“The Rewards of Being Frank has the main problems of so many sequels: Why does it exist? What did Wilde leave unsaid that needs further explication? How can one hope to approximate his singular wit? But Pedi is a delight, even when forced to contend with a revelation about Lady Bracknell that makes a hash of the character as we have always known her. One can suddenly imagine the actress in any number of high comedy roles. Bring them on!”
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"Were Wilde, a Francophile, on hand to see his masterpiece reduced to a tiresome French farce, he would no doubt be freshly mortified."
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While Stephen Burdman’s direction keeps the play moving swiftly along, the mannered acting and forced dialogue only draws attention to itself. None of the play’s new inventions rival that of Oscar Wilde’s original. Too many of the events of the play are watered-down versions of cleverer things in "Earnest." "The Rewards of Being Frank" is an interesting attempt to write a sequel whose results do not justify the effort in bringing it to the stage.
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“The play’s pace would benefit from a teensy bit of waxing and waning...I would love for the actors to relish their lines more. This is a mere quibble, however, as the overall effect is one of delight.”
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This is playwright Alice Scovell’s affectionate, clever and faithful sequel to Oscar Wilde’s 1895 classic play, The Importance of Being Earnest, that is set seven years later. Ms. Scovell replicates Wilde’s characters, milieu and sensibility, with skillfulness, brio and novelty. The dizzying second act finale is right out of Wilde’s playbook. Christine Pedi is triumphant as Lady Bracknell in this beautiful presentation.
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“When the show starts, they may be slouching in a semi-recumbent posture. Soon, though, the enjoyable comedy of (bad) manners will have them sitting up – in earnest.”
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“ ‘The Rewards of Being Frank’ is an unrepentant pastiche of Oscar Wilde’s style, even borrowing many plot themes from the original... While much of the ethos remains in period, writing in 21st century, Ms Scovell feels obliged to introduce a feminist twist, while Algernon’s campness is overt to the point where it cannot be wholly unintentional.”
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“ ‘The Rewards of Being Frank,’ gets a few things right and several things wrong, and it’s not the strongest production that New York Classical Theatre has ever done...See and enjoy, and if you’re somewhat disappointed, focus on Christine Pedi.”
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