Michigan's Encore Musical Theatre Company will stage a new production of Oscar Wilde’s comedy The Importance of Being Earnest later this spring.

Starring Fred Grandy (The Love Boat) as Lady Bracknell, the production will run April 24-May 4 at the venue. Founded in 2008 by Daniel Cooney (Mamma Mia!), The Encore Musical Theatre Company is a regional enterprise dedicated to intimate theatrical staging in the Great Lakes region.

Grandy, a former television star and congressman, previously appeared last year in Encore’s production of I’m Not Rappaport, and previously in the one-man play, Give ‘Em Hell, Harry. “I am lucky enough at this point in my life and career to do the shows I want with the people I want in the places I want to do them,” says Grandy, “and that’s why I’m delighted to be back at the Encore for the third time. The high professional standard of this theatre coupled with the enormous talent drawn from the faculty and students at the University of Michigan and the pool of gifted local actors make the Encore a thrilling place to work. It makes putting on a corset every night worth while.” 

Joining Grandy are Caleb McArthur as Algernon Moncrieff, Jackson Reagin as John “Jack” Worthing, Maddy Dick as Gwendolyn Fairfax, Zuri Clarno as Cecily Cardew, Sarah B. Stevens as Miss Prism, Hayden Steiner as Merriman/Footman, and John Bixler as Rev. Canon Chasuble/Lane.

The production is directed by Vincent J. Cardinal, with set design by Sarah Tanner, costume designs by Camille Charara, lighting design by Phill Hall, and sound design by Chris Goosman, with Emma Hutchinson serving as production supervisor, and Sarah M. Delia as production stage manager.

For more information, visit TheEncoreTheatre.org.