DIRECTOR'S 'EARNEST' EFFORT TO CAPTURE WILDE FALLS SHORT.

Byline: Evan Henerson Theater Critic

CATCH ENOUGH productions of Oscar Wilde's ``The Importance of Being Earnest'' - of which there is never a shortage - and you're bound to come across one that plays like a clinic on how to be witty. More's the pity that Sir Peter Hall's production at the Ahmanson Theatre is that species of Wilde.

Yes, pity. The players leading this particular theatrical wit parade at the Ahmanson Theatre - Lynn Redgrave, Miriam Margolyes and James Waterston among them - have every gesture, every pause down to a science. They are polished, they are smart of appearance, they speak some very famous lines such that you most likely will laugh when you hear them.

But they don't seem to be much enjoying themselves while they're about it. Hall would argue - in fact he does, via his program notes - that all that witty banter from Jack, Cecily, Algernon and the gang is covering up intense emotional feelings. In which case, the Ahmanson ``Earnest''-eers must be the most miserable blighters alive. I'm reminded of the love-pummeled Rosalind in the production of Shakespeare's ``As You Like It'' that Hall brought to the Ahmanson last year. Poor Rosalind could have used a sympathetic pat on the back and a soothing cup of tea from Cecily Cardew.

Granted, matters of emotional heft are not exactly what you expect to consider in a play about two young women determined to marry a man with the name Ernest; an infant discovered in a handbag; mistaken identity and sabotage via too much sugar in a cup of tea. Then again, any production undertaken by Sir Peter Hall - the internationally beloved founder of the Royal Shakespeare Company - figures to tunnel deeply. Even if the show is Wilde's ``trivial comedy for serious people.'' Especially then.

For all its wit, this ``Earnest'' is rarely trivial. Here, more than ever, it's made clear that when she enters a room, the ``gorgon'' dowager Lady Bracknell has marriage on her mind. In the formidable hands of Lynn Redgrave, Lady B. is a quick-stepping, all-business lady of commerce with her data at the ready.

Her daughter, Gwendolen (played by Bianca Amato), has received a proposal of marriage. The gentleman has money but - ahem! - questionable parentage. A deal breaker, but at least this Lady B. isn't above tossing off a memorable quip as she shoulders her 2-foot wrap (Trish Rigdon's costumes are splendid) and heads for the exit.

The respective predicaments of Gwendolen and Jack (Waterston), Algernon Moncrieff (Robert Petkoff) and Cecily (Charlotte Parry), Miss Prism (Margolyes) and the Rev. Chasuble (Terence Rigby) are no less urgent. These couples are all in love, and all confronted by what seem like insurmountable barriers. Jack and Algernon must both become Ernest; Lady Bracknell must be convinced of the suitability of two matches, or blackmailed into submission. And the elder would-be lovers need to clear their tongue-tied path and get on with things. They, too, experience the ill effects of excessive wit.

In the rare moments when real lightheartedness shines through the gloom, ``Earnest'' takes wing. Amato brings a smart and flirty friskiness to her encounters with Jack (Waterston's Jack is a little on the prissy side). Parry gives Cecily's intense silliness an emotional edge that even a present-day 18-year-old might recognize. She is utterly delightful.

Less so, Hall's production. There is another moment - largely unexpected - when Jack Worthing disappears to search for an important piece of luggage, nearly caving in the roof of his attic in the hunt. It's an interlude of offstage comic noises and, ultimately, dust coming from the ceiling during which every other character on stage must sit and wait.

How beet-red must Jack's face have been during that search. Of course, we never see. Nor do we particularly get the sense of bewilderment or anticipation from the other ``Earnest'' people. They're too busy keeping their lips in the stiff upper position. But at least they've kept their wit.

Evan Henerson, [phone]

evan.henerson(at)dailynews.com

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST - Two and one half stars

Where: Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., L.A.

When: 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday; through March 5.

Tickets: $35 to $55. Call [phone].

In a nutshell: Wilde but not wild.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

Cecily (Charlotte Parry) and ``gorgon'' Lady Bracknell (Lynn Redgrave) trade witticisms in ``The Importance of Being Earnest'' at the Ahmanson Theatre.