Rosina Reynolds and her excellent cast have brought playwright Moises Kaufman's work to a new level in the Diversionary production of Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde. David Weiner's set is elegant: heavy in reds, drapery, and gilded trim. Costumer Liam M. O'Brien provides stylish tails, brilliantly patterned vests, and authentic English barristers' garb. The image, accented by lighting designer Jennifer Setlow, speaks well of the end of the 19th century.
It takes a special talent to portray the arrogance, the stylishness, the disregard for public opinion on one hand, and the horror of failure, of loss, on the other. Farhang Pernoon, moves through Wilde's emotional roller coaster convincingly. His is truly a remarkable performance. This is, however, a cast of peers. Acting as barristers, John Martin and Karl Backus provide the courtroom drama. Douglas L. Ireland as Marquess of Queensberry is the perfect tyrannical foil for Pernoon's Wilde. Angelo D'Agostino-Wilimek as Wilde's lover and Queensberry's rejected son, Lord Alfred Douglas, is marvelous as a lover and vehement as an antagonist to Queensberry.
The first trail takes place in April, 1895. Wilde has accused the Marquess of Queensberry of criminal libel. The final trial, now against Wilde, with the charge of gross indecency, ends in a his conviction and jail term. Kaufman's script is taken from "The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde," which was compiled by H. Montgomery Hyde from shorthand notes from the three trials, as well as from personal biographies, unpublished memoirs, journalistic accounts and Wilde's writing.
Vincent Smetana, Wes Culwell, Devlin Dolan, and Robert Borzych are responsible for many roles including auctioneer, judge, Queen Victoria, and even Moises Kaufman, in a contemporary interview. The cast exhibit excellent command of many English dialects throughout the production; kudos to drama coach Jillian Frost.
