This reimagined version of Oscar Wilde’s classic tells the witty and humorous story of Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrief, who both create alter egos that supply an escape from the monotony of their lives. As the misunderstandings pile up and their stories unravel, eventually both men must come to terms with their true identities.

What is a Preview?

Previews are an essential part of the theater-making process that allow directors and playwrights to see their plays with audiences for the first time and identify areas for adjustment. These special performances allow you to get a first look at the play and be a part of each shows’ creative journey before it opens officially. 

Oscar Wilde – Playwright

Oscar Wilde was an Anglo-Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest playwrights of the Victorian Era. In his lifetime he wrote nine plays, one novel, and numerous poems, short stories, and essays. Wilde was a proponent of the Aesthetic movement, which emphasized aesthetic values more than moral or social themes. This doctrine is most clearly summarized in the phrase ‘art for art’s sake’. Besides literary accomplishments, he is also famous, or perhaps infamous, for his wit, flamboyance, and affairs with men. He was tried and imprisoned for his homosexual relationship (then considered a crime) with the son of an aristocrat.

Jenny Koons – Adapter/Director

Projects: Regretfully, So the Birds Are (Playwrights Horizons/WP), Oedipus (Deaf West Theatre/The Getty Villa),  Head Over Heels (Pasadena Playhouse w Sam Pinkleton), Hurricane Diane (Huntington Theatre), Now Becomes Then (Actors Theatre of Louisville), Men on Boats (Baltimore Center Stage), Speechless (New Blue Man Group North American Tour), The Tempest (The Juilliard School), Between Us: The Deck of Cards (Denver Center for the Performing Arts), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (The Public Theater Mobile Unit), Burn All Night (American Repertory Theatre), Theatre for One: In This Moment (Pershing Square Signature Center), Gimme Shelter (Why Not Theatre, Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games commission), Theatre for One: I’m Not the Stranger You Think I Am (Arts Brookfield), A Sucker Emcee (National Black Theatre, LAByrinth Theater Company, SPKRBOX Festival, Norway), Queen of the Night (Diamond Horseshoe Nightclub, Drama Desk Award), The Odyssey Project 2012 (site-specific NYC). 

Jenny was a 2021 Vision Resident at Ars Nova and has been an artist in residence at Philadelphia School of Circus Arts, SPACE on Ryder Farm, and The Invisible Dog Art Center. She has developed work at Steppenwolf, The Playwrights Realm, Atlantic Theater Company, Roundabout, Lark Play Development Center, and New Black Fest, among others. Jenny was the 2017 curator of New York City Center’s Encores! Off-Center Lobby Project, co-curator of the 2016 Toronto ThisGen Conference, and co-founder of Artists 4 Change NYC (National Black Theatre). Jenny is a 2017 Lilly Award recipient and proud member of the SDC.