Modernizing this wonderful play--possible?

I'm in a class on the impact of humor in society, and we've got a final creative project due in a few weeks. It's pretty wide open, but it's encouraged that they relate to one of the plays we've studied--among them, 'The Importance of Being Earnest'! Of COURSE, I postively love this play, and I got an interesting idea... what if I tried 'modernizing' a scene, or maybe an abridgement of the entire play?

I fully realize how challenging this could be, since so much of the humor and plot relies on the age and locale. That's kind of why it's tempting! I'm not sure, though, whether I might be in way over my head. Does anybody here have thoughts on whether this is even possible, and if it is, some hints on how to go about it?

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Originally Posted by SummerSolstice

I'm in a class on the impact of humor in society, and we've got a final creative project due in a few weeks. It's pretty wide open, but it's encouraged that they relate to one of the plays we've studied--among them, 'The Importance of Being Earnest'! Of COURSE, I postively love this play, and I got an interesting idea... what if I tried 'modernizing' a scene, or maybe an abridgement of the entire play?

I fully realize how challenging this could be, since so much of the humor and plot relies on the age and locale. That's kind of why it's tempting! I'm not sure, though, whether I might be in way over my head. Does anybody here have thoughts on whether this is even possible, and if it is, some hints on how to go about it?

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It's been a bit since I read it, but how would you modernize it? It's already somewhat modern, at least in the sense that it's not set in a very specific time and place. At least based on my memory. How would you make it different to be modern?

It's pretty specific, seeing as it's a social satire about Victorian England. :D Going out a-visiting, country vs. city, etc. would be pretty easy to translate, but issues such as mercenary marriages, 'arranged' marriages, class structures, Cecily not coming of age until she was 35 (!)... It'd be a booger of a project.

Good luck. :)

I think it'd be doable, though how faithful it'd be to the original is questionable. If done well, I think it'd be a marvelous product. And as Virgil says, best of luck.

It's going good so far, though I've only gotten into the conceptual working-out stuff, but a couple things are posing problems. The biggest one is: what is Miss Prism's role?? Governesses are all but extinct these days, especially for eighteen-year-old girls. Perhaps Cecily goes to college, but has a private tutor as well? That doesn't make any sense, though... can somebody help me??

Baby-sitter? Maid? Private tutor would work as well, but they rarely receive caretaking responsibilities...what about a wet-nurse turned tutor?

Hm... perhaps, since Jack is a bachelor and often out of town, it would be a nameless combination of the three. Cecily probably won't appreciate the suggestion that she needs a baby-sitter, though. ^_^

A few plot points and character attributes were proving difficult, until I realized I couldn't just translate the situation, I had to translate the object of the satire, as well. A modern Gwendolyn might not need her mother's consent to get married; she does need her mother to pay for the wedding!! :D

Ahh, clever -- I'm impressed! :D

Heehee, thanks. :blush:

I just realized a **BIG** problem, though... *gulp* What on Earth am I going to do about Jack marrying his cousin? :eek: Oy, vey... And then Algernon virtually marries his, too, with Cecily. Adopted cousin, yeah, but even so...

...adopted? You could alter the "aunt" thing to a very close family friend, or a foster caretaker.

Boy, oh boy. This thing is due on Thursday and it's still half written. No sweat, I can do it... sleep is for wussies. How did finals creep up so fast?

Anyway, the real reason I'm digging this out again is because in the Wikipedia article it says that Cecily's inheritance of 130,000 pounds in 1895 is roughly equivalent of 10,000,000 pounds or 18,000,000 dollars in 2005. I worked out the math--the very confusing math--myself before I found this and got something wildly different, and Wikipedia isn't necessarily the go-to source of unquestionable facts. Can anybody verify this sum for me?

Do you have the equation?

No, I don't... otherwise I'd just give it to my little brother, who can run mathematical circles around me. I just tried to find the conversions online... I didn't know whether maybe somebody else had a better source. :(

Are you sure it matters? In today's world, outrageously huge sums of money get rained on people every day.

Haha... 18 million dollars huge? I guess so... but meh. Still bothers me. =P

Go with your instinct there are plenty of silly upper middle class people depicted in life that you could use to lampoon in a reworking. Best of luck with your endevours.