The Cerritos College department of theatre exhibited Seventeenth Century sitcoms last Friday at the Burnight Studio Theatre.

Staff and students beautifully portrayed the two comedies, The School for Husbands and The Imaginary Cuckold, by Moliere.

Directed by Robin Huber, the plays were impressively displayed with perfect harmony between actors, costume, make-up, and scene design.

The first piece “The School for Husbands” featured Sganarelle (Alan Schneider), an overprotective guardian of a young orphaned girl who he hopes to take for his wife.

His older brother, Ariste (Ken Rugg), is guardian of the girl’s sister, however , he has different values for raising her. While Sganarelle cages his bride to be, Ariste feels the girls should be allowed to experience life, and make their own decisions.

Isabelle (Celeste Jimenez) becomes tired of her cage and wishes to be free like her sister Leonor (Kim Silver). As the play progresses we find that Isabelle has fallen in love with Valere (Christopher Alvarado) her neighbor who wishes to steal the young girl from her ties with Sganarelle.

The main characters seem to lack proper reason, which is counterbalanced by the two servants, Lisette (Renee Duron) and Ergaste (Gus Ruiz) who appear to be the driving force behind the characters.

The second piece, “The Imaginary Cuckold”, revolves around Sganarelle (Jonathan Grey) who suspects his wife of cheating. The play opens with Celie (Yezmin Bernal) arguing with her father, Gorgibus (John Madden), over her betrothed marriage to an unwanted man.

Sganarelle is walking in front of his home when Celie faints in despair and he helps her into her home. When Sganarelle’s wife (Katherine Jones) finds the locket of Celie’s true love her husband becomes suspicious of infidelity.

Lelie (Alejandro Escoto), Celie’s love, then returns to reclaim his wife and he grows ill, he is helped into the house of Sganarelle by his wife. Watching from afar Celie becomes jealous and is enraged to find her love to be unfaithful. The ordeal is finally put to rest with the help of the even-tempered maid (Diane Christensen) who forces the characters to resolve their issues rationally.

The first play is a comic delight with the help of Christopher Alvarado who plays the flamboyant character Valere. The second piece is a classic comedy of errors with its use of accusation and miscommunication. Both typical of Moliere’s seventeenth century sitcoms.