‘ ‘ ‘ Who knew the 17th century could produce a bedroom comedy? ‘ ‘ ‘ Apparently, Don… ‘ ‘ ‘ Who knew the 17th century could produce a bedroom comedy? ‘ ‘ ‘ Apparently, Don Wadsworth did. Wadsworth, professor of voice and speech at Carnegie Mellon’s School of Drama will direct his students in a performance of Terry Johnson’s adaption of Edward Ravencroft’s ‘The London Cuckolds,’ written in 1681. ‘ ‘ ‘ The show centers around ‘three very wealthy, middle-aged husbands in their 50s who want young, beautiful wives as their eye candy for the world but are scared they’ll be stolen away by other men ‘mdash; which they should be,’ said Wadsworth.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Each husband thinks he’s found the way to keep his wife from straying, but each is wrong. Three bachelors arrive on the scene, tempting the women with infidelity. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘True to farce form, the husbands arrive at the most inopportune times,’ said Wadsworth. ‘ ‘ ‘ Wadsworth, who has worked in the Broadway musical ‘The Pirate Queen’ and the recent Pittsburgh-set movie, ‘Smart People,’ knew the sex-fueled farce had to make its way to Carnegie Mellon. ‘ ‘ ‘ Wadsworth first encountered the show while teaching in London. He saw Johnson’s adaption performed at the Royal National Theatre in 1998. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I sat there with my jaw on the floor and thought, ‘This belongs at a university.’ Then I was lucky enough to get it at CMU.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ In casting the show, Wadsworth, who’s been with the university since 1990, wanted each performer to play his own age. In order to do so, three School of Drama faculty members will play the part of the crotchety old husbands. As for the rest of the characters, Wadsworth looked for male performers who were ‘believable, but in a comic way ‘mdash; not so much a romantic way. For the women, we had to marry up their qualities. They have quite distinct personalities.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ One such persona is Arabella, played by Ryah Nixon, a senior musical theatre major at CMU. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘She is a quick witted, sassy, bawdy, young wife to a much older man who provides me with wealth and security. You can consider her the ‘Desperate Housewife’ of all the wives ‘mdash; expensively dressed and flirty with the unattached men,’ said Nixon. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Because this is an extremely physical farce, some of the challenges we’ve faced have been making our movements extremely precise and well-rehearsed,’ said Nixon. ‘Towards the end of this rehearsal process we’ve felt really ready for an audience- we cannot wait to see where and when people laugh, and how some of the different scenes will play out. ‘ ‘ ‘ Making a 17th-century play seem modern is no easy task. Wadsworth explained that while the silhouette of the show still feels like a period piece, there are modern touches that make ‘The London Cuckolds’ appealing to today’s audience, including original music created for the scene changes. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I like the funny, classical stuff. It’s scary as anything to do, but I love it,’ said Wadsworth. Making the show even more challenging is the script’s lack of stage directions. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘As you watch the show, anything produced on stage is the product of this group. During rehearsal we’d think, ‘What is the funniest way we can do this?” ‘ ‘ ‘ Those interested in learning more about the production of the show can attend a talkback with the cast and crew following next Tuesday evening’s performance. The talkback is part of a recent initiative for the School of Drama, which wants to give a ‘chance for anyone interested in knowing the backstage.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ But if the world of 1681 seems too esoteric to watch, let alone talk about, worry not. Although a long time has passed since the script was originally penned ‘mdash; 328 years ‘mdash; the story still retains the same fundamentals that can relate to people from this century. ‘People think that because it is a ‘restoration’ piece that they will have a hard time understanding the heightened text, but it’s the exact opposite with this piece, ‘ said Nixon. ‘ ‘ ‘ Wadsworth agreed. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘It was very popular in its time because it’s very funny and very physical, but it’s tricky to present to a modern audience because of the language. When [playwright] Terry Johnson revamped the show, he pared it down, streamlined it to two hours and 15 minutes. Now it’s not so filled with ‘Egads!’ and doesn’t feel archaic.’