'Oscar Wilde': Principles,
                   ideals and courage
 

                   By ARLINE GREER
                   Sun theater critic 

                   We are all in the gutter,
                   but some of us are
                   looking at the stars." Irish poet, playwright and
                   philosopher Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) made
                   this prophetic statement. It haunts the
                   production of "Gross Indecency: The Three
                   Trials of Oscar Wilde" at the Hippodrome State
                   Theatre. 

                   Throughout Moises Kaufman's richly textured
                   play, which traces the history of Wilde's descent
                   into ignominy because of his sexual orientation,
                   the poet/philosopher never loses his vision of the
                   stars. Battered and broken by a puritanical
                   criminal system, Wilde continues to maintain his
                   credo: "Art is what makes the life of each citizen
                   a sacrament." 

                   "Gross Indecency" has all the trappings, and
                   some of the suspense, of a courtroom drama.
                   Using various sources: biographies, newspaper
                   accounts, legal records and the writings of the
                   poet himself, Kaufman created a dramatic
                   collage of events leading to Wilde's conviction
                   on charges of gross indecency. 

                   The play is set in a courtroom with various
                   actors serving as a chorus of narrators,
                   newspaper reporters, barristers and gentlemen
                   of the evening. The narrative is punctuated by
                   references from the liberal, conservative and
                   overseas press. Making cameo appearances are
                   G.B. Shaw and Queen Victoria. At the center is
                   Wilde himself, taking on the Marquess of
                   Queensberry, father of his lover, Lord Alfred
                   Douglas, in the first of three disastrous trials. 

                   In the first trial, Wilde, ever clever, witty and
                   glib scorns his detractors. As played by
                   Anthony Newfield, Wilde swishes, smirks and
                   makes a generally unsympathetic character. This
                   changes in a startling moment when, asked if he
                   kissed a young man, Wilde answers haughtily:
                   "No, he was a peculiarly plain boy." In an
                   instant, the courtroom is hushed; movement
                   ceases, and the expression on Wilde's face
                   becomes one of a man who's been caught. 

                   The hushed moment comes in stark contrast to
                   the frenetic pace of the production directed by
                   Mary Hausch. The actors (reporters,
                   biographers, barristers) shout and jump on each
                   other's lines. 

                   It is only in the second act that Wilde's profound
                   emotional distress is allowed to be expressed.
                   Here, Newfield's Wilde gives a genuinely
                   heartrending performance as the man who risks
                   everything for what he believes. "Gross
                   Indecency" can be seen as a play about a
                   puritanical society's lynching of a gay man.
                   More deeply, it speaks of principles, ideals and
                   courage. 

                   In addition to Newfield's bravura performance
                   as Wilde, acting honors go to David Arrow as
                   Clarke, Wilde's attorney; Mark Sexton as
                   Carson, Queensberry's attorney; and John
                   Felix, who plays several roles including
                   Queensberry and two prosecutors. 
 

                   "Gross Indecency" builds to a compelling climax
                   with Newfield's tragic figure of Oscar Wilde.
                   The emotional gripping conclusion transcends its
                   frenetic beginning. 
 
 

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                          without written permission of the author.
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