Jim O’Brien is Sir Robert Chiltern and Jeanine Kane is Mrs. Cheveley in the Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre production of Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband.

Peter Goldberg

PAWTUCKET — There’s no such thing as An Ideal Husband. But there’s a good showing of at the Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre.

This new production of Oscar Wilde’s 1895 play about (you guessed it) the notion of an ideal husband, which opened on Monday, is well acted and directed. It’s also well set. And it’s nicely condensed, reducing the original cast of 15 to 8.

However, to approach ideal, more could be cut from this two-act 2 1/2 hour production, which has some terrific comedic and dramatic moments. But it also has downtime, indulgent dialogue, in that Wilde sort of way, that prolongs the plot.

The story is of greed and blackmail, of political corruption and personal comportment. At the center of the story is Sir Robert Chiltern. He’s a member of England’s House of Commons, who’s revered by his wife, Lady Chiltern, who regards him as the perfect politician and the perfect person.

With such lofty expectations, there’s only one way for Robert Chiltern to go: down. And getting caught in a swindle can help bring that about.

Robert Chiltern is played by Jim O’Brien, who shows very good dramatic and comedic range. At times he’s a straight-faced dolt. And at other times, he’s an impassioned and incensed, deeply hurt human.

Lady Chiltern, played by Casey Seymour Kim, is initially demure and doting toward her husband, but then devastated to learn that her base assumption about him, namely that he’s a perfect person, is wrong.

“Robert must be above reproach. He must be above other men.”

Selling a state secret to an investor about the purchase of the Suez Canal put Robert Chiltern beneath other men. Lady Chiltern can’t believe her husband would do such a thing. But a purloined letter from long ago, obtained by a Mrs. Cheveley, proves it, and fuels Cheveley’s case for blackmail.

Cheveley, played by Jeanine Kane, is a kind of Cruella de Vil character: severe, insidious, evil and imperious, conniving and otherwise just plain bad. In exchange for not publicly disclosing the letter, Cheveley demands Robert Chiltern publicly support a money-making scheme to build a canal in Argentina.

When Robert Chiltern is confronted by Cheveley, he’s angry and agitated, which O’Brien portrays in a convincingly restrained way. But a little later, when his wife confronts him on the same subject, his restraint is gone. O’Brien explodes into gripping outrage that’s marked, of course, by anger, but also by insight, which poignantly summarizes the point of the play.

“Why can’t you women love us, faults and all? Why do you place us on monstrous pedestals?”

Acting as intermediary between the characters is Lord Göring, friend of Robert Chiltern and former fiancé of Cheveley. He is played by Tony Estrella, the Gamm’s artistic director, who portrays the character in a debonair and suave manner.

The plot of An Ideal Husband is of many subplots: a sinister story involving Cheveley; a story of love possibly coming undone between the Chilterns; and a story of love possibly being found by Göring, who is drawn to Mabel Chiltern, the sister of Robert Chiltern, played by Karen Carpenter as simple and unsophisticated and unburdened by deep thoughts.

Most of the humor, however, comes from other sources. The Earl of Caversham, played by Alan Hawkridge, is a little too high strung, prone to bouts of sneezing and demands his son, Lord Göring, marry. Lady Markby, played by Irene Handren, is a friend of the family, and a friend to liquor. And Phipps, played by R. Bobby, is Göring’s butler, who’s bemused by his madcap attempt to resolve all issues in the play at once.

Probably the most amusing moments in the play are the cases of misunderstanding, where Göring and Robert Chiltern talk about a woman who’s in the next room, not realizing that they’re talking about different women. And Robert Chiltern, an otherwise bright man, conveniently misconstrues a letter from his wife to another man; and the scene is made funny not by the people talking, Mr. and Mrs. Chiltern, but by the one who’s not. Judith Swift, the director, has Göring make exaggerated gestures and facial expressions behind Robert Chiltern as Göring tries to encourage Lady Chiltern what to say.

The story takes place over about 24 hours, and presents a lighthearted portrayal of men and women, of what unites and divides us.

“Nowadays people marry as often as they can, don’t they?” Lady Markby says. “It is most fashionable.”

At its essence, the play is about finding personal happiness with another, or without another.

“People are either hunting for husbands, or hiding from them,” Cheveley says.

An Ideal Husband runs at the Sandra Feinstein-Gamm, 172 Exchange St., Pawtucket, through Dec. 7. For performance dates, times and tickets, $24 to $39, call (401) 723-4266 or visit www.arttixri.com.