A Woman of No Importance

Ian Merrill Peakes & Karen Peakes

Oscar Wilde’s A Woman of No Importance will be playing on the mainstage of the Walnut Street Theatre at 825 Walnut Street, through March 1, 2020. The set is magnificent with revolving rooms. It is a delightful revival of Wilde’s moralistic play in the Victorian age when women had few of the advantages of men. The times were rife with a double standard; men did as they wanted; women did as they were told…but the women are kept bedecked in long gowns,jewelry,and petty gossip. Wilde pokes fun of this society and laugh lines are sprinkled throughout the dialogue.The women seem to have everything they need until Mrs. Arbuthnot (Alice Roper) enters looking for her son Gerald (Brandon O’Rourke). Clearly she is not “one of them” but she is admitted to the salon and given a seat. Her son appears, to tell her he has been offered a significant job as secretary to an important man. When Mrs. Arbuthnot discovers who her son’s patron will be, she is horrified and asks her son to leave the room for a moment. In the argument that ensues between Mrs. Arbutnoth and the patron Mr. Kelvil (Ian Merrill Peakes), it is disclosed that Mr Kelvil is actually the boy’s father who had refused to marry the mother 20 years ago, causing her a lifetime of heartache and shame. She does not want Gerald to have anything to do with the man who had rejected both of them 20 years ago. Nor does she want him to know her reasons for objecting to his taking the position as secretary. Added to this lovely cast of characters is Miss  Hester Worley, (Audrey Ward) a wealthy American who disagrees with most of the Brit’s way of life. Gerald is in love with the American and wants to have this new job so he will be in a position to propose marriage. Wilde adds a sumptuous twist at the end of the play. Enjoy! For more information or tickets, call 215-574-3550 or 800-982-2787 or visit www.walnutstreettheatre.org or Ticketmaster