The Pearl Theatre Company returns to Restoration comedy with “The Constant Couple,” a seldom-seen 1699 comedy by George Farquhar (“The Beaux’ Strategem”), which opened last night. But though director Jean Randich and the Pearl’s resident actors have done a creditable job of dusting off Farquhar’s rarely produced romp, “The Constant Couple” offers few of the sidesplitting laughs that made the Pearl’s 2005 rediscovery of Wycherley’s “The Gentleman Dancing Master” a triumph. Unlike that play, “The Constant Couple” might safely be returned to the drawer as an amusing and skillful — but unexceptional — specimen of Restoration comedy.

Farquhar’s plot, which involves more than a dozen characters in a jolly roundelay of intrigues and misunderstandings, is classic Restoration comedy. Scenes are essentially quick skirmishes in a war between the sexes, which is waged with gusto by the bitter Lady Lurewell (Rachel Botchan) against a quartet of suitors: the oversensitive Colonel Standard (John Pasha), dirty old man Alderman Smuggler (Dominic Cuskern), a religious hypocrite called Vizard (David L. Townsend), and the free-spirited Sir Harry Wildair (Bradford Cover). Meanwhile, the villainous Vizard is plotting against his rivals for Lady Lurewell’s affections; in the play’s funniest subplot, Vizard sends the good-hearted but dim Sir Harry to a “brothel” that turns out to be the aristocratic home of his virtuous young cousin Angelica (Jolly Abraham).

Ms. Randich’s production draws much of its amusement from the adroit casting of a few lively actors in a few juicy roles. Mr. Cover, a well-known face at the Pearl, adds to his repertoire of deliciously broad characters with his smashing Sir Harry, a princely fellow who abides by that highest of Restoration codes: to live merrily and well without taking himself too seriously. Striding robustly across the stage, pronouncing Sir Harry’s inanities with utter conviction, Mr. Cover has a wonderfully disarming way of laying bare the childlike conclusions of Sir Harry’s mind. As an actor, Mr. Cover lets his audience in on every joke at his character’s expense — without appearing for an instant to be in on the joke himself.

In the minor role of Clincher, a country cousin freshly arrived in the city and inadvertently caught up in the fray, Sean McNall uses his droll wit to spark his handful of scenes. The crackle of his stage persona is a welcome arrival in a play laden with setups and complications.

Harry Feiner’s simple set consists entirely of bare planks used to create a floor, walls, and flanking partitions reminiscent of horses’ stalls. On the spare stage, Ms. Randich establishes various locales quickly, with a minimum of fuss. For atmosphere, there are costumes (a curious mix of old and new styles, and not a wholly persuasive one) and the lighting instruments, which are occasionally dropped from the rafters and operated from the sidelines by costumed extras. And there are musical interludes, sung by the cast members — like the handheld lights, an idea more felicitous in theory than in its execution.

Under Ms. Randich’s quick-paced direction, the merry-go-round spins well enough, occasionally throwing off a prescient notion about gender relations. Then Mr. Cover or Mr. McNall comes onstage, and one glimpses the possibilities of the genre and recognizes how fleetingly “The Constant Couple” capitalizes on them.

Solid as its mechanics are, “The Constant Couple” feels like the sort of comedy that was probably produced by the yard at one time in Restoration England. Rescuing a sound play from obscurity, as the Pearl has done here, is noble work. But as any fan of Restoration comedy will tell you, noble acts pale in comparison with uproarious fun.

Until December 23 (80 St. Mark’s Place, between First and Second avenues, 212-598-9802).