Tony-Nominated The Importance of Being Earnest to Exit Broadway One Week Early

The Tony-nominated revival of Oscar Wilde’s effervescent comedy The Importance of Being Earnest will close one week earlier than planned. The Roundabout Theatre Company production was scheduled to play its final performance on July 3, but will now bow out on June 26 at the American Airlines Theatre.

In Earnest, former Tony winner and current nominee Brian Bedford does double duty as director and "leading lady," reprising his acclaimed performance as the formidable dowager Lady Bracknell. The opening night cast included Broadway favorite Dana Ivey, Paxton Whitehead, Santino Fontana, David Furr, Tim MacDonald, Paul O’Brien, Charlotte Parry and Sara Topham. The production opened on January 13, 2011, and was originally scheduled to run through March 6, but was extended 17 weeks after receiving positive reviews.

In The Importance of Being Earnest, dashing men-about-town Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff pursue fair ladies Gwendolen Fairfax and Cecily Cardew. Matters are complicated by the imaginary characters invented by both men to cover their on-the-sly activities—not to mention the disapproval of Gwendolen’s mother, Lady Bracknell.

The production has been nominated for Tony Awards for Best Revival, Best Actor (Bedford) and Best Costume Design of a Play (Desmond Heeley).