“Jersey Shore” Gone Wilde
Over the past 24 hours, some precincts within the island of Manhattan seem to have been intemperately yukking it up over a series of videos that the two young male stars of Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest,” now in revival on Broadway, have released. These dapper blades are reading lines from “Jersey Shore” in the toff-y tones of their characters, Algernon and Jack. At the risk of having my humor card revoked, I have to admit that I watched every one of these videos and emitted hardly a titter. When I watch Snooki and the Sitch drunkenly mumble things like “I need a mind condom, because I’m being mind-fucked,” I am transfixed not because of the remark’s inherent wit but because of the speaker’s inherent stupidity. The “Earnest” actors — Santino Fontana and David Furr — are talented, bright, polished. I love them in “Earnest.” They also seem to be suffering the backstage boredom that afflicts almost every performer in a long-running show. From boredom can spring creativity. I’m glad others are enjoying its results. Maybe I’d enjoy Santino and David more in a parody of “Mob Wives“?
