Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest" Gets 80s New Romantic Twist in Long Beach

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Directed by Rebekah Walendzak Slepski, Oscar Wilde's classic comes to the Helen Borgers Theatre in Bixby Knolls.

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Long Beach Shakespeare Company will continue its 2026 season with Oscar Wilde 's The Importance of Being Earnest, directed by Rebekah Walendzak Slepski and produced by Holly Leveque. Performances run July 10 through July 25 at the Helen Borgers Theatre in Bixby Knolls.

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One of the most celebrated comedies in the English language, The Importance of Being Earnest follows Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, two young men whose invented identities lead to romantic entanglements, social absurdities, family secrets, and one very famous handbag.

LBSC's production places Wilde's Victorian world in conversation with the bold visual language of the 1980s New Romantic movement. The characters, social structures, and stakes remain Victorian, but the lens is heightened, glamorous, and theatrical. Drawing inspiration from Oscar Wilde , Patrick Nagel, Steve Strange, Adam Ant, Grace Jones , Cecil Beaton , Martin Fry, and David Hockney, the production explores a world where style becomes language and identity becomes performance.

The Importance of Being Earnest runs July 10 through July 25 at Long Beach Shakespeare Company's Helen Borgers Theatre, located at 4250 Atlantic Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90807. Tickets: Available at LBShakespeare.org.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/los-angeles/article/THE-IMPORTANCE-OF-BEING-EARNEST-to-Open-at-Long-Beach-Shakespeare-Company-20260623)._