Following the final curtain of W. Somerset Maugham’s 1926 comedy “The Constant Wife,” playing at the Old Globe Theatre through May 7, there were two ecstatic Globe Guilders on the Green. (Globe Guilders is a 500-member support auxiliary founded in 1955.)Founding Director Craig Noel last staged “The Constant Wife” at the Globe in 1951. The play is startlingly contemporary in attitude and sensibility. Instead of being martyred as so many women of the era, the titular protagonist exacts delicious revenge. As for the production, Maugham’s verbal dazzle, Ralph Funicello’s lavish set, Lewis Brown’s luscious period costumes, and Seret Scott’s precise and clever staging of the extraordinary company evoke in these particular Guilders ” and admittedly this writer ” paroxysms of nostalgia for the good old days, when such productions were the usual fare at the city’s flagship theatre.The action is set in the drawing room of society physician Dr. John Middleton (Wynn Harmon), who is having an affair with his wife Constance’s (Henny Russell) close friend, Mary Louise (Lara Phillips). The situation is painlessly set up in a magnificent scene played by others ” Globe Associate Artist Kandis Chappell as Constance’s mother, Mrs. Culver, and Heidi Fecht as Martha, Constance’s spinster sister. Barbara Fawcett (Amanda Naughton), a widowed family friend and highly successful interior designer, joins the group. All discuss John’s affair and whether Constance should be told.A “consort battleship” in the true Shavian sense, Constance, 15 years married, already knows about John’s dalliance. Resolutely, she refuses to put credence in what the others say. Meanwhile, she chastely enjoys the attentions of her former beau Bernard (J. Paul Boehmer), who is visiting London for a year. Act I culminates in a memorably played scene in which Marie-Louise’s husband (John Rosen) enters with physical evidence of the affair.In one of the production’s delightful mood-setting innovations, Cris O’Bryon portrays the butler, Bentley, who is enchanted with the gleaming grand piano, which he plays frequently, even accompanying Naughton in a lovely rendition of Irving Berlin’s “The Song Is Ended (But the Melody Lingers On)” at the top of Act II.Each of the actors is masterful. Chappell is scrumptious as Mrs. Culver, a role tailor-made for her mature, extraordinary talent, vocal nuance and subtle humor, all of which play into her charade of matronly wisdom. Russell animates Constance with an inner sparkle and intelligence that make her triumphant revenge even sweeter. Harmon is an absolute stitch when he’s on the pan, limbs akimbo, twitching and start-stop-standing in frustration. It’s a perfect example of how physicality supports character. Phillips is physically engaging as the ditzy, round-heeled Mary-Louise, who sees nothing wrong in satisfying her sexual fancies. Boehmer, a stalwart of the Globe Shakespeare Festival, is convincingly ardent as Bernard.This is a grand, not to be missed production that will be talked about for many years to come. Lovers of theater craft, language and fine acting are urged to attend.”The Constant Wife” continues through May 7, with performances at 7 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday; 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Old Globe Theatre, Balboa Park. Tickets ($19-$59) are available by visiting www.theoldglobe.org or calling (619) 23-GLOBE.