Many married people have probably contemplated at one time or another what their lives would be like if they were suddenly single.

The prospects provide a most engaging premise in Oyster Mill Playhouse's current production of J.B. Priestly's British comedy "When We Are Married."

Written in the 1930s, the clever script has so well withstood the test of time, it is amazing that it has not become a staple of the stage.

And the caliber of Oyster Mill's production, under the expert direction of Stephen F.J. Martin, further heightens the play's appeal.

Martin has gotten the most out of a talented cast, including such veteran actors as Marcie Warner and Joyce O'Donnell, who, after a too-lengthy hiatus, returns to the stage as a feisty charwoman who likes her liquor and won't be put in what some consider to be her place.

Some years ago, O'Donnell shared the Oyster Mill stage with Martin as he made his fine acting debut in the otherwise all-female, tap-dancing cast of "Stepping Out."

Since then, Martin has steadily risen to greater challenges of acting (stepping into the major role of Councilor Albert Parker as a last-minute replacement while directing and constructing a gorgeous set).

Martin's performance as the stodgy and stingy, self-made societal arbiter of acceptability superbly sets the tone for the unraveling of upper-crust respectability. Parker and his wife, along with two other well-positioned couples, wed on the same day, learn while celebrating their silver anniversaries that they have been just living together for the past 25 years, and that they're not really married.

Other members of the cast do a splendid job in their portrayals of the scandalized socialites. Brian J. McAfee plays off Martin exceptionally well in the role of Alderman Joe Helliwell, and Rick Dibello is entertaining as the henpecked Herburt Soppitt, who gets a new lease on life with his newfound freedom. The trio are endearing as they are transformed from smug self-righteousness to naughty little boys trying to keep the revelation of their marital status from their "wives."

Warner's effective portrayal of Clara Soppitt, who does the pecking, is offset by Karen Anne Lloyd's healthy dose of male-bashing as Annie Parker, who has been stifled for far too many years by a husband who smugly proclaims, "Nobody knows better than me what you'd like."

And Mary Gutierrez delivers a moving performance conveying the hurt and inner strength of Maria Helliwell.

Several other colorful characters fit in nicely, including Melissa Markovic as the haughty former mistress of one of the husbands, Joe Frasetta as the imbibing newspaper cameraman sent to photograph the anniversary celebration, Meg Davis as the self-assured young maid and Daniel J. Kostelec as the "la-dee-dah" chapel organist who causes a tizzy among the supposed respectable society folk with his "pink shirts, knitted ties and creases in his trousers" and who has been seen out late at night gallivanting with girls.

Exquisite period costumes and hairstyles add visual allure to a production that cunningly exposes what lies beneath the surface of respectability and gives both genders their due as it underscores important truths about relationships on its way to a picture-perfect ending.