E-Mail This Article to a Friend Love in Bath The Rivals comes to the Huntington BY IRIS FANGER

Mrs. Malaprop, that "queen of the dictionary," as Sir Lucius O’Trigger calls her; Lydia Languish, the Paris Hilton of the 18th-century stage; Lucy and Fag, the clever servants; and Jack Absolute, master of disguise — all are headed from Bath, England, to the Huntington Theatre. These characters and their friends, who congregate among the landmarks of that trendy 18th-century resort town as pictured in Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s comedy The Rivals, have seldom been off-stage since their 1775 debut at London’s Covent Garden Theater.

One recent night, after a long afternoon rehearsal, Huntington artistic director Nicholas Martin sits with his feet up on his desk to talk about his staging of the play. He has an impish imagination himself, perfectly in tune with the shenanigans of the personages he is guiding to "lusty" creation for the show next up at the Huntington, opening on January 7. "It’s such a bumptious play," he says. "I think it’s because Sheridan was Irish. He is so in love with his characters."

And who can resist the foibles of this bunch? Captain Jack Absolute, heir to the fortune of his father, Sir Anthony Absolute, is in love with Lydia Languish, herself an heiress in possession of 3,000 pounds a year. However, the 17-year-old orphan, shepherded by her marvelous dragon of a word-mangling aunt, Mrs. Malaprop, through the upper-crust society that frequents Bath and its landmarks to see and be seen, affects an inclination to the romance of poverty. She wishes to elope with a handsome but impoverished gentleman — hence Jack Absolute’s alter ego, the ensign Beverly. The plot begins simmering when Sir Anthony and Mrs. Malaprop cook up an agreement to marry Lydia off to Jack, and thickens with the involvement of rivals for her hand: the country boob Bob Acres and Sir Lucius O’Trigger, he of the hasty hand on the sword hilt. In contrast to Lydia’s posing and Jack’s scheming are the — as Martin describes them — "tender, young, and sexy" pair of lovers, Julia and Faulkland.

Martin has pulled together a dream cast for the show, "from my address book, as I usually do." Leading the pack as Mrs. Malaprop is veteran actress Mary Louise Wilson, whom Martin directed in the one-woman tour de force Full Gallop, based on the life of Diana Vreeland. She’s cast opposite the Sir Anthony of Will LeBow, lured from his regular base across the river at the American Repertory Theatre; he also appeared earlier this season in the Huntington production of Sonia Flew. Cheryl Lynn Bowers takes the role of Languish, Scott Ferrara is Jack, Brookline native Mia Barron is Julia, and Gareth Saxe plays Faulkland. "I’ve gone very young for the other roles. These actors are all comers and they all can do the language," Martin says. "They have to speak it quickly and accurately, but the play is not a historic artifact. You’re charged with bringing these people to life."

A scholar of theater history as well as a director, Martin is particularly proud of the score he has chosen, based on Sir Thomas Beecham’s arrangement of Handel’s Love in Bath. "Handel was largely forgotten until the 1950s, when Beecham arranged a series of his pieces," he says. "I’ve wrapped this one into the play." He also "pushed" the costumes, designed by Michael Krass. "I didn’t want them to get too velvety and musty. They’re very bright, Georgian period, but seen through the eyes of a modern audience. The silhouette is historically accurate."

The Rivals, Martin says, is "very much a comedy for today. It’s relevant to the world situation but it fights it. Unlike now, things can end happily. And the problems of the lovers have never changed: the posing, the willingness to play games. However, no one is trying to get anyone into bed. This period is 75 years after the Restoration and more innocent."

The Rivals is at the Huntington Theatre Company, Boston University Theatre, 264 Huntington Avenue in Boston from January 7 to February 6. Tickets are $14 to $69. Call (617) 266-0800 or go to www.huntingtontheatre.org.