to our world today. Valley Center Stage’s production from the inside out, from start to finish, would have made Oscar Wilde proud and I cannot wait to attend my next performance with them.
The Valley Center Stage production of The Importance of Being Earnest has closed, but for more information on the theatre, including upcoming shows, visit https://valleycenterstage.org/.
Photo credit: Ben May
