Dual identities, a domineering matriarch and a mysterious handbag spark hilarious confusion in College of DuPage College Theater’s production of Oscar Wilde’s classic comedy, “The Importance of Being Earnest,” coming to the McAninch Arts Center (MAC) at COD’s Glen Ellyn campus, 425 Fawell Blvd. 

Performances will run at 7 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays from March 5 to 22 in the MAC’s Studio Theatre. A preshow discussion featuring director Daniel Millhouse and the designers is scheduled for 5:45 p.m. Thursday, March 5, in the MAC, Room 117. A post-show discussion with the actors is set for Friday, March 13. 

The play follows the antics of two wildly eligible bachelors, John (Jack) Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, who invent alter egos in an attempt to escape the constraints of Victorian society while pursuing love, marriage and happiness, though not necessarily in that order. Wilde’s story features an array of eccentric characters whose witty dialogue challenges Victorian social conventions through satire and romantic chaos. 

Tickets are $16 for students and seniors and $18 for adults, with $2 from each ticket benefiting the John Belushi/Second City scholarships for theater and music students. 

Learn more about College Theater’s performance of “The Importance of Being Earnest.”