'Gross Indecency' a little ragged but fresh as today's headlines

Justice. Sexual conduct. Politics. Morality. If you were looking for a topical play at this moment in U.S. history, “Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde” certainly checks the right boxes.

Wilde, of course, was the flamboyant 19th-century playwright and raconteur who was hugely influential in his community, a man about town who enjoyed the company of bright young things. Eliminate the 19th-century reference and I could be referring to Orlando’s Michael Wanzie, who is both playing the role and presenting the drama at Parliament House’s Footlight Theatre.

Wanzie is clearly deeply connected to the tragedy at the story’s heart, and he conveys Wilde’s anger, pain and despair in turns — though, surprisingly, he could have been a little looser at the play’s start. He nicely captures the smug satisfaction of Wilde when his writing is praised — and he makes Wilde’s defense of his actions believable even while displaying the hubris that led to the man’s downfall.

In Victorian England, the social construct of gay people didn’t yet exist. So even Wilde himself didn’t think he was gay; rather, he was an admirer of youth and beauty, especially of the male persuasion. But such dalliances were considered “gross indecency” under British law — a law that stayed on the books until the 1960s — and an ill-fated lawsuit led to criminal charges and financial ruin for Wilde, author of such acclaimed plays as “The Importance of Being Earnest.”

“Gross Indecency” playwright Moises Kaufman (“The Laramie Project”) has taken a documentary approach — the actors address the audience and quote firsthand accounts of the court proceedings against Wilde. With minimal action and a whole lot of words, “Gross Indecency” needs a sharpness in delivery that wasn’t always on view at a recent performance.

The show started just hours after Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court, a process and decision that roiled the nation — and perhaps a contributing factor as to why this particular performance seemed under focused. Yet even if rough around the edges, there’s power in the story.

“Gross Indecency” serves as a mighty reminder that in the end it’s not politicians or judges who determine what’s truly right — it will be the eyes of history.