Lyric Theatre Company presents lyric Nu‘. 19-13, mils um tents.3ufim‘°“ latighterl of this iY“°'j'°r' mischief 8% A roller master of ; :1 motto S tIf}ve’1unaCys - to 1augh‘f¢3"- ft Roman frriitsltgliilnsidgntifits ‘?b°".md as 3‘ Cfa E3;¢3P¢ ll‘ 68 M,A*S*H fame hen the inc0mP3'~“"b1° Step Season 3P°“‘°r NomHC0UNTR" mm!‘ saarsun ‘»"“""' ” S°“‘“§§§liia SP°*’°' Tickets are available HO\x/! Call the Flyn nTix Box Office at 8bFLYH.'l Theatre Guild presents flwflmmws FUNNY MONEY O9/21-24, 9/28-10/1, 10/58 All performances at 8pm Town Hall Theatre - Main St. - Stowe, VT %$%$$$$$$$$. A little bit naughty, and a l_0tfunny! $17 (12 and under $10) Reservations ‘Handicapped Accessible 802-253-3961 Air Conditioned www.stowetheatre.com 802.658.2202 - Multiple Pet Discounts - Geriatric lbcams - Vaccines - Health Certificates - Puppy/Kitten Packages - Euthanasias Mobile Veterinary Service Susan McMillan, DVM 0 Becky Roberts, Mgr. P.O. Box 5785 0 Burlington, VT Trials BY ROBERT WILUAM WOLFF The Secret Life of Oscar Wilde by Nell McKenna 2005, Basic Books 465pages he big question as I began reading Neil McKenna’s book was, “Will I finish the book knowing what has disturbed me for years about the events lead- ing to Oscar Wilde’s imprisonment, death and loss of Wilde’s artistic gifts, or will I still feel frustrated?” Finished, I am not frustrated. I have the same feeling I do at the opera when a character ruled by emotion does Something that is ' truly stupid, and then continues to dig himself deeper as the drama continues. This shift and McKenna’s adroit telling of the story made his book worth reading. Previously unrevealed detail that will interest ‘gay readers is includ- ed. Of the several books, plays, and films on Wilde I have experienced, this book tells the most detailed story of the great writer and wit’s personal life and his driven rela- tionships with young men. The “boys” enjoyed by Oscar and his lover Bosie (Lord Alfred Douglas, the son of the Marquis of Qucensberry) included working- class men that the~London elites of the1890s did not rank as respectable companions for the educated Wilde and his titled Bosie. Lord Alfred’s Oxford class- mates, friends, and peers were also favored. A goodly number of “rent boys,” male prostitutes and black- mailers of that day, were likewise among their bed mates. In McKenna’s thorough exami- nation, the ’21st century reader learns what sodomy meant to the English in the 1890s. He delivers insights on the dynamics between the Marquis of Queensberry, Oscar Wilde, and the young Lord Douglas. McKcnna writes about B0sie’s older brother, Francis Viscount Drumlanrig. Francis, unable to deny his feelings for men to conform with his father’s wish- es, committed suicide. Quecnsberry incorrectly believed that our Oscar had seduced Lord Alfred to sodomy. But Bosie needed no such help. The classic father consumed by rage, the Marquis burned to see Wilde either safely in jail, banished from England or dead. In the end, with help of Oscar himself, Bosie, the English courts, and friends of Lord Rosebury (who needed to dis- tract the public from news of his own sodomy), Queensberry achieved all of these goals, but not before he himself died. The saga told in The Secret Life of Oscar Wilde is one of twists and turns and Charmel crossings wor- thy of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. Oscar Wilde marries Constance Lloyd; then Oscar meets Bosie and other young men whom he beds invarious combinations. The Marquis threatens Wilde and finally hands his card with the fatal handwritten note to the doorman at Oscar’s club. \ Wilde could have taken his lawyer’s advice and forgotten the matter. But, encouraged by Lord Alfred, Wilde sues the Marquis for ~ libel, knowing full well that Queensbeny’s accusation that he is posing as a sodomite is more than true — he is not posing, Oscar is a sodornite. Worse yet, while lying about these relations during the first trial, Wilde was aware that there were young men, who, hav- ing blackmailed him in the past, could testify against him. The author unfolds a convinc- ing case for Wilde being attacked legally in the second and third tri- als partly to protect Lord Rosebcry, then the leader of the English gov- ernment, from being accused of sodomy by the same‘ Marquis of Queensberry, The fascinating story of the happenings and emotional currents among the people involved between this point and Oscar’s death at age 46 is the rea- son to read this enlightening book. As I read, I became aware of the alcoholic fog that Wilde and Bosie maintained and the impact scar’s Secrets that could have had on the judg- ment of each man. Bosie and The Marquis were both overwhelmed with anger. The Marquis’ wife (Lord Alfred’s mother) was not on friendly terms with him. Wilde falls into the trap unwit- tingly woven in part by his legally inexperienced lover. It is still not completely clear why Oscar Wilde did not realize that the trial in which he was about to be engaged would reveal his sexual adventures with men, in a time when it was strictly against English law. He could have been too focused on not hurting Bosie, who wanted his father to lose in court. Certainly . Wilde considered himself in a social and artistic world where he was “above” the common people of the London streets. Perhaps all of these factors came together to cloud his reasoning. As we know from previous descriptions of the trials, Wilde spent his time in court being witty, when wit could not help him.‘ It was not until he was on his way to prison that he began to fully grasp the hell into which he had fallen. In prison, he wrote De Profimdis, for the first time putting to paper his angry feelings toward Bosie, whom he blamed for getting him into this life-threatening mess. He swore that he would not become entangled with Bosie after . his release, and for a time he and Bosie stayed apart. In Lord Alfred’s absence, Robbie Roberts, reportedly Oscar’s first ‘male lover, took care of details of Oscar’s life with which Wilde was unable to cope. But‘ Oscar and Bosie were soon together again. Wilde went back to drinking great amounts and not eating much most of the time. At other times, having sufficient money, he ate like a king. During this period Wilde also fed his ravenous appetite for relation- ships with young men. His last written words expressed the joy of men loving men. V Robert William Wolff lives in Randolph, and designs scenery and lighting for theatre in Vermont. He is also a potter. ,9...’-‘