Can a man of lusty appetites be faithful to one wife?

Playwright Amy Freed presents her answer -- no -- in "Restoration Comedy," which made its Bay Area debut last weekend at the California Shakespeare Theater.

"How great is it to have a new play on stage by a living writer," Jonathan Moscone, CalShakes' artistic director proclaimed at the start of the play.

Freed, the Bay Area author of "Freedomland," "The Beard of Avon" and "Thee Psychic Life of Savages," turned to Restoration England for this comic romp through sexual mores. An intriguing time in England, the public had had its fill of the Puritan reign of Oliver Cromwell and his successor, his son. The return of the "Merry Monarch" Charles II, saw the theaters reopened and women acting on stage for the first time, and the subjects theater teased audiences with were provocative, daring, honest and fun.

Freed recreates the spirit of those times, with an intriguing suggestion of a link to our own, by drawing her new work from two Restoration plays, John Vanbrugh's "The Provoked Wife," and a sequel, "Love's Last Shift," by Colley Cibber.

And it's provocative, daring, honest and most of all, a lot of fun.

Set against a striking and clever black and white set, the story unfolds thus: John Loveless (a spirited Elijah Alexander) returns to London after a prolonged debauch in Paris, having heard that his virtuous wife Amanda (Caralyn Kozlowski) is dead. He is broke and nearly dead himself but raring, nonetheless, to avail himself of new pleasures. He is rescued by his old friend Ned Worthy (Kaleo Griffith) who informs him that his wife is not the least bit dead. Worthy, the most engaging and complex of the characters, also carries the news to Loveless' wife, who dressed in widow's weeds, has been mourning her faithless husband's absence.

With the assistance of Worthy, Amanda embarks on a plot to regain the affection of her husband, by masquerading as woman whose sexual appetites are as voracious as her husband's. Her tutoring session with Worthy to transform her provides one of the work's most delicious and delightful spots; her subsequent scene seducing her enthusiastic husband -- who thinks he's found the woman of his dreams, but doesn't recognize his wife until she introduces herself -- is equally wicked and fun.

The inevitable happens: Loveless is enthralled by his wife alone until her comely relative Berinthia, (an alluring Marcia Pizzo) comes to stay, and he is lost again. Meanwhile the faithful Worthy silently suffers from love for the comely Amanda, who begins to question for herself, the extent of her virtue and resolve: She has been playing an awful lot of piqu with the noble Worthy.

A hilarious subplot revolves around a lunatic, Sir Novelty Fashion (Danny Shei), who by judicious spending of 10,000 pounds, becomes Lord Foppington and seeks to refurbish his fortune by marrying a wealthy county bumpkin, but loses out to his poor but handsome younger brother (Rowan Brooks).

Directed by Sharon Ott, making a return to the Bay Area from Seattle (where this play premiered), the entire cast is nothing short of brilliant, relishing the work and basking in the fun of it all and preening about in the splendid period costumes. The production is a polished as the wit that drives it.

An inventive Ron Campbell appears in at least five roles -- various servants, Sir Tunbelly Clumsy, Parson Bull -- with a priceless hilarity, while Bhama Roget appears in three incarnations including a rich nitwit Narcissa, and a rapacious country girl trying to free herself from her chastity belt. Equally funny is Sharon Lockwood who does double duty as the worldly Hilaria, lady of London and the country nurse.

"Restoration Comedy" will be performed at the CalShakes' Bruns Amphitheater in Orinda through July 30. Tickets ($15 - $57) are available at the Box Office (510) 548-9666 or online at www.calshakes.org.