The Irish Classical Theatre Company (ICTC) has done it again with their excellent performance of Oscar Wilde's "Lady Windermere's Fan." This witty, satirical play opened for Curtain Up!, the Theater District's annual celebration of the stage, to a packed house Thursday evening. Director Fortunato Pezzimenti and ICTC's Artistic Director and UB's Theatre and Dance Department Chair Vincent O'Neil were the last guests to enter the theater. Each donned green carnations, Wilde's creation for this play, in their suit jacket pockets.
The whimsical play takes place within a twenty-four hour period, beginning on a Tuesday afternoon at 5 and ending the next day at 1:30 p.m. Lady Windermere (Kristen Tripp Kelley) receives a beautiful fan for her 21st birthday from her charming husband, Lord Windermere (Guy Balotine). In preparation for the evening's celebration, the Duchess of Berwick (Jeanne Cairns) comes with her innocent daughter, Lady Agatha (Cate Lynch), to talk with Lady Windermere.
But all is not ideal in the English household. Berwick reveals to Windermere that her loving husband is having some sort of relation with another woman. Windermere refuses to believe her, but rummages through her husband's things only to find a substantial amount of money being spent on a certain Mrs. Erlynne (Josephine Hogan). The very proper Lady Windermere confronts her husband to which he offers no answers and insists that she invite Erlynne to the party. As her suspicions grow, Wilde quickly advances and twists the storyline so that everyone's actions are misunderstood.
The entire cast is absolutely phenomenal as they deliver Wilde's clever lines. Kelley, a graduate of the UB theatre department, does a wonderful job in her comfortable role as a young, well-to-do English Lady, while Balotine plays a very sincere, loving husband. The two display an intense chemistry on the stage that the rest of the cast feeds off of.
Meanwhile, the amazing Cairns delivers the majority of Wilde's witty lines that caused the very responsive audience to roar with laughter. She has outdone herself as a charming old woman with a dirty mind towards men. Tom LaChuisa has a fabulous way of making the audience's heart ache for his incredible love for Kelley. Pezzimenti did a great job of putting together an amazing cast that has a remarkable chemistry on stage.
One hundred and ten years later, the themes of love, marriage, divorce, sex, scandal, respectability, hypocrisy and the fall from refinement still resonate in today's society. O'Neil seemed very aware of the feelings of America and felt that this play was something that would do well in light of the past year.
This play truly makes for a marvelous evening at the theater, from its witty comments that make you laugh, to the thought-provoking situation concerning Mrs. Erlynne, to the marvelous acting of the cast. "Lady Windermere's Fan" is the perfect way to start another marvelous ICTC season.
The play runs until October 20th at the Andrew's Theatre at 625 Main St. in Buffalo. Show times are Thursday through Saturday at 7:30pm, a Saturday Matinee at 3:00pm, and a Sunday Matinee at 2:00pm. For tickets and directions call ICTC at (716)853-ICTC.
