There's a great joke somewhere in the idea of performing a commedia dell'arte play in Beverly Hills. But whether the Pantaloons, Columbines, and Harlequins of Hollywood will find something to laugh at in Theatre 40's The Three Cuckolds remains to be seen. The Leon Katz creation, based on an anonymous commedia dell'arte scenario, will play at the theatre May 30-July 12. Howard Teichman will direct. Katz chose his story from 700 existing plots of the Italian style of improvised comedy, which flourished from the sixteenth to early eighteenth centuries. Cuckolds concerns Arlecchino's devilish assistance of three neighbors who covet each others' wives, and his simultaneous scheme to seduce the women himself.

Katz' other plays included Sonya, Dracula: Sabbat, and the opera based on Gertrude Stein's The Making of Americans. Theatre 40 is at 241 Moreno Drive, Beverly Hills, CA. For information, call (818) 789-8499.

-- By Robert Simonson