Brian Bedford's Importance of Being Earnest extended

Brian Bedford's take on The Importance of Being Earnest has landed an extended Broadway run, after receiving rave reviews and delighting New York audiences.

New York's Roundabout Theatre Company, which is staging Bedford's production of the Oscar Wilde classic, announced Wednesday the play would be extended through July 3.

Bedford directs and stars as the formidable Lady Bracknell in the comedy, which had originally been slated to end its run at the American Airlines Theatre on 42nd Street on March 6.

The British-born, Tony-winningactor and theatre director originally debuted his version of Earnest at Stratford in 2009.

After he directed and starred in King Lear at the festival in 2007, Stratford artistic director Des McAnuff suggested the festival veteran give the Wilde play a try.

"It took a little while for Brian to warm to the idea, but we were delighted he did, and now all of New York is sharing that delight," McAnuff said in a statement Wednesday.

After Earnest' s smash run in Stratford, the Roundabout decided to bring it to New York, where it has since received further critical acclaim.

Another Stratford regular, actress Sara Topham, is also in New York reprisingthe role of Gwendolen in Earnest.The production marked her Broadway debut.

Both Bedford and Topham are slated to return to Stratford in 2011: both will appear in The Misanthrope and Topham will also appear in Twelfth Night.

Earnest's extended New York run, however, has displaced the new musical The People in the Picture, which will now begin previews at the Roundabout's Studio 54 in April.