Director Taps Into Gay Undercurrents in Wilde’s “An Ideal Husband”

Oscar Wilde (photo by Napoleon Sarony, 1882)

For several years Noreen K.Brandt has made her mark as an actress and director of classic plays. She has helmed the current revival of what some feel and think is gay master playwright Oscar Wilde’s best for Classics Lost ‘n’ Found Theater. She remarks, “Although none of the characters in Oscar Wilde’s comedy An Ideal Husband is specifically written as gay, the character of Lord Goring—an idle, rich ne’er-do-well—could be patterned after Wilde himself: amused yet scornful of his fellow members in high society, flamboyantly fashionable, and endowed with an arch and clever wit. One such quote from Lord Goring to his long-suffering butler: ‘To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance.’ Although set in 1890s London, this play continues to have relevance with Wilde’s sharp comments on society, politics, scandal, gossip, romance, and marriage.”

An Ideal Husband
Through Oct. 20, 21, 27, 28 at 7 p.m.
Lake Nokomis Lutheran Church, 5011 S 31st Ave., Minneapolis
612-724-4539
www.facebook.com/ClassicLostnFound