I’ve come to realize that the longer I’ve been reviewing theatre, the more exasperated I get in reviewing works written by dead white men when there are so many incredible and undiscovered global majority artists out there.

More often than not, PWI theatre companies rely on such works because they are comfort viewing for most of their subscribers and if they hire global majority actors, it’s usually for minor parts.

But Antaeus Theatre Company‘s production of The Importance of Being Earnest surprised me immensely by not only utilizing diversity in significant ways but it also had the added bonus of being a superb and uproariously hilarious satire of upper class society that doesn’t show any signs of aging because of the meaningful usage of diversity and Oscar Wilde’s writing, which still retains its sharp wit to this day.

For those who don’t know, The Importance of Being Earnest is a farcical comedy written by Oscar Wilde depicting the tangled affairs of two young men about town who lead double lives to evade unwanted social obligations. When bachelors Jack and Algernon both create alter egos, the lies quickly spiral into chaos, hilarity, cucumber sandwiches, and Victorian handbags.

By the time this review is posted, this production has been going on since October 13 (and still doing terrific in terms of box office sales, judging by the Wednesday performance I watched) and I’m only reviewing it now because a critic peer & dear friend kept prodding me that I NEED to check out the latest Antaeus production. As mentioned at the top of this article, it was no surprise that my first reaction upon hearing her suggestion was a big groan. But knowing my importance in diversity for a prerequisite, she also informed me that there was an Asian actor who plays a significant lead role in it and that he was someone I most definitely need to take note of. “Okay fine,” I muttered.

Turns out, she was absolutely right on all fronts, particularly the Asian actor she spoke of. That actor is Jay Lee, who plays Algernon Moncrieff and it’s as if Oscar Wilde himself was reincarnated in this individual as the whimsical and non-serious witty nature of the writer flowed through this actor with such ease and poise. But the significant global majority presence doesn’t end there as there were three other actors that were just extraordinary to behold. The actress Alessandra Mañón as Cecily Cardew embodies mischievousness with a wild reckless sense of chaos & glee and flawlessly meets the challenge of being an equal to Lee’s Algernon in every way when these two meet up later on in the play.

Alex Barlas as John Worthing was an adorable delight as his ability to convey frustration and sheer buffoonery elicited some of the loudest laughs of the light, particularly his futile battle with the muffins. And last but not least, Michael Yapujian as Lane utterly nails it with his incredible timing and dry sense of humor and has a gift in conveying so much with so little. With Lee, Mañón, Barlas, and Yapujian, you have four incredible global majority artists that elevated this already witty material to great heights.

The rest of the cast are also quite excellent with Jules Willcox, Bo Foxworth, Julia Fletcher, and Anne Gee Byrd. With effortless direction by Gigi Bermingham and all around fantastic creative work by all members of the team, I really have no critical notes for the production itself and its execution of the material. All remaining performances have been sold out and so I can only add to its run that they continue to showcase their excellence to the highest degree and go out in absolute style.

This is not the first time I’ve reviewed an Antaeus production that utilizes diversity with meaning as they also produced a terrific Hamlet and so I can only hope that this theatre company continues to keep that in mind as they mainly put up classic productions (or as I joked earlier the works of “dead white men”). But with the new artistic director Nike Doukas onboard, I also encourage the company to hire more and more directors of global majority to be used in directing these Western classics as well as draw from classics beyond the Western literature landscape as there is a vast wealth of the most beautiful art out there that rarely gets put up and experienced by audiences here in the United States.

Because all remaining performances are sold out, you can check back for cancellations, or join a waitlist in person one hour before showtime as there’s always someone in LA flaking out at the last minute. For more information, go to the Antaeus homepage.