THEATER

BUTTON UP AND GET DOWN For a contemporary playwright, Amy Freed spends a lot of time in the past. With her brainy and hilarious “The Beard of Avon,” she immersed herself in Shakespeare’s life; with “Safe in Hell,” she wrung laughs by reimagining the Salem witch trials. In “Restoration Comedy,” the Pulitzer Prize finalist tries her hand at, well, a 21st-century version of Restoration comedy, the bawdy, lighthearted form that emerged in England in the 17th century, intended as a release from the moral grip of Puritan society. “Restoration Comedy,” from 2005, makes its New York premiere in a benefit reading for the Red Bull Theater, which is devoted to showing contemporary plays that harken to classical styles and themes. It’s an amalgam of two proper Restoration comedies, John Vanbrugh’s “The Relapse” and Colley Cibber’s “Love’s Last Shift”: The main character, Loveless, deserts his wife, Amanda, in London for 10 years as he debauches his way across Europe. Tired of sowing his seed, he returns to England, where his wife continues to pine for him. Loveless’s best friend, Worthy, tells Loveless that Amanda is dead, in order to get Loveless to ultimately reconnect with his wife. Throughout all of this, Worthy himself is in love with Amanda. Directed by Jesse Berger, the reading features Michael Urie (best known as Marc on the television show “Ugly Betty”) and Reg Rogers (of Broadway’s “Holiday” and “The Dazzle”). A cocktail reception with the playwright, director, and actors follows the reading. Tonight, 7:30 p.m., Red Bull Theater, 423 W. 46th St., between Ninth and Tenth avenues, 212-352-3101, $100 for reading and reception, $250 for VIP party, reading, and reception.

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