A smart, amusing ‘Constant Wife’

The Laguna Playhouse management must have taken some perverse pleasure in scheduling W. Somerset Maugham’s “The Constant Wife” for a Valentine’s Day opening.

Seekers of lovey-dovey sentiment should look elsewhere. Despite its sedate appearance, this 1926 comedy of manners is infused with Jazz Age attitudes toward romance.

Most of the zingers connect in Andrew Barnicle’s staging. For those who have retained an appreciation for brittle dialogue, this is sumptuously satisfying.

The play is an example of the early 20th century British fare that is one of the specialties of South Coast Repertory. Although this “Constant Wife” is not up to the level of South Coast’s dazzling staging of Maugham’s “The Circle” in 2001, much of that is attributable to the play. It lacks the other play’s cross-generational complexity.

A shrewdly built comedy nonetheless, it opens with a torrent of gossip about the marriage of upper-crust London doctor John Middleton (Kevin Symons) and his wife, Constance (Devon Raymond). Yet when Constance finally arrives onstage, her imperviousness to any hint of trouble is remarkable.

She merits praise after disarming the outraged husband (Tom Shelton) of her supposed best friend, Marie-Louise (Stephanie Cushna), after the blustery fellow accuses Marie-Louise and John of adultery, bringing into the open the gossip that had been rumored behind Constance’s back.

The man’s accusations are correct, of course. Constance’s masterful defusing of the evidence of infidelity is a big dodge. But for Constance and John themselves, the truth is now out. The second act follows her attempt to come to terms with it without wrecking her lifestyle.

Her most important step is to take a job, which is conveniently offered by her entrepreneurial, furniture-selling friend Barbara (Catherine O’Connor), a widow. With economic independence, Constance has options.

Maugham’s ability to sympathize with this smart woman’s dilemma is notable, considering that the plot reflects, at least in part, his own marriage. He and his wife divorced in 1927. She had begun a career as an interior decorator. The chief difference is that in Maugham’s case, his affair was a much longer-lived romance with another man -- a turn of events that theaters in 1926, for all its modernity, weren’t ready to acknowledge.

The husband in “The Constant Wife” is the butt of much of the comedy. At first, Symons’ John has a firm stride and a puffed chest, the better to contrast with his intensifying collapse as the second act proceeds.

By contrast, Raymond’s Constance maintains a steely calm. Although such strength is admirable, it doesn’t help the play. Her demeanor seems too good to be true. Surely, a few seams would begin to tear.

Among the supporting performances, Kirsten Potter stands out as Constance’s brash, truth-telling younger sister. Shelton does excellent double duty not only as the choleric cuckold but also as the Middleton butler, who begins the production with an unscripted but clever piano prelude that establishes the production’s tone.

Mimi Cozzens clucks old-school retorts as Constance’s mother. Time Winters, playing the man who offers a romantic alternative for Constance, has the appropriate quality of solidity that stops short of charisma.

The design team has created a creamy ‘20s look for this elegant and amusing examination of people searching for new social models.

*

‘The Constant Wife’

Where: Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach

When: Tuesdays-Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 2 and 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 and 7 p.m.

Ends: March 14 matinee

Price: $45-$52

Contact: (949) 497-2787

Running Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes

Devon Raymond...Constance Middleton

Kevin Symons...John Middleton

Mimi Cozzens...Mrs. Culver

Kirsten Potter...Martha Culver

Catherine O’Connor...Barbara Fawcett

Stephanie Cushna...Marie-Louise Durham

Time Winters...Bernard Kersal

Tom Shelton...Bentley/Mortimer Durham

By W. Somerset Maugham. Directed by Andrew Barnicle. Set by Dwight Richard Odle. Lighting by Paulie Jenkins. Costumes by Julie Keen. Sound by David Edwards. Original music by Shelton and Barnicle. Production stage manager Nancy Staiger.