An Ideal Husband

By: Oscar Wilde

Narrated by: Rosalind Ayres, Jacqueline Bisset, Paul Gutrecht, Martin Jarvis, Robert Machray, Miriam Margolyes, Alfred Molina, Jim Norton, Yeardley Smith

A tender love story, a serpentine villainess, a glittering setting in London society, and a showering of Wildean witticism are only a few of the reasons why this play has enjoyed hugely successful revivals in London, in New York, and on the silver screen. This 1895 drama is eerily prescient, as it examines the plight of a promising politician, desperate to hide a secret in his past. With empathy and wit, Oscar Wilde explores the pitfalls of holding public figures to higher standards than the rest of us.Public Domain (P)2006 L.A. Theatre Works

a classic Wilde

Although this is one of Wilde's "society plays" and often described as a comedy, there's some very real dramatic elements in addition to the expected satire and wit. There's blackmail, insider trading, and scandal, but there's also a strong thread of loving imperfections and a person's flaws.

The most beautiful and delicious vileness ever😍

Sir Oscar Wilde sums up the social appropriateness and morality with the most elegant and utmost wit possible!

All hail to Oscar Wild 🙌🏽

Wilde is eternal

Expectations are a motherforker, especiallyin a marriage. I've seen and loved this play before, and alongside the comedy is a sharp acknowledgement that money is the language of the age. Same as it ever was. Alfred Molina's "shallow" fop just glitters.

Hilarious and timely

Both heartwarming and amusing, this book will have you thinking about the moral standards we hold public figures to even today. I’ve always thought Oscar Wilde was a genius and here is further proof. Not only that the performance is exceptional

Love This Classic!!!

My first with this play, full of excellent casts and I enjoy the story so much. I can see thoroughly the human side of aristocrats with humorous point of view. I find it so typical of Oscar Wilde's work. I think my next venture of this author is "The Importance Of Being Earnest"

Almost perfect

An Ideal Husband is my favorite of Wilde's works, and I chose to listen to this version specifically because it was presented as an audio version of the play. And were it not for Yeardley Smith as Mabel, I would have given this 5 stars. Unfortunately, I had a rather nails-on-the-chalkboard reaction to Yeardley Smith's voice. That's what I get for not listening to the sample, I suppose. I'll probably listen to An Ideal Husband again, but not this version of it.

This recording is a performance featuring Rosalind Ayres, Jacqueline Bisset, Paul Gutrecht, Martin Jarvis, Robert Machray, Miriam Margolyes, Alfred Molina, Jim Norton and Yeardley Smith.

better heard than read

Very well presented in this recording.
The politician's problem is still an issue today (trying to hide something shady in his past, and being blackmailed by someone who knows about it).
There is a lot of lighthearted and/or amusing speech throughout, and some minor characters exist mainly for laughs. Wilde puts the most seemingly frivolous major characters "in the right", both in their attitudes and their verbal cleverness.
An Ideal Husband is not a sermon, though it has a serious subject behind it.
This version definitely is more enjoyable because multiple players take part than it could be read on the page. Best of all would be to see it on the stage --- but this is a very worthy second-best.

a Wildely Wicked and WItty Play

I enjoyed listening to this play very much. I think I will now read the play though as this version was definitely more of a performance than a narration. As much as I love the theater I love reading more so I want to now read this one. The cast was wonderful! There was so much depth to the performances and the actors did a great job bringing out Wilde's clever and witty humor.

Good performance

L.A. Theatre Works does great performances. Full cast, dramatic quality. Oscar Wilde was a great playwright. I love his plays. This play, in my opinion, is less good than The Importance of Being Earnest. Wilde put lots of witty comments in this play. At times it seems like the play consists mainly of such witty comments.