By John Lyle Belden

If you are not familiar with the Oscar Wilde comedy “Lady Windermere’s Fan,” you still might know popular nuggets of Wilde’s wit that are contained within the play – lines such as:

• “I can resist everything, except temptation.”
• “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”
• “In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.”

Of course, there is far more to its substance than cool quotes.

4^th Wall Players gives us this drawing-room comedy of manners with its piercing satire of Victorian London society, directed by Josh Gibson. While many zingers still land, and the cast share their enjoyment of its narrative, the story’s oddities are not quite as wild (pardon the expression) as in Wilde’s later classic, “The Importance of Being Earnest.” This absurdity here is derived from casual injustice.

Gibson invites us to see this examination of rumor and reputation through our perspective as social media addicts, constantly told what friends and strangers are and aren’t doing. After scrolling through a thousand posts and videos about shame, scandal, and misogyny, we look up at the stage to see the problem didn’t start with the i-Phone – it’s always been there, in society, inside us.

While Lady Margaret Windermere (Lizzie Schultz) prepares the celebration of her 21^st birthday, she is visited by the Duchess of Berwick (Rebecca Brelage), who informs her that her husband has been seen frequently going to the home of Mrs. Erlynne, a woman of low reputation. The Duchess, who sees infidelity as natural to men, advises her to take her husband abroad to set his intentions right.

Margaret becomes distraught, having experienced nothing but devotion from her husband in their two years of marriage – they even have a baby boy. She then finds evidence of the relationship and confronts Lord Windermere (Jy’Ierre Jones) about it. In turn, he objects to her snooping, states that there is nothing improper, and even insists on having Mrs. Erlynne (Adriana Menefee) invited to the Birthday Ball.

We see the event open with Lord and Lady Windermere welcoming their guests. The Duchess brings her daughter Lady Agatha Carlisle (Kristen Paarlberg), who catches the eye of Australian Mr. Hopper (Joshua Roberts). The Duchess’s jovial brother Lord Augustus Lorton (Nelani Huntington) wouldn’t miss this social occasion. Also arriving are socialites Mr. Dumby (Nathaniel Taff), Mr. Cecil Graham (Amanda Horcher), Lady Plymdale (Isabel Moore), Lady Jedburgh (Amanda Amos), and the handsome and witty Lord Darlington (Omar El Jordi) who, knowing the rumors, sees an opportunity to woo Lady Windermere, whom he has always fancied. Lastly, Mrs. Erlynne arrives, chatting up the various men in attendance, who seem charmed by her – especially Lord Lorton.

The presence of the “other woman” drives Margaret to drastic action, which in turn spurs her alleged rival to take measures of her own. The events of this night, of which the hand-embroidered fan carried by Lady Windermere becomes an issue, could affect the rest of their lives.

To complete the cast, Fred Margison and Tyler Gibson play attentive servants Parker and Robert.

Schultz is wonderful in a role that allows a bit of melodrama yet has a real sense of inner turmoil. Jones handles a different complexity well – his Lord Windermere bound by social norms to keep so much within him and to only see things as those mores allow. Menefee brilliantly manages her role as a cypher not only to keep us from the spoilers, but also to maintain the social highwire act that means the difference between security and destitution, potentially life and death for a single woman in the 1890s.

Supporting roles maintain both the humor and the social strictures that drive the plot. El Jordi’s Lord Darlington makes the most of being Wilde’s proxy in the play, clever lines and all. Paarlberg manages to work within her character’s limits, communicating so much with an eye roll. The gentlemen present familiar Victorian archetypes, from Huntington’s roguish Lorton to Horcher’s posh Graham.

Stephan Taylor is assistant director, and Kelli Gibson is stage manager. Exquisite costumes by Katherine Gibson and Zoe Renee help set the scene. “Lady Windermere’s Fan” has performances Friday through Sunday, June 19-21 (if you see this shortly after it posts, there is also one Sunday afternoon, June 14) at Backlot Makerspace and Venue at 5635 Bonna Ave., Indianapolis, in historic Irvington. Get tickets at 4thwallplayers.org.