A secondary plot underscores the real dilemma of men born after the eldest son. Only the first-born received inheritance under the structure then. To secure income, the rest married for dowry and not for love. The father and son Fashions (Danny Scheie as Sir Novelty and Michael Izquierdo as his scion) bring in this aspect as they pursue Hoydon (McClain again in double-casting that gets a bit confusing). Sheie has a great comic turn as Ms. Freed's recreation of Lord Foppington, a character who in Vanbrugh's Relapse was first played by Colley Cibber, the writer of the play that started the whole affair.

Barricelli is a must-see for fans of classic theater. His performances, which never overshadow, are powered by a rare quality of both detailed mastery and unbridled brio. In Kozlowski, Ms. Freed has lucked into another rare creature. Amanda has been her role in all of the play's first three productions and it is clear why. She convincingly moves from guarded “widow” to pain-inducing temptress. Mr. Frechette's delightfully idiosyncratic delivery gives his Worthy enough quirk to keep him from being too honorable.

Ralph Funicello’s stage-on-stage set is arguably the most fitting scenic design we've seen in this space. In tone and texture it completes the theater’s interior as sincerely as if he’d repaired a wooden bowl. Upon entering the house, there is a sense that he went back to hundred-year-old blueprints to restore the theater to the original look. Its two portals, with second story landings, bring the curve of house balconies through the proscenium and halfway upstage. Its curtains, combining fabric, and painted flat are drawn — pinned and penned — open.

Under York Kennedy’s pre-show lighting, the simple but evocative stage readies the audience for Restoration Comedy's blurring of classic and contemporary periods. Like the baseball fan who arrives before the players take the field, the early arrival at the Old Globe has a contemporary environment upon which to muse on tradition, certainly as far back as the Restoration.

CREDITS  By Amy Freed, directed by John Rando  WITH Marco Barricelli, Chris Bresky, Chip Brookes, Peter Frechette, Cara Greene, Rhett Hinkel, Michael Izquierdo, John Keating, Caralyn Kozlowski, Amelia McClain, Jonathan McMurtry, Aaron Misakian, Danny Scheie, Kimberly Scott, Christa Scott-Reed, Summer Shirey, Kate Turnbull  PRODUCTION Ralph Funicello, set; Robert Blackman, costumes; York Kennedy, lights; Paul Peterson, sound; Michael Roth, music; Diana Moser/Jenny Slattery, stage managementOld Globe Theatre (mainstage), March 8 – April 8, 2007