Fiona and the cast of An Ideal Husband at reahearsal

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NEW YORK -- While Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband played on Broadway just four years ago, followed by a movie adaptation, it will be a first for New Jersey’s Paper Mill Playhouse. 

Director, James Warwick says this is his favorite of Oscar Wilde’s work and is enjoying looking at it in a new light. 

Warwick starred in An Ideal Husband as Sir Robert Chiltern in Sir Peter Hall’s 1997 Broadway production but, he told Theatre.com, he has wanted to change the focus of the story under his own direction. 

“Peter Hall, one of the most brilliant directors I ever worked with, made the character of Lord Goring had enormous similarity to Oscar Wilde himself, something of a fop. It was a wonderful idea to have him played like that, certainly gave a lot of insight to the play. He's bringing out the romantic comedy, aspect "because it is a romantic comedy, its about love and the trials of love over these evil forces.” Warwick said. 

Warwick isn’t the only one who’s been involved with the Broadway production; Stephanie Beacham is reprising her role as seductress Mrs. Cheveley. Warwick said that Beacham is adapting wonderfully to differences between the Broadway production and the Paper Mill’s. 

An Ideal Husband, while wonderfully funny, is also not what most people are use to from the Paper Mill Playhouse, who recently produced Anything Goes with Chita Rivera and Victor/Victoria with Robert Cuccioli. Artistic director Robert Johanson says the decision to do An Ideal Husband was easy. “We always do two plays in the wintertime so we kind of look at it as if you were walking down Broadway you would see a Broadway musical revival, next would be Death of a Salesman, and then a new comedy. So we always kind of had this in the past, but we never done an Oscar Wilde play, but it was successful. I just feel if we can repeat it, I felt it would be very accessible with the political [situation] in America now. This whole that happens to political life. You can really relate to it, besides just the romantic comedy. We’re challenging our audience a bit they’re not totally use to this, the same people that bought tickets to Anything Goes might not be interested in An Ideal Husband, but they should see a great play. It can’t always be song and dance. “ 

An Ideal Husband will run Feb. 14-March 18, 2001. You can order tickets by calling 973-376-4343, or via their website at http://www.papermill.org/

All photos by Elaina Fusco.