Stratford Festival great and Theatre Hall of Famer Brian Bedford is considered as a master of Shakespeare and Moliere's comedies. Feb. 21 April, he'll bring his expertise to Los Angeles' Mark Taper Forum, where Bedford will direct and perform in The Moliere Comedies, that is, both The School for Husbands and The Imaginary Cuckold.

Richard Wilbur translated the two classic Moliere comedies. In Husbands, the over-protective Sganarelle has some strange ideas about how to raise a woman to be the perfect wife, but his young bride to-be has other designs. A Sganarelle also appears in The Imaginary Cuckold as well, but this one is a loutish provincial, who, when outraged at his wife's supposed affair, causes more trouble than the perceived misdoing.

A nearly 20 season vet at Canada's Stratford Festival, Bedford has played thirty some lead roles including Elyot Chase in Private Lives, Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing, Martin Dysart in Equus and Antonio Salieri in Amadeus. In New York, he starred in Much Ado About Nothing, London Assurance, The Moliere Comedies, Timon of Athens and Two Shakespearean Actor, winning a Tony Award for The School of Wives.

Also in the cast are Anna Belknap, Patricia Conolly, Jerry Kernion, Jeff Klein, Katie MacNichol, Don Reilly, Ned Schmidtke and Erik Sorenson.

Designing The Moliere Comedies are Ming Cho Lee (sets), Jane Greenwood (costumes), Robert Wierzel (lighting) and Jon Gottlieb (sound). Karl Fredrik Lundeberg will compose the original score. Tickets can be purchased by calling (213) 628-2772. The Mark Taper Forum is located at 135 N. Grand Ave. and on the web at http://www.taperahmanson.com.

— By Christine Ehren