The incomparable wit of Oscar Wilde takes center stage in Stanford Summer Theater’s production of his ever-popular “The Importance of Being Earnest.” Wilde delighted in skewering English society with one bon mot after another.

Most ably directed by Lynne Soffer, a veteran Bay Area actress who does double duty as dialect coach, this polished gem features Stanford theater students as four would-be lovers and four more experienced actors as their elders.

Taking place in 1895, the play features Austin Caldwell as Algernon Moncrieff, a dapper bachelor who lives in theLondonflat where the first act is set. His friend, Jack Worthing (David Raymond), is in love with Algerenon’s cousin, Gwendolen Fairfax (Ruth Marks). When inLondon, Jack calls himself Earnest, but he goes by Jack at his manor house in the country. Gwendolen wants to marry him because she’s always wanted to be with an Earnest. Of course, there is no Earnest.

Another obstacle is Gwendolen’s mother, Lady Bracknell (the imperious, formidable Courtney Walsh), who opposes the marriage because Earnest (actually Jack) apparently is an orphan.

Jack’s pert ward, Cecily Cardew (Jessica Waldman) lives in his manor house. She believes that when Jack goes toLondon, he’s trying to get his brother, Earnest, out of scrapes.

When Algernon hears about Cecily, he goes to Jack’s home pretending to be Earnest. It’s love at first sight between him and Cecily until Jack shows up in mourning for the death of Earnest. Much confusion ensues, but eventually everything works out to everyone’s satisfaction.

Besides Lady Bracknell, the older generation includes Miss Prism (Kay Kostopoulos), Cecily’s governess and tutor; and the Rev. Canon Chasyble (Marty Pistone). Don DeMico plays both Lane, Algernon’s manservant, and Merriman, Jack’s butler, with unflappable dignity despite all the goings-on.

Besides the actors’ skill, this production is notable for outstanding production values, starting with Erik Flatmo’s set design, which is especially stunning for Algernon’s flat with its elaborate Chinese motifs. Dressed like servants, a three-person student stage crew smoothly accomplishes set changes during the two intermissions.

Connie Strayer’s costume designs are elegant for all of the women and the two younger men. The hats for Lady Bracknell and Gwendolen are works of art in themselves. Lighting is by Michael Ramsaur and sound by Michael St. Clair.

“”The Importance of Being Earnest” is part of Stanford Summer Theater’s 15th season, whose theme is “He’s Funny That Way: Wilde and Beckett.” The Samuel Beckett offering is “Happy Days,” which runs Aug. 15 to 25 in Stanford’s Nitery Theater.The season also includes free film comedies and a symposium. A continuing studies course began earlier in the summer.

For information and tickets, call (650) 725-5838 or visit http://sst.stanford.edu  

By Judy Richter

It’s said that clothes make the man, but in many ways, clothes are even more important to a woman.

This becomes abundantly clear in the hilarious “Love, Loss, and What I Wore,” directed by Karen Carpenter and presented by San Jose Repertory Theatre by special arrangement with Daryl Roth.

Two sisters, Delia Ephron and the late Nora Ephron, based the show on the book by Ilene Beckerman and then added some flourishes of their own.

The format is simple: Five actresses, each in black, sit on bar chairs lined up downstage and read from scripts placed on music stands in front of them. During the course of about 100 minutes without intermission, they become various characters who have 28 stories to tell about how clothing played a role in important parts of their lives.

In this production, Dawn Wells plays Ginger, or Gingy, who serves as narrator and who describes her outfits starting with a Brownie uniform and continuing until her 4-year-old granddaughter has fun trying on Grandma’s dresses and shoes. During that span of time, Gingy loses her mother at an early age, gets married and divorced several times and suffers the loss of a child.

Wells is joined onstage by Dee Hoty, Sandra Tsing Loh, Ashley Austin Morris and Zuzanna Szadkowski, who represent different ages and body types.

Szadkowski, a gifted comedienne, provides one of the evening’s highlights with her monologue about purses. Starting with “I hate my purse,” she describes how it has become the repository for necessities as well as flotsam and jetsam like lipstick tubes without tops, spilled Tic Tacs, old receipts and more. Of course, her purse is so stuffed with stuff that she can never find what she’s looking for. But shopping for a new purse is a traumatic ordeal. By the time she had finished her monologue, every woman in the audience was roaring with laughter of recognition.

Other segments involve the women going to their closets to discover they have nothing to wear. Trying on new clothes in a dressing room is another ordeal. Morris, another gifted comedienne, talks about shoes. High heels look great, but they hurt her feet so much that she can’t think. Choosing between looking good and thinking isn’t easy, as she learns.

All five women chime in on their experiences with bras, especially their first bras, a right of passage every woman must endure. Then there’s the ritual of choosing a prom dress.

Hoty has a moving story about a woman who is diagnosed with breast cancer, undergoes reconstructive surgery and gets a strategically placed tattoo to celebrate her recovery.

Loh and Morris team up to talk about two California women choosing wedding attire, a touching segment that ends with them marrying each other.

This 2009 play has been presented throughout the country with the same format. In many cases, one team of star actresses will appear for a short run, followed by another team and so on.

The reason for its success is obvious. Through comedy and poignancy, clothing becomes a metaphor for women’s lives. Women recognize themselves and can laugh at themselves. Men in the audience can enjoy the show, too, because they’ve seen women through some of these experiences.

It’s a great way to laugh long and loud.

It will continue at San Jose Repertory Theatre, 101 Paseo de San Antonio, San Jose, through July 28. For tickets and information, call (408) 367-7255 or visit www.sjrep.com.

By Judy Richter

If left uncorrected, little misunderstandings can lead to big trouble. That’s what happens in “Becky’s New Car,” presented by Dragon Productions.

In this 2008 comedy by Steven Dietz, Rebecca Foster, or Becky, (Mary Lou Torre) works as the office manager in a luxury car dealership. She and her husband, Joe (Ben Ortega), a successful roofer, have been married 28 years and have a 26-year-old son, Chris (Sam Bertken), a psychology major who still lives at home.

Becky’s life has become humdrum until late one afternoon when a wealthy widower, Walter Flood (Kevin Copps), shows up and buys nine cars to give to his employees the next day. He mistakenly assumes that she’s widowed, too, and she doesn’t correct him.

One thing leads to another, and then she’s attending a party at his posh home on an island nearSeattle, where she meets Walter’s adult daughter, Kensington, or Kenni, (Roneet Aliza Rahamim). Soon she’s spending more time there while trying to keep Joe unaware of her activities.

Thanks to a conversation with Steve (Jim Johnson), a salesman at the car dealership, Joe learns what’s happening. That knowledge and a subsequent event put their marriage and commitment to a tough test.

It’s probably no coincidence that Walter and Steve are still grieving for their late wives, though in different ways. Steve is both ridiculous and hilarious as he describes how his wife met her death on a hike with him.

The play’s other middle-aged character, Ginger (Helena G. Clarkson), a friend of Walter, is dealing with her own loss now that her substantial inheritance has evaporated, leaving her impoverished with no employable skills.

At the end, though, Walter, Steve and Ginger all find ways to forge ahead with their lives. Likewise, Joe and Becky manage to deal with the tests their marriage has undergone.

As directed by James Nelson, all of this transpires with laughs and insight. Torre is outstanding as Becky goes through a range of emotions while being onstage for most of the two-act play’s two hours. Thus she provides the glue that holds everything together. Acting by the rest of the cast is somewhat uneven, but not enough to detract from the show’s enjoyment.

Julia Sussner’s set, complemented by Will Poulin’s lighting, works well in the intimate space. The costumes are by Scarlett Kellum, the ambient sound by Lance Huntley.

With its dark and absurdist undertones, “Becky’s New Car” is a fun ride.

It continues at the Dragon Theatre, 2120 Broadway St., Redwood City, through Aug. 4. For tickets and information, call (650) 493-2006 or visit www.dragonproductions.net.

By Judy Richter

Launching its 44th season, TheatreWorks takes its audience into possibly unfamiliar territory with the world premiere of “The Loudest Man on Earth” by Catherine Rush.

On its surface, this four-person play tells of a budding, unconventional romance between Haylee, a successful writer, and Jordan, a successful director. Haylee (the excellent Julie Fitzpatrick) is hearing while Jordan is deaf, as is Adrian Blue, the actor who portrays him. Blue, who serves as sign master for the production, is the husband of the playwright, who is hearing.

While the play is not strictly a portrait of their relationship, it does reflect things that have happened to them, Rush says in the program notes.

Haylee has a rudimentary knowledge of American Sign Language when she meets Jordan for the first time and interviews him. As they begin their relationship in New York City, she becomes more adept at understanding him and interpreting for him.

That ability becomes vital when they encounter other people, all well played by Cassidy Brown and Mia Tagano in roles that require versatility and quick changes. These encounters illustrate the gap between hearing and deaf cultures.

Between each scene, Jordanaddresses the audience in monologues of ASL and Visual Vernacular, a combination of ASL and mime. Even though Blue is a highly expressive actor, it’s not always easy to understand him without knowing his language.

On the other hand, there’s another scene in which Brown and Tagano play a Czechoslovakian couple whose language is incomprehensible to Haylee. This scene illustrates the stresses and obstacles that arise when people don’t understand one another’s language.

Director Pamela Berlin keeps the action flowing smoothly, aided by the flexible set by Jason Simms. The production also is enhanced by Tanya Finkelstein’s costumes, Paul Toben’s lighting and Cliff Caruthers’ sound.

Running 95 minutes without intermission, “The Loudest Man on Earth” is TheatreWorks’ latest main stage production to emerge from its annual New Works Festival. This year’s festival features staged readings of two musicals and three plays in rotating repertory from Aug. 10 to 18 at the Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto.

That’s where “The Loudest Man on Earth” will continue through Aug. 4. For tickets and information about the play or New Works Festival, call (650) 463-1960 or visit www.theatreworks.org.

By Judy Richter

Staging “Oliver!” calls for a certain amount of ambition because of the challenges presented by Lionel Bart’s 1960 musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ novel “Oliver Twist.”

One challenge is that all the scene changes might interrupt the dramatic flow. Thanks to an adaptable set designed by Jerald Enos, Broadway By the Bay minimizes the lapses. Still, this production directed by Jeffrey Bracco can feel episodic.

Another challenge is that the show requires many children. BBB succeeds on this count because most of the youngsters are somewhat older than one might expect. Hence the opening scene, “Food, Glorious Food,” at the London workhouse gets the show off to a good start.

Oliver Twist, the orphaned title character, is played by 12-year-old Shayan Hooshmand, who does a good job, starting with his memorable opening line, “Please, sir, I want some more,” as he tries to get another helping of the gruel served by the workhouse caretaker, Mr. Bumble (Robert Sholty). He also does well in his primary song, “Where Is Love?”

Later, he joins in on the show’s most successful song, “Who Will Buy?” which starts with five street vendors in haunting counterpoint and ends in a full-fledged production number, well choreographed by Pauline Kanter.

Other musical aspects are more mixed. Part of the problem is that Jon Hayward’s sound design is too loud and tends to distort higher notes. Another is that some principals mistake volume for emotion. Understanding the Cockney accents can be a problem.

Then there’s intonation, especially in “My Name,” sung by the show’s villain, Bill Sykes (Rich Matli). Musical director Samuel Cisneros’s orchestra also has intonation issues.

Back on the plus side is Ryan Mardesich as The Artful Dodger, who finds the runaway Oliver on the streets and takes him to Fagin, who harbors children and teaches them how to pick pockets. Fagin is winningly played by Jef Valentine, who has fun with “Pick a Pocket or Two” and “Reviewing the Situation.”

Dickens wrote “Oliver Twist” as a way to expose how cruelly and thoughtlessly orphans were treated in Victorian England. The musical softens some of those edges, but the basic idea is still there.

After Oliver has the courage to ask for more gruel, Bumble sells him to an undertaker, but Oliver runs away from there after getting into a fight. That’s when The Artful Dodger finds him. Oliver has more adventures after that, and the story ends on both unhappy and happy notes — unhappy for Nancy (Amie Shapiro), Bill’s girlfriend, and happy for Oliver, who winds up with his grandfather, Mr. Brownlow (Ron Dritz).

This production of “Oliver!” represents a milestone for BBB because it’s the first in the company’s long history to use local designers, artistic director Amanda Folena told the opening night audience. Besides the set by Enos, the realistic period costumes are by Margaret Toomey, who also serves as production manager. BBB has rented sets and costumes in the past.

Despite its shortcomings, the opening night production had enough pluses that it received an enthusiastic reception from the audience. It also served as a good introduction for those who have never seen this musical or its 1968 film.

“Oliver!” will continue at the Fox Theatre, 2215 Broadway, Redwood City, through July 12. For tickets and information, call (650) 579-5565 or visit www.broadwaybythebay.org.