Firm Hand Stifles ‘Wife’ That Needs Light Touch

Like many playwrights, W. Somerset Maugham translated personal foibles into enduring theater. A perfect example is his 1925 comedy “The Constant Wife,” about a wife who condones her husband’s philandering while liberating herself by becoming an interior decorator.

Maugham’s wife, Syrie, had become an interior decorator for similar reasons, and Maugham was in no mood to be gentle.

“The Constant Wife,” now at the Long Beach Playhouse, is a fine specimen of its period, a natural outgrowth of the flippant, epigrammatic style of Oscar Wilde and a precursor to the brittle, equally flippant comedy of Noel Coward.

The biggest flaw in this production is that director Steven Fiorillo doesn’t place it securely in this highly specialized genre. It rarely sparkles, and several good performances have trouble rising to the rarefied level of the writing.

Kelly Herman, as the wise and constant wife, Constance, is closest to the mark with quiet elegance and a sharp sense of comic timing. The stature she maintains is reminiscent of the sort of tongue-in-cheek finesse for which Ethel Barrymore was famous in her youth (Barrymore originated the role on Broadway).

Vickers Wilson also has the right style as Constance’s edgy younger sister, Martha. Although she tends to project too forcefully for this space, she knows the territory and is funny.

Todd Weldon rarely connects with the character of Constance’s erring husband, John. The standard reading lacks detail or subtext; moreover, there’s a sense that his cheater’s guilt isn’t sincere but, rather, a colorless argument played against his wife’s rich patina of intelligence and class.

Rick Reardon is excellent as Constance’s former fiance, Bernard, back from 15 years overseas, with an edge of fawning adoration behind his bravura insistence that he still loves Constance. As Constance’s elegant mother, Jo Black-Jacob weaves an accomplished portrait of a society woman of her day, hiding (not too well) her belief in the “new women” behind a thin facade of feigned Edwardian prudery.

Sienna Spencer is a bit overboard in her characterization of Marie-Louise, the hair-brained and giddy young woman John has dallied with, yet she looks restrained next to Tom Moses, who gives an outlandishly broad performance as her husband, Mortimer. Moses’ overdone and inaccurate working-class Scottish accent and his violent mugging and leering are out of place in a play so light.

Heidi Motzkus is cool and laid-back as the interior decorator who gives Constance a chance to support herself, and Dyrle Quick is properly brusque and dour as the butler.

These generally good performances would look much better if the production’s timing were tightened and its tone raised to the elegant level of Eugene MacDonald’s marvelously evocative early ‘20s setting, one of the best seen on this stage in a long time.

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* “The Constant Wife,”

Long Beach Playhouse Mainstage, 5021 E. Anaheim St. 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday and Aug. 30, Sept. 6 & 13, $10-$15. Ends Sept. 19. (562) 494-1616. Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes.

Kelly Herman: Constance Middleton

Todd Weldon: John Middleton

Vickers Wilson: Martha Culver

Jo Black-Jacob: Mrs. Culver

Heidi Motzkus: Barbara Fawcett

Rick Reardon: Bernard Kersal

Sienna Spencer: Marie-Louise Durham

Tom Moses: Mortimer Durham

Dyrle Quick: Bentley

A Long Beach Playhouse production of W. Somerset Maugham’s comedy. Directed by Steven Fiorillo. Scenic/lighting design: Eugene MacDonald. Costume design: Donna Fritsche. Wig/hair design: Mark Travis Holder. Stage manager: Scott Fiorillo.