SOUTH PORTLAND – The Portland Players are presenting a comedy, “The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife,” in March and early April at the theater at 420 Cottage Road.

In this social satire, a wealthy Upper West Side maven copes with the unwieldy demands of a distracted husband, a kvetching mother and the mysterious arrival of a strangely familiar face.

The play by Charles Busch enjoyed a successful run on Broadway, starring Portland’s own Linda Lavin, as the well-meaning, but neurotic and suicidal Marjorie. She is a woman who seems to have everything but happiness.

She has a successful husband whose dermatology practice keeps him busy, a beautiful apartment in Manhattan and plenty of time to enjoy. However, Marjorie lacks purpose and self-esteem.

Her cries for help seem lost on her mother, Frieda, who is ever present at their dinner table with her complaints of bad health and problems with her bowels.

The comedy takes a turn when Lee appears on the scene. After a seemingly accidental meeting, she turns out to be from the old neighborhood before moving on to the round of celebrities that she says she knows.

Lee oozes self-confidence and sex appeal. She seems to take complete control of the hapless and the happily willing Marjorie, to the chagrin of husband and mother.

The situations get more and more complex and more and more amusing. The laughs are many, but the comic turns are definitely for the adults in the family. Sexual high jinks and risqué language with double meanings preclude a family experience.

Performances are Friday, March 19, to Sunday, April 4. They will be at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, at 2:30 p.m. Sundays. A special performance at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, April 3, will benefit the Joe Thomas Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Tickets are $17, with a $2 discount for students and seniors. Opening night tickets are $14. On Sunday, March 21, tickets for students through high school are $5. Call 799-7337, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

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