The Liar

A-

One of the most enjoyable plays I saw in 2011 was The School for Lies, David Ives’s delightful riff on Moliere’s The Misanthrope, at Classic Stage Company. The cleverness of Ives’s rhymed couplets, full of anachronisms and contemporary references, more than compensated for the silliness of the plot. Three years later, Ives was back at CSC with his “translaptation” (his word) of “The Heir Apparent,” a comedy by lesser known French playwright Regnard. While enjoyable, it did not reach the hilarious peaks of the earlier piece. Now CSC is presenting Ives’s latest adaptation of a classic French comedy, Corneillie’s The Liar (Le Menteur). The good news is that Ives is in top form and the production is another triumph of style over substance. The slight plot, a trifle based on mistaken identities, is performed with conviction by an excellent cast led by Christian Conn in the title role of Dorante and the ever-enjoyable Carson Elrod (“All in the Timing,” “The Heir Apparent,” “The Explorers Club’) as his manservant Cliton, who cannot tell a lie. Ismenia Mendes and Amelia Pedlow are charming as Clarice and Lucrece. Tony Roach is fun as Alcippe, Clarice’s secret fiance. Aubrey Deeker is fine in the less showy role of Philiste. Adam LeFevre brings warmth to the role of Dorante’s father Geronte, Kelly Hutchinson is a delight its the twin maids Isabelle and Sabine. The elegantly simple set by Alexander Dodge and the attractive costumes by Murell Horton enhance the production. Michael Kahn directs with a light touch. My only reservation is that it is almost too much of a good thing. The slenderness of the plot barely supports the play’s length, despite all its cleverness. Running time: 2 hours 10 minutes including intermission.

Comfort alert: The seats in Row A do not have arms.

Lives of the Saints ***

When Primary Stages offered a near-perfect production of “All in the Timing,” David Ives’s collection of six hilarious short plays, two years ago, I awarded it five stars. Now they are back with an evening of six more Ives playlets. Those expecting a reprise of Ives’s delicious word-play based sketches will be disappointed. The current collection is more substantive, but less stylistically successful. Most of the six plays (a seventh listed in the program was dropped to shorten the evening) are loosely tied together by the theme of goodness. “The Goodness of Your Heart” examines what one can expect from a good friend. “Soap Opera,” a pun-filled extended sketch about a repairman (think Maytag) who falls in love with a washing machine, shows the downside of perfection. “Enigma Variations” did not seem to fit the evening’s theme. With doubled characters and reversing roles, it was more frenetic than coherent. My favorite was “Life Signs,” in which a newly deceased mother thought to have lived an upright life suddenly begins talking to her grieving son and vividly disabusing him of that notion. “It’s All Good” shows a successful New York writer the life he might have had if he had never left southside Chicago. The title play, which closes the evening, demonstrates the simple goodness of two older Polish Catholic women preparing a funeral breakfast. Although the evening does not reach the delirious heights of “All in the Timing,” there are still lots of laughs. Returning from the previous production are director John Rando, set designer Beowulf Boritt, costume designer Anita Yavich and actors Carson Elrod (a comic genius) and Liv Rooth. They are joined by Arnie Burton, Rick Holmes and Kelly Hutchinson, who are just as adept at animating Ives’s characters. Although a bit disappointed that lightning did not strike twice, I had a good time. Running time: 2 hours, 5 minutes, including intermission.