THE BASICS: The Irish Classical Theatre has revived W.S. Gilbert's (think Gilbert and Sullivan) satirical comedy of love and money. The production, directed by Fortunato Pezzimenti, plays weekends through May 23rd. Combining Acts 2 and 3 shortens the proceedings by one intermission, but Engaged still clocks in at approximately 2¼ hours.

THUMBNAIL SKETCH: The action takes place in the 1870s, in a cottage garden on the English-Scottish border, and in the drawing room of a London town house. The plot, quite convoluted, revolves around Cheviot Hill, a slick young Londoner of means, his flames, family and friends. Cheviot seems able to fall passionately in love with every pretty girl that crosses his path, and proposes to all of them in the course of the show! The various complications involve money--who has it, who doesn't, and how vital, sustaining incomes will shift if one thing or another does or doesn't happen. It's quite involved, but needs no further explanation here.

THE CAST: Happily, there are no clunkers in the cast of 10. Neal Moeller's lively, mercurial Cheviot drives the production admirably. Diane Curley, Jacqueline Raymond and Megan Callahan are all quite appealing as the major love interests,  with Ms. Raymond's Minnie, a curious blend of guile, ambition and baby talk, and Ms. Callahan's Maggie, the rustic but resourceful Lowland Lassie, particularly mirth-provoking. Chris Standart has a funny cameo as the choleric Major McGillicuddy, a jilted older suitor. There are a few problems here with regard to the actors' ages. Curley and Raymond don't give the impression of cohorts (which they are supposed to be), and Darlene Pickering Hummert and Jim Maloy look more like the grandparents than the parents of their respective stage offspring. A minor quibble.

PRODUCTION VALUES: Engaged gets off to a fairly slow start because of its complicated set-up, then trips along merrily, under Pezzimenti's sure directorial hand. The cast handle their Scottish and English accents without difficulty. The sets are nothing to brag about, with the opening Lowland set particularly cheesy.  On the plus side, there are some lovely period costumes by Chantal Calato, fine wigs and make-up by Susan Drozd, and a few well-selected strains by Tom Makar, to get and keep us in the mood.
 
FINAL THOUGHTS:  A fellow theatergoer appraised this as a trifle, but I believe that he was giving Mr. Gilbert less credit than he deserves. There's frothy comedy here, to be sure, but there is also strong underlying criticism of Victorian society, where love is professed a great deal more than it is practiced, and where, indisputably, the Pound Sterling rules. The uncomfortable similarities to our own materialistic world makes Engaged the truly engaging revival that it is. Thank you, ICTC, for bringing this dusty gem to our attention!

RATING:  FOUR BUFFALOS OUT OF FIVE