Palo Alto High School’s Theater Department will perform the play “The Importance of Being Earnest” early November in the new Performing Arts Center.  

The first performance held on Nov. 4 will be the first play to be presented in the new theater, according to senior Alia Cuadros-Contreras, who is a member of the cast.

“It will be a great opportunity to see the new theater,” Cuadros-Contreras said.

Until then, show rehearsals and dialect coaching, due to the British origin of the play, will be held everyday after school. In the next few weeks, while the cast is rehearsing, the crew will be busy putting together costumes and the set.

“The Importance of Being Earnest” is a comedy about two men who pretend to be named Earnest in order to woo their love interests, according to Cuadros-Contreras.  

“People should come watch the show because the humor is super witty and the relationships between characters are really funny,” Cuadros-Contreras said. “It will definitely leave people smiling.”

Although the play will be the first one performed by the Theater Department this year, the cast has much fewer roles than previous productions because the play doesn’t require many speaking roles, according to senior cast member Jason Pollak.

“Every speaking role is double-cast or has an understudy so more people have opportunities to play integral characters,” Pollak said.

The Theater Department will be performing other events such as the musical “Beauty and the Beast” and the One Act Showcase later on in the school year, according to Cadres-Contreras.

“The story itself is so excellently well told,” Pollak said. “I just can’t wait to see how we give it our own spin to entertain audiences.”

Other performances will take place on Nov. 6 and Nov. 7-12.  Tickets cost five dollars for students and ten dollars for adults.