The Importance of Being Earnest
- By Oscar Wilde
- Adapted by Kamilah Bush
- Directed by Josiah Davis
JUMP TO: Dates, Run Time, Playbill, & More
A world-premiere adaptation!
Set in a version of 1919 that nods knowingly at today, this Earnest unfolds in a world not unlike D.C. in our current moment—where wealth, identity, and reputation remain a currency of survival. Bush reimagines Wilde’s dandies as queer-coded, class-hopping schemers: Jack is the “femme fastidious one,” Algernon, the “masc party boy.” The result is a joyful farce with teeth—delivering Wilde’s infamous wit while interrogating who gets to shape the rules of decorum, desire, and decency. Come for the farce, stay for the romance!
More About This Production
The Importance of Being Earnest Reading List
Calling all readers! Multnomah County Library put together a reading list inspired by our production of The Importance of Being Earnest.
Related Events
Event: An Evening with Kennedy Ryan
Join us to celebrate Kennedy Ryan and the release of Can’t Get Enough!, hosted in partnership with Grand Gesture Books.
Adult Class: Before & After - The Importance of Being Earnest
Join Literary Manager and Playwright Kamilah Bush for a special look at her playwriting and adaptation process, the work of Oscar Wilde and bringing a new play to life in this world premiere production at PCS.
June First Thursday featuring Adriana Wagner
June First Thursday will feature live music by the Adriana Wagner Quartet in the Main Lobby and art exhibits by Krystal Pérez and Orlando Almanza.
Art Exhibit: Gente de Río by Orlando Almanza
Portland Center Stage will host Gente de Río, a painting exhibit by Cuban-born artist Orlando Almanza featuring large-scale, luminous portraits that reflect his deeply personal memories of rest, family, and community.
Chris Grace: Sardines (One Night Only!)
Join us for a one night only showing of "Sardines: A Comedy About Death," the newest solo show by Chris Grace!
Pre-show Event by Liminal Bodies
Join us for a BIPOC Affinity Night pre-show event titled Rest | Joy | Play III: A Queer Literaoke Pop Up! for both Chris Grace: As Scarlett Johansson and The Importance of Being Earnest, hosted by Liminal Bodies.
Hyphen Student Group BIPOC Zine Fest
Join Hyphen, PNCA’s student-led BIPOC student group, for a vibrant Zine Fest at Portland Center Stage on June 21 and 28th.
Meet the Cast & Creative Team

Tyler is thrilled to return to Portland Center Stage after being seen in Twelfth Night earlier this season. PCS credits include The Brothers Size, tick, tick…BOOM!, Hedwig & the Angry Inch, HAIR, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really. Additionally, his play Even Faster than a Blink was part of the 2022 Jaw New Play Festival. A PCS resident teaching artist, Tyler attended Marymount Manhattan College and is a proud member of AEA and The Dramatist Guild of America. He expresses deep gratitude to the entire The Importance of Being Earnest team. For Austin and Kamilah; true Bunburyists. Instagram: @t.andrew.jones
Philip is thrilled to be making his stage debut at Portland Center Stage in the town where he grew up! Most recently, Philip has been seen at The American Shakespeare Center playing such roles as Cassius in Julius Caesar, and Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. Prior to that, he was seen on the stage at The Utah Shakespeare Festival as Edmund in King Lear and Bertram in All's Well that Ends Well. During his time in Los Angeles, Philip acted for such networks as HBO, Starz, Netflix, Prime, Oxygen, Lifetime, and taught at The Actors Studio of Orange County. Philip is incredibly grateful to his loving family and partner, who support him endlessly and unconditionally. Thank you.
Maria Porter is delighted to return to PCS. Regional: PCS/OSF (Coriolanus – Volumnia), Artists Repertory Theatre (True Story), Corrib Theatre (Woman and Scarecrow), Milwaukee Rep, Hangar Theatre, Hartford Stage, Kennedy Center, Bristol Valley Theatre, Hangar Theater, Virginia Stage Company. Off – Off Broadway: Clubbed Thumb, Target Margin, Salt Theatre. Favorite roles include Ranevskaya/The Cherry Orchard, Skriker/The Skriker, and Mary Grim in Hal Hartley’s film Henry Fool. A long time teacher and practitioner of the Suzuki method of actor training, Maria used this work to create performances and teach master classes in Europe, the UK, and South America. Maria holds an M.F.A. in Acting from UCSD.
Lo Steele is a multidisciplinary artist from Portland, Oregon with a BFA in Theatre from Southern Methodist University. She is so excited to be returning to PCS to work with some of her favorite and most treasured story-tellers. You may have recently seen her as Amelie in Amelie at Portland Playhouse, or here at PCS in Clyde’s, Hair, or tick, tick … BOOM! Also an avid singer-songwriter, Lo recently received a shout out from NPR for her original music; check it out on all streaming platforms. @Losteele
Originally from Miami, FL, Andrea graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Performance from Florida A&M University, a Historically Black College and University. Some of her recent favorites include The Light (PCS) Clyde’s (PCS/Syracuse Stage), Passing Strange directed by Rodney Hicks (Portland Playhouse), Gem of The Ocean (PCS), and The Wolves (Portland Playhouse). On the film side, she wrote and directed her first short film, You Don’t Know Naan, with the BLVCK Film Collective, portrayed Ori in the Montavilla Jazz Call + Response project, Last Signs of June, written by Deejuliano Scott, and played the role of Brenna, the ex who returns, in Kitty by Mischa Webley.
Whether devising street theatre with Grotest Maru in Berlin, dancing with Kiwi sisters at The Body Festival in New Zealand, stilt-walking through the CAFF summer season in Canada, or building multi-year community partnerships as an ensemble member of Sojourn Theatre, Jamie thrives on cross-cultural collaboration through physical expression. Favorite local roles include: Violet (It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play), Drusilla/Miller (Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really) - PCS, Halina (Indecent), Olympe DeGouges (The Revolutionists), Jack Worthing (The Importance of Being Earnest) - ART, Amy (In the Wake), Dawn (The Secretaries) - Profile, Macbeth (Macbeth) & Kristine (A Doll’s House) - Shaking the Tree Theatre, Anna (The Snowstorm) - CoHo & Many Hats. Earnest is one of Jamie's very favorite pieces; having previously played both Gwendolyn & Jack, she is thrilled to join this fresh adaptation from a 3rd character's point of view!
Darius is so excited to be a part of this play at this theater! He has been a Portland-based actor and director for over 20 years. Some past performances with Portland Center Stage include Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson - Apt. 2B, The Great Leap, Sense and Sensibility, Stupid F—king Bird, The Santaland Diaries, and The 39 Steps. Darius has worked with Third Rail Repertory Theatre, Artists Repertory Theatre, Broadway Rose Theatre Company, Lakewood Theatre, Portland Playhouse, Woolly Mammoth, Folger Theatre, Syracuse Stage, Fiasco Theater, and other places. He is a co-founder of Anonymous Theatre Company and a member of Actor's Equity and SAG-AFTRA. Occasionally, you can see Darius on screen. Also important to note is that he collects turtles and says hello to fellow traveler Julian.
Kamilah is a playwright, dramaturg, and educator originally from North Carolina. She holds a B.F.A. in theater education from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and was a NC Teaching Fellow. She currently holds the position of Literary Manager at PCS. Kamilah has spent several seasons at celebrated regional theaters across the country, including Triad Stage in Greensboro, NC, Asolo Repertory Theater in Sarasota, FL, and Two River Theater in Red Bank, NJ. She was a Playwright in Residence at Williamstown Theater Festival in 2024 and was featured as part of their Fridays @ 3 Reading Series in 2023.
Josiah is a multi-disciplinary artist. A director, choreographer, designer and performer, his work intersects expressive movement, live music, emerging technology, and ritual to breathe new life into storytelling. Asking, how do we create space for people to be in alignment while being pulled apart by invisible systems? He is a graduate from the UCLA School of Theater, Film, Television and Brown/Trinity MFA Directing 2020. He is a Princess Grace Honoraria, NYTW 2050 fellow, National Black Theatre Soul Directing Resident, Susan Stroman Directing Award Recipient, Clubbed Thumb Directing Fellow, and Associate Artistic Director of On The Verge Theatre Festival in Santa Barbara. Selected credits: Mary Gets Hers (Playwrights Realm/MCC) Omar Offrendum’s Little Syria (BAM), Lessons in Survival (Vineyard Theatre), Amani (Rattlestick/NBT) Clyde’s (Alabama Shakespeare Festival/Arkansas Rep/St.Louis Rep), Mr. Saturday Night (Broadway(Assoc.). Josiahdavis.net
Jean is excited to make her debut at Portland Center Stage this season. Trained as an Illustrator at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), and as a Set Designer at Yale School of Drama (YSD), she is always eager to explore her caliber in the realm of tales. To check out more of her designs and illustration work, please visit jeankimstudio.com.
Camilla Dely is a South African costume designer and visual artist working across theater, opera, and dance. She is fueled by collaboration and imaginative challenges and is equally passionate about text-driven and devised processes. Her work spans international, regional, and off-Broadway productions in both traditional and unconventional spaces, with notable recent designs including King Lear (Almeida Theater, London), Diary of a Tap Dancer (America Repertory Theater), Akira Kurosawa Explains His Movies and Yogurt (Woolly Mammoth), Little Shop of Horrors (People’s Light), and Mary Gets Hers (The Playwright’s Realm). Camilla is a Watson Fellowship and 1/52 Project Grant recipient and holds an MFA in Design for Stage and Film from NYU Tisch. camilladely.com
Miranda k is a lighting designer with a passion for space & time working nationally and internationally in theater and opera, focusing on the New and Experimental while staying grounded in the generally possible impossible. A career in NYC and on tour led to Portland where she makes work with PETE, Portland Playhouse, Artists Repertory Theater, the August Wilson Red Door Project, Alicia Jo Rabins, Lewis & Clark College, Oregon Children’s Theater, BOOM Arts, Profile Theater, Hand2Mouth, Theatre Diaspora, Reed College and now Portland Center Stage. Gratitude. She holds an MFA from CalArts, is an adjunct instructor of design at Lewis & Clark College and is a member of the Portland Experimental Theater Ensemble (PETE).
Phil is a theatrical producer and artist based in the Pacific Northwest. He currently serves as the Program Director for Coho Theatre in Portland, OR. Some of his favorite recent productions include Fat Ham (Seattle Rep) Clyde’s (PCS/ Syracuse Stage); Mrs. Harrison and The Light (Portland Center Stage); Pipeline (Confrontation Theater); Hands Up (Red Door Project); American Fast, An Octoroon, and The Humans (Artists Repertory Theatre). Phil has a B.F.A. and M.A. from Ohio University. philjohnsondesignstheworld.com, @philjohnsonlive
Taylor Barfield is a dramaturg, writer, and theater artist from Baltimore, MD. He served as the Acting Literary Manager at Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven, CT and the Literary Manager at Two River Theater in Red Bank, NJ. Before that he served as the Associate Artistic Director at Collaboraction Theatre Company in Chicago, IL. Taylor currently works as a freelance dramaturg and consultant working with organizations such as the Guthrie, BMG, Portland Center Stage, the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, LAByrinth Theater Company, and Yale Repertory Theatre. He received his B.A. in Molecular/Cellular Biology and English Literature from Johns Hopkins University and is a graduate of the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale, where he earned his M.F.A. and D.F.A. in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism. His scholarly work explores how contemporary Black American playwrights re-imagine and re-stage Black theater history. His writing has been published in Vulture, TDF Stages, 3Views, and the Marginalia Review of Books. Taylor is currently a visiting assistant arts professor in dramatic writing at NYU Tisch. taylorjamalbarfield.com
Janine is thrilled to return for her sixth season at Portland Center Stage. She has been a stage manager and production manager in theater for more than 20 years on Broadway, Off-Broadway, regionally, and on tour. She's had many favorite productions in that time, but some of her favorites include Frida … A Self Portrait, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Macbeth, A Christmas Memory/Winter Song, Wild & Reckless (all at Portland Center Stage); Sweeney Todd (Portland Opera); The Lion King (Broadway); The Graduate (starring Morgan Fairchild), Cats, The Vagina Monologues, Jekyll & Hyde, and Show Boat (all on tour); The Daily Show with Jon Stewart “Democalypse 2012 Republican National Convention.” Proud NYU graduate and AEA member.
Dana is so excited to be back at Portland Center Stage! Previous shows at PCS include Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, NASSIM (Stage Manager); Twelfth Night; Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street; What the Constitution Means to Me; Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really; Young Americans; It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play; tick, tick … BOOM!; Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Assistant Stage Manager); RENT; The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time; Redwood; and In the Heights (Production Assistant). Dana has also worked at Third Rail Repertory Theatre, Portland Playhouse, and The Old Globe. Dana graduated from The Ohio State University (Go Bucks!) and is a proud member of Actors Equity Association.
For This Production
Steph Landtiser | Deck Hand |
Nikki Paulson | First Hand |
Emily De Rosa | Dresser |
Kate Koeninger, Claudia La Rue | Drapers |
Foggy Bell | Stitcher |
Portland Center Stage is committed to identifying & interrupting instances of racism & all forms of oppression, through the principles of inclusion, diversity, equity, & accessibility (IDEA).