Photo by Bradford Cover

With its endless aphorisms on honor and cuckoldry, its loquacious and foppish characters, and its credibility-stretching plot turns, William Wycherley's “The Country Wife”—like much Restoration comedy—can be quite a slog for today's ADD-afflicted audiences. While this production's more-than-three hours (including two 10-minute intermissions) don't exactly fly by, it's nevertheless a vigorous and appreciative rendering that turns out to be surprisingly entertaining and solid for an Off-Off-Broadway venture into a high-style classic.

Evidenced by his sure staging, director Bradford Cover knows the territory. He's clear on where the laughs are buried, and his 13 able actors dig up a lot of them. There's bawdiness aplenty, as there should be in this depiction of London's salacious upper-crust society back in 1675, when every wife was apparently a target for seduction. There might even be a bit too much gesturing to the genital area, although it underscores a central plot point: The rake Horner, to ease his way into ladies' boudoirs, has spread the rumor he's become a eunuch after a sexual misadventure in France. Husbands now see him as the perfect chaperone for their ladies, but his most ardent conquest has nothing to do with his ploy. She is the naive country wife of the title, newly married to Pinchwife, brought to London for the first time and in love with Horner at first sight.

There are fine performances throughout. Kyle Minschew and Ron Bopst initially seem over-the-top as clueless dandies, but there's a validating consistency to their portrayals, eventually convincing you they embody exactly what Wycherley wrote. As Horner, Matthew Cohn is an unlikely but engaging Lothario. Reminiscent of Jerry Seinfeld in both look and eternally bemused demeanor, Cohn brings an interesting contemporary sensibility to the proceedings. As the country wife, Olivia Gilliatt smartly keeps the rustic gawkiness in check, while Brent Bateman's jealous rages as her husband are particularly impressive, giving the general frivolity a darker shading. His emotions inform us that something more than laughter is at stake.

Among others deserving mention are Meg MacCary, Allison Hirschlag, Adam Patterson, and Stanley Brode as various ladies and gallants in amorous pursuits. The production's ambitions further seem fulfilled in its detailed period costumes by Hwiwon Lee, the spare but evocative furnishings of the set (uncredited), and the incidental music composed by George MacDonald, provided by three musicians perched in a balcony overlooking the action.


Presented by Odyssey Productions at the American Theatre of Actors' Chernuchin Theatre, 314 W. 54th St., NYC. July 9–18. Fri. and Sat., 8 p.m.; Sat. and Sun., 2:30 p.m. (212) 352-3101, (866) 811-4111, or www.theatremania.com.