“A Woman of No Importance” was previewed Thursday by an invited audience at The Art Center on Main Street. The show opens tonight under the direction of Ken Smith.

Act One opens as guests begin to gather for a garden party. The catch is the audience members are all eavesdroppers on the banter as the seating is often within inches of the actors. Lovely, vivid costumes set the tone of the Victorian-themed tale.

The well dressed Lady Caroline Pontefract (Lori Barrage) introduces us to the garden party guests with her judgmental pronouncements. Barrage shone and did justice to Oscar Wilde’s delicious and biting dialogue. She was the quintessential gossip and overbearing wife of Sir Jon Pontefract (Aaron Zimmerman) who acted volumes with the least amount of lines.

The amusing and good-natured host Lady Hunstanton was played by the delightful Stephanie Kobil, who giggled and chided her way through the story with many compliments and few opinions. Her comedic timing and a light heartedness helped keep the show from slipping into a gripe fest.

Mrs. Allonby (Karen Justi) and Lord Illingworth (Stefan Lingenfelter) paired up for some saucy repartee. Their chemistry was borderline PG-13 as intended. Their verbal volleys were enjoyable and well played.

Mrs. Stutfield was played by the adorable Megan Flannery, whose facial expressions were perfectly amusing. The flirty and somewhat innocent guest was fun to watch.

The uppity English ladies were called on the carpet by the only American in the room, Hester Worsley, played capably by Sara McAllister.

Worsley only had eyes for the young buck, Gerald Arbuthnot, played by Kevin Lukacs. Lukacs believably moved from gay adventure bound young man to ruthless defender of his mother’s honor with great ease.

Elizabeth Smith portrayed the sad and somber, fallen Mrs. Rachel Arbuthnot, mother of Gerald. The seeming spinster of the group has a secret that could ruin her relationship with her son.

Smith oozed the torment and angst Mrs. Arbuthnot experienced at the possibility of losing her son to Lord Illingworth. The friction between the two old acquaintances was palpable. Lingenfelter was such a cad it was hard not to reach out and smack him. Lord knows you are close enough to do just that.

Comedic and witty performances were also offered up by Bob Meals as the Archdeacon and Greg Crawford as the wordy Mr. Kelvil.

“A Woman of No Importance” primarily focuses on the differences between men and women and how Victorian society treated its ladies with regard to morality and acceptability. Wilde addressed these issues with dialogue which the Hobnob Theatre Co. cast expertly brought to life.

Fans of British comedy and drama will ease into the role of eavesdropper quite easily. A bit of a unique take on the show and the setting but it works nicely to feel like a guest at the party.

Parking can be a pickle so plan to get there a bit early. Each show has limited seating so get tickets in advance. Audience members should feel free to browse the gallery before the show and during the intermission, while a footman and several maids offer coffee and other refreshments.

It is an enjoyable evening of theater so RSVP early.