“It is not the perfect, but the imperfect who are in need of love,” observes the anguished Sir Robert Chiltern, who is caught in the central dilemma of Oregon State University Theatre’s winter production of Oscar Wilde’s “An Ideal Husband.”
It is a play whose 1895 prism still perfectly reflects contemporary issues of political corruption, stock scandals and disillusionment with those people held in high esteem.
Sir Robert is such a person. A young member of Parliament, he is portrayed by English major Matthew Holland of Corvallis as a man with a seemingly perfect life. His wife, Lady Gertrude Chiltern (portrayed by OSU Theatre faculty member Elizabeth Helman), thinks he is indeed ideal.
Calamity arrives in the shapely form of Mrs. Cheveley, “a woman with a past,” played as charmingly amoral by fine arts major Mackenzie Miller. Mrs. Cheveley blackmails Sir Robert with an offer he doesn’t know whether to refuse: unless he recommends from the halls of Parliament the fraudulent scheme she favors, Mrs. Cheveley threatens to tell the world how Sir Robert long ago sold a state secret to a stockbroker. It was his one act of corruption, but it launched his fortunes.
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Facing either public ruin or private anguish, Sir Robert cannot confide in his wife: “I will love you always,” she tells him in the first act, “because you will always be worthy of love.” Her declaration of love thus carries a veiled threat: behave or else.
Pivotal to the play’s dramatic crisis is Lord Arthur Goring, “the idlest man in London,” a vain fop of 29 trying to pass for 25 — and Sir Robert’s best friend.
Theater major Rowan Russell’s perfect comic timing — especially in the scenes he shares with actor Richard Wallace, who plays his disappointed father, Lord Caversham — provide some of the play’s best moments.
Lord Goring’s exchanges with his character’s love interest, Mabel Chiltern (Sir Robert’s sister), are likewise entertaining. She enchants Lord Goring by appearing cool to his advances but she’s also aware and accepting of his flaws. Jordyn Patton, a recent transfer from San Diego State, imbues the character of Mabel with equal parts shrewdness and fun.
Eventually Russell’s Lord Goring demonstrates unexpected depth, loyalty and intelligence as his actions cleverly bring the play to its touching resolution.
Director Charlotte J. Headrick and scenic designer George Caldwell resolved the issue of how to produce many set changes in a limited space through the use of a 2,500-year-old device known as periaktoi, borrowed from Greek theater: Each side of a series of triangular columns positioned at the back of the stage is decorated to produce a different set. Cast members pivot the panels and voila — a conservatory becomes a Victorian drawing room. During these changes, accomplished violinist Jean Dick and Colin Fant, who has a rich baritone voice, perform songs from the 1890s such as “After the Ball.”
Barbara Mason created multiple costume changes, especially for the female characters. Each outfit is detailed for the character, right down to the corsets and multiple petticoats. Mrs. Cheveley, for instance, wears dresses of copper, silver and green to reflect her love of money.
Helman, who has been a “visiting faculty member” at OSU for four years, said she and Headrick decided to stage “An Ideal Husband” partly because it is less commonly performed than Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” — and also because of its poignant timing.
The play was written as Wilde’s homosexuality was becoming public knowledge. The resulting scandal led to his trial and a harsh two-year imprisonment. A ruptured eardrum he suffered in prison contributed to his death in 1900 at the age of 46.
Headrick said the play’s dialogue often hints at Wilde’s personal ordeal, as does his subtle point that acceptance and understanding are perhaps the best of human attributes — and far superior to idealized love.
