In real life, trying to breathe new life into a faltering marriage is not-so-funny. But in the hands of veteran comedy writers Earl Barret, Arne Sultan and Ray Cooney, the subject of Wife Begins at Forty takes on hilarious proportions as the protagonists in a ho-hum relationship navigate the rocky road to reconciliation.

Remember Get Smart? It might date you to admit it but it will also make you smile. Earl Barret and Arne Sultan both worked on this satirical 1960s TV series, while Barret had a hand as a freelancer in Bewitched, Sanford and Son, Bob Newhart and My Three Sons.

Director and actor Glen Bowser, whose recent directing credits in Hudson include Ned Durango Comes to the Big Oak, Same Time Next Year, Opening Night, and Steel Magnolias, is enthusiastic about the cast.

“We’ve got a dream ensemble for this delightful comedy that was a success in London’s West End. I’m sure audiences are going to have a good laugh relating to the all-too-familiar family challenges the characters are confronted with in this story.”

For Hudson Village Theatre’s summer season finale, well-known director Nicholas Pynes brings the Theatre Lac Brome production of The 39 Steps to HVT. Richard Hannay plays the role of the spy-on-the run that some may remember from Alfred Hitchcock’s film of the same title. Patrick Barlow adapted that film to the stage.

Though the script is faithful to the film, the performance holds surprises.

Hint: the actors will lose weight by the end of the run.

Wife Begins at Forty runs from July 9 to 27 and The 39 Steps from August 13 to 24. Information and tickets: 450-458-2743, or villagetheatre.ca.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skPWOPTjsv8