THEATER REVIEW : ‘School for Wives’ Has Lessons for Men

Bound by scarves and wigs, wearing ribboned hats and florid outfits decorated with lace, they’re prisoners of fashion. They totter on uncomfortable but chic high-heeled shoes. Consumed by gossip, they waste their lives scheming and backbiting.

Are these the women of 17th-Century France, playing out traditional roles? Look again and discover what A Noise Within, Glendale’s gifted classical theater company, learned when it staged “The School for Wives.” These catty coquettes are gentlemen of leisure, imprisoned by social standards.

That’s just one of many insightful lessons offered in this droll, superbly performed, faithful revival of Moliere’s classic comedy. Without any insecure gestures to “update” the story or period, the company makes Moliere our contemporary. It’s 1662, yet we can see the roots of feminism.

Director Art Manke’s disciplined ensemble speaks translator Richard Wilbur’s rhyming dialogue with a natural grace, guiding us into the past while keeping us conscious of the present.

Like any man in midlife crisis, Arnolphe needs serious help. A wealthy bachelor who has devoted his life to betraying colleagues, he’s decided it’s finally time to marry. How to protect his good name and ensure that his bride will remain faithful?

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Since women are famous for their guile, Arnolphe shrewdly concocts the perfect plan: Raise his ward in a convent where she’s taught absolute obedience by nuns. Now the innocent girl is ripe and ready to become his humble wife/servant.

But it’s Arnolphe who’s taken to school. His scheme to avoid heartbreak rapidly disintegrates once his ward meets the first available suitor. Love refuses to be controlled.

An inspired Joel Swetow portrays Arnolphe like a sweating, seething victim of machismo. His growing panic emerges from fears of intimacy and relationship, not just from farcical incidents. Much more than a fool, Swetow’s Arnolphe turns unexpectedly tragic when, too late, he’s taught the meaning of love by his ward.

Hisa Takakuwa’s poignant Agnes is a compelling charmer who escapes her keeper without resorting to deceit. Her innocence is complemented by Eric David Johnson’s earnest sincerity as her suitor. Jill Hill and Josiah Polhemus provide perfect farcical counterpoint as Arnolphe’s dim-witted servants.

If any gender ever needed women’s liberation, it’s Moliere’s dandies. Yet their behavior mirrors our own. A Noise Within could ironically translate the title to read: “The School for Men.”

* “The School for Wives,” A Noise Within, 234 Brand Blvd., Glendale. In repertory through May 14. (Call for schedule.) $15. (818) 546-1924. Running time: 2 hours.