''Half in Earnest'' is a musical comedy by

Vivian Ellis Vivian John Herman Ellis, CBE (29 October 1903 – 19 June 1996) was an English musical comedy composer best known for the song " Spread a Little Happiness" and the Paul Temple theme " Coronation Scot". Life and work Ellis was born in Hampste ...

adapted from ''

The Importance of Being Earnest ''The Importance of Being Earnest, a Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde, the last of his four drawing-room plays, following ''Lady Windermere's Fan'' (1892), ''A Woman of No Importance'' (1893) and ''An Ideal Husban ...

'' and other works of

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

. It premiered at the

Bucks County Playhouse The Bucks County Playhouse is located in New Hope, Pennsylvania. When the ''Hope Mills'' burned in 1790, Benjamin Parry rebuilt the grist mills as the ''New Hope Mills.'' The town was renamed for the Mill (grinding), mills. The building was sa ...

in Pennsylvania and the

Olney Theatre Located in Olney, Maryland, the Olney Theatre Center is one of the two official state theaters of Maryland. Olney Theatre Center is situated on in the middle of the Washington–Baltimore– Frederick "triangle." There are three indoor venues: ...

in Maryland in 1957, featuring

Anna Russell Anna Russell (born Anna Claudia Russell-Brown; 27 December 191118 October 2006) was an English–Canadian singer and comedian. She gave many concerts in which she sang and played comic musical sketches on the piano. Among her best-known works ...

. The following year, a production opened the

Belgrade Theatre, Coventry The Belgrade Theatre is a live performance venue in Coventry, England. It was the first civic theatre to be built in Britain after the Second World War and is now a Grade II listed building. Background Coventry was the fastest growing city in ...

on March 27, 1958.

References

{{reflist 1957 musicals British musicals