THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING OSCAR

tUESDAY, mARCH 3, 2026 • 7:30 pm
Music Hall • wilks studio

A Nearly-True Story of Oscar Wilde’s First Visit to Cincinnati

Before writing his controversial play Salome, the source material for Richard Strauss’s opera, Oscar Wilde visited Cincinnati three times during his speaking tour of America in 1882. This original one-act play by Cincinnati Opera’s Evans Mirageas and Audrey Chait dramatizes the interview Wilde gave just prior to his first lecture at Music Hall. As interviewed by Samuel Flickinger of the Cincinnati Gazette, Oscar applies his trademark wit to his impressions of Cincinnati, the Aesthetic movement, music, fame, and much more. Starring Douglas Fries as Oscar Wilde, and Christopher Logan Carter as reporter Samuel Flickinger, featuring musical performances by soprano Heidi Middendorf, tenor Jack Keller, and pianist Matthew Umphreys.

Tickets: $25

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