Brandon Whitlock is Algernon in Shakespeare Dallas’ production of
The Importance of Being Earnest
RICH LOPEZ | Staff writer
Rich@DallasVoice.com
A true gay icon, Oscar Wilde’s signature piece The Importance of Being Earnest is getting the Shakespeare Dallas treatment this summer. Already in the middle of its run, this production is still serving some classic Wilde sass with some modern queerness.
And in the middle of it all is Brandon Whitlock (he/him) who plays Algernon.
Firstly, for those who thought this company only did one kind of play…
“The name [Shakespeare Dallas] can lead to some expectations, but it does have a long history of not doing Shakespeare shows all the time,” Whitlock explained. “Part of that is just because so many theaters in town will produce musicals or modern plays that there is a whole swath of theater history that doesn’t get done all that much”
This isn’t Whitlock’s first stab at Earnest, but, surprisingly, it is his first take on it as a professional actor despite how frequently this show is staged.
“Fun fact: When I was in high school, we did it for our one-act competition,” Whitlock said.
“Then I played John. Now I’m the other guy.
“I knew this time would be a little different for me though.”
The 37-year-old out actor got lucky with this character.
“He does have a lot of the best lines. If it’s Lady Bracknell first, then it’s definitely Algernon next,” he said of exploring the character of Algernon. “I’m not quite as shallow as he, and I don’t have his obsessions. But usually, by the time I’m done with a character, they end up more like me.”
And he’s down for adding a touch of queerness to this role — or any of his characters.
“There are so many characters where their sexuality isn’t a subject, so at first, as an actor, I think about playing them straight. But then I think as a queer man: ‘Why shouldn’t they be gay?’”
One think Whitlock has discovered is how this show resonates today. Earnest is often presented in its original Victorian setting. But the actor finds that it does still hold up a mirror to today’s society.
“It is a play that is very married to its period, but we’ve allowed modern influences to get through,” he said. “The way it resonates today, though, is how ridiculous these people and their needs are. It’s really easy to imagine them as influencers with these silly sort of demands. And people today aren’t much different.
“The things Wilde pokes fun at here are people that we point to now, too, just on TikTok and Instagram.”
Although penned by a gay author, Earnest has never felt too gay. Perhaps sassy and foppish, but two straight couples trying to get together isn’t all that queer. But Whitlock believes that what’s clever about this show is its subversiveness.
“Something we have to remember about Wilde is that he was writing at a time when being gay was illegal,” Whitlock noted. “His famous trial was during the run of Earnest, [and] the show is about these people hiding their identities and leading this double life.
“So I think Wilde was testing that line of what he could get away with while not being blatant.”
The Importance of Being Earnest runs in repertory with Othello through July 18 at Samuell-Grand Park. For tickets, visit ShakespeareDallas.org.