Theater

Shaw enough, bubbly rom-com still telling

It’s only fitting that the cast of ā€œYou Never Can Tellā€ uncorks a bottle of Champagne during its curtain calls and toast the audience. Itā€™s the perfect end to a sparkling revival of George Bernard Shawā€™s delightful 1897 comedy.

David Staller, who directs this co-production by the Pearl and the Gingold Theatrical Group, has thā™Œe distinction of being the first person to havļ·½e staged all of Shawā€™s plays ā€” more than 60 in all ā€” and his Shavian savvy shines through.

Written in response to Oscar Wildeā€™s ā€œThe Importance of Being Earnest,ā€ this comedy of errors deftly weaves the issą± ues of both class and feminism into a convoluted plot.

It begins with the return to England of Margaret Clandon (Robin Leslie Brown), author of a series of best-selling advice books dubbed the ā€œTwentieth Century Treatises.ā€ With her are the three grown chilā™‹dren she had with the domineering husband she left years earlier.

Eighteen-year-old twins Dolly (Emma Wisniewski) and Philip (Ben Charles) are daffy and fun-loving, while their serious-minded older sister, Gloria (Amelia Pedlow), clearly takes after their mother. Even so, it doesnā€™t prevent her from falling headĀ­ over heels in love with Mr. Valentine (Sean McNall), an impoverished ā€œfive-shilling deāœ±ntistā€ ā€” the bargain price for all his procedures ā€” who extracts her tooth in the slapstick openiļ·ŗng scene.

When Valentine reciprocates, heā€™s accused of going aftš’…Œerš’…Œ Gloriaā€™s money.

ā€œI am,ā€ he responds, reasonably. ā€œYou expect my wiš’ŠŽfe to livš’ŠŽe on what I earn?ā€

Itā€™s eventually revealed that Valentineā€™s wealthy landlord, the blustery Fergus Crampton (Bradford Cover), is the patriarch abandoned long ago. The resulting reunion at a seaside resort resź¦æults in farcical complications that are observed by the everĀ­hovering waiter (Dan Dailey) whose oft-repeated philosophy gives the play its title.

Staller complements the witty dialogue with an antic staging featuring sight gags and song-and-dance numbers. Sudden lighting changes and dramatic music wittily accompany the more romantic moments, while Barbara A. Bellā€™s handsome costumes and Harry Feinerā€™s Victorian-style sets, complete with a curtain featuring vintage advertisements, adš“†‰d to the fun.

All told, itā€™s a breezy, delicious production, beautifully acted. Maybe we wonā€™t have to wait soź§ƒ long for its next revival. You never can telšŸ¬l.