STORY BY KAREN BOSSICK

PHOTOS BY KIRSTEN SHULTZ

Jack Worthing has a problem. Found in a handbag in a train station as an infant, he does not seem to have a distinguished pedigree.

And that’s a problem when he falls in love with Gwendolen, whose mother Lady Bracknell rejects him in no uncertain terms because he does not live up to the status she envisions for her daughter.

Hannah Nye plays the somewhat sharp-tongued Cecily.

It doesn’t help that this rigid proper young man has manufactured an alter ego--a more dashing younger brother named Earnest who spends his time living it up in the city. Nor does it help that the object of his affections ascertains that she can only love a man named Earnest.

Throw in a friend who masquerades as his brother Earnest to woo Jack’s young ward Cecily, a rather scatterbrained governess named Miss Prism and the rector who loves her and you have Oscar Wilde’s enduring romantic comedy “The Importance of Being Earnest.”

The Liberty Theater Company is staging the play under the direction of Drew Barr through Feb. 21 at The Liberty Theater in Hailey. The play skewers the hypocrisy of Victorian morals, even as it champions the virtue of being true to oneself.

It contains some of the wittiest lines ever written, even as it reminds audiences that serious matters may, in fact, be rather trivial.

Algernon’s Orion Bradshaw is determined to find out why the cigarette case carried by Jack Worthing, played by Ross Cowan, has the initials “EW.”

And it has a wonderful twist at the end, along with a revelation about how the play got its name.

The actors, who had to have internal computers to memorize the never-ending lines, make no attempt to be utterly believable when it comes to character.

Julie Fishell, whose resume includes the Prague Shakespeare Company and Moscow Art Theatre, is delightful as the stuffy, snobby Lady Bracknell who prioritizes social standing over matters of love.

Naomi McDougall Jones, who is writing a book detailing her journey as an ancestral healer, portrays a pretentious woman who bats her eyes, waves her fan and is fixated on the name Earnest. Hannah Nye, who played Roxie Hart in The Liberty Theater’s “Chicago,” portrays an innocent young woman who schemes to get her way, dreams up fictional romances and is unimpressed with societal rules.

Gwendolen insists that she can only love a man named Earnest.

Ross Cowan, who has plenty of Shakespearean experience, portrays Jack, who is mostly earnest yet stoops to creating a fictious person to avoid boring social obligations. Orion Bradshaw plays the dandy Algernon Moncrieff, a hedonist who invents a fictional invalid friend he contends he must visit when he wants to avoid family responsibilities.

Melodie Taylor-Mauldin, who has starred with nearly every theater company in the valley,  portrays Miss Prism; the equally well-staged Andrew Alburger, the rector, and Kristofer DiGrande, the butler.

Joe Lavinge who has spent 20 years designing sets at The Liberty Theater, has created an interesting backdrop of three columns that can be turned to indicate different scenes. It features an image of the London of Oscar Wilde’s time, along with letters spelling out “Outrages on Decency.”

Those three words reference an 1885 speech and amendment introduced by British politician Henry Labouchere that targeted male homosexuality acts. Oscar Wilde was, in fact, convicted for being gay not quite two months after “The Importance of Earnest” debuted.

Costume designer Ray Jones, meanwhile, has designed some colorful period costumes, particularly when it comes to Lady Bracknell’s stunning outfit, both of Gwendolen’s lavish dresses and Algernon Moncrieff’s plaid vest, red bow tie, tailcoat and top hat.

The comedy, which debuted last week, continues Wednesday through Sunday, Feb. 11-15, before continuing Tuesday through Saturday, Feb. 17-21. Showtime is 7 p.m. with the exception of the 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 15, matinee.

For tickets, go to https://www.libertytheatrecompany.org/events/the-importance-of-being-earnest.