Nothing To Declare
Wit is the Hero when messy little love triangles, illicit attractions, and betrayals, are confounded by the ghost of the great Oscar Wilde.
This ‘dramedy’ is a celebration of the infamous wit of Oscar Wilde, who (as he passed through U.S. Customs) had nothing to declare except his genius.
Steve, a middle-aged professor of poetry, has become enthralled with one of his graduate students, Dorian. The professor, who lives a traditional married life, is particularly upset to find himself obsessing about a young man. Despite SteveÂ’s objections, Oscar WildeÂ’s ghost keeps reappearing, ostensibly to help Steve deal with his romantic feelings. But when his wife, Stephanie, hears only SteveÂ’s side of their conversations, OscarÂ’s visits are more trouble than theyÂ’re worth. Caught up in his internal struggles, Steve is unaware that Stephanie, too, has come under the spell of DorianÂ’s youth and beauty. Meanwhile, DorianÂ’s mother is spying on them. Failing to see how she is neglecting her own lover, a freedom-loving lesbian artist, she obsesses about her sonÂ’s love life. Convinced that an affair with an older, married woman will damage him, she determines to sabotage it. The tragedy of treating their affairs too seriously threatens them all. But during this one magical night they each get a chance to hear the words of the romantic jester, the king of paradox, who twists their dilemmas into epiphanies. Ubiquitously quoting his own iconoclastic wisdom, the ghost of Oscar will haunt them until the preternatural impulse and charm of romance can be recovered.
Guest appearance: Emily Dickinson.