Local theatergoers know that Rosina Reynolds is one of our treasures, and we’re awash in fresh evidence of her value. “Don’t Dress for Dinner,” the laugh fest she directed last fall for the North Coast Rep, has just opened a return engagement there, even as, a few miles down I-5, Reynolds continues her onstage sauciness in another farce, Cygnet’s “Noises Off,” at the Old Town Theatre.

Having missed the first run of “Don’t Dress,” I was elated to see a reprise back on the Rep schedule. And its reopening demonstrated why its earlier stint earned all that acclaim. Reynolds’ tack-sharp cast smoothly returns to form, supplying precision timing and the verbal and physical gymnastics necessary to make a well-executed farce so much fun.

“Dress” was written by French playwright Marc Camoletti as a sequel to his better-known work “Boeing Boeing,” which also became a hit film. Both feature pals Bernard and Robert, and their complications with mistresses. Robin Hawdon did the adept translation, which brings most of the puns into English but keeps the setting near Paris (probably because aspects of the plot hinge on frequent train arrivals) and the monetary unit the franc.

The setup has Bernard, expecting wife Jacqueline to visit her mother, invite his mistress, Suzanne, to his home for the weekend. As a cover, he’s also asked Robert to discreetly join them and has planned a lavish catered meal. Jacqueline, however, discovers that Robert is coming and wants to stay, ostensibly because he’s a friend who was best man at their wedding. But — quelle surpise! — he’s actually her secret lover. Then it turns out that the cook being sent by the caterer is named Suzette, which, as you can guess, leads to her arrival being confused with Suzanne‘s.

Then — with both marital mates trying to conceal their infidelities, Robert mired in the middle with his own secret and Suzette willing to go along with any deception for enough money — Suzanne shows up, looking distinctly unlike a cook.

Any further description of the plot would require the writing-aid software that keeps track of characters and who-knows-what-when. Just know that the lies, fueled by alcohol, grow wilder and more convoluted, joyfully underscored by the Suzies’ shifting personae. Naturally, plot devices appear as needed, like the discovered receipt for an expensive women’s coat and the unexpected second-act appearance of Suzette’s large (and jealous) husband.

For what it’s worth, the household, capably rendered in Marty Burnett’s set, is a former cow barn, a contrivance that allows Chris Luessmann to add some barnyard noises to a sound design most notable for its lively scene-introducing songs.

The talented ensemble handles almost all the words and actions skillfully, with a climactic highlight: Christopher M. Williams, as Robert, displays amazing enunciation and memorization in a lengthy, speedy and detailed “explanation” of the evening’s frauds. He and Phil Johnson, as Bernard, spend most of the play in a physical and emotional frenzy, trying to cover up lies with bigger lies. Matt Thompson, as the late-arriving husband, neatly mixes bewilderment and menace.

Amanda Sitton takes Suzanne through an emotional gamut -- sexy, baffled, vengeful and whatever -- with a delightfully mobile body and face. (Extra credit to Reynolds or whoever worked Sitton’s real-life wrist cast into the onstage happenings.) Lisel Gorell-Getz is expressively reactive and conspiratorial as Jacqueline, and Jacque Wilke handles Suzette’s many characterizations with comedic versatility. All the women benefit from Michelle Hunt Souza’s costumes, particularly Sitton and Gorell-Getz in sexy lingerie and Wilke in a convertible kitchen outfit/party dress..

As an extra incentive to see “Don’t Dress,” NCR artistic director David Ellenstein announced that, because a Broadway version is in the works, the regional rights to stage the play have been made unavailable. So this production, he says, is the last chance to see it before Broadway.

Cast and credits