Sganarelle, or The Imaginary Cuckold

Style delights the eye from start to finish in this production of Molière's skewering of circumstantial evidence. Frederique Michel and Charles Duncombe's "new version in English" retains the classical tone while including cheeky modern bits, and Michel's direction plays up Molière's naughtiness. But as of opening night, it seemed rehearsals had been spent on the play's look and not on text. Blocking overwhelmed the dialogue, too many characters seemed underdeveloped, and actors were grasping for lines and flubbing blocking.

At a 75-minute running time, the production doesn't overstay its welcome. Michel even adds dance divertissements for a bit of chic. Unfortunately not all the actors move well, dulling any of choreographic effectiveness, and some of the dancing ends long before the music does, appearing as if a sequence had been forgotten.

As Sganarelle, the usually terrific actor Bo Roberts is here short of the comedic mark. As Sganarelle's wife, Cynthia Mance is performance-ready but shines only opposite those scene partners who are also up to speed. As Celia, the center of one maelstrom, Lena Kouyoumdjian seems to have worked "outside-in" but not on finding the strength of a girl about to disobey her father in an era when a man's support was essential to life itself. Playing Lelio, the young man at the center of the other maelstrom, Justin Davanzo displays solid skills with heightened language; and as various relatives, Troy Dunn displays an enviable voice.

Why, then, does Ann Colby Stocking win the play's biggest, most sincere laughs as the maid who unwinds all the misunderstandings? Stocking treats style as a spice and not a main course, instead going for her character's truth and trusting Molière to carry the comedy.

Duncombe's appealingly symmetrical set is lit prettily if not always effectively. Josephine Poinsot's costumes evoke but don't mimic the period, and their palette pleases, particularly when all the characters assemble for the finale. Less effective are the wigs: Sganarelle's wife wears the henna red traditionally used to indicate a prostitute, while two of the men wear too-similar black curls.

It is better to be a living cuckold than a dead man of honor, says Sganarelle. Or maybe not. And so Molière engages in the ages-old debate in this timeless classic that, over the run of this production, will find its charmingly shod feet.

Presented by City Garage at Track 16, Building C1, Bergamot Station, 2525 Montana Ave., Santa Monica. July 23–Sept. 4. Sat., 8 p.m., Sun. 4 p.m. (310) 319-9939. www.citygarage.org.