When a 17th century play feels fresh, contemporary and accessible, without having to modernize the setting or pull any other tricks, you know a production is on to something. Enter Shakespeare Theatre Company's production of Moliere's Don Juan.

The Don Juan legend is fairly commonplace at this point: rich lord seduces the ladies, over and over again, without regrets, and ultimately has to answer for his indiscretions. Directed and translated by Stephen Wadsworth, the new script relies on familiar cliches and idioms while still managing to transport us to another time and place. Authentic costumes and makeup help keep us in the 1600s, as does a cast who pretends the king himself is in our audience - a clever opening monologue alludes to the king's generosity as a patron, and hurried cries of "Long live the king!" interrupt the text at random, particularly when the script has just offered a sharp, satirical barb. It's a funny and convincing illusion, though it gets a little repetitive by show's end.

Don Juan is anchored by its title character (Jeremy Webb) and his loyal but disapproving servant, Signarelle (Michael Milligan). Webb's Don Juan is fast-talking and flamboyant, and Webb brings the same air of mischievousness to his attempts to seduce a country girl as he does to the raucous dancing curtain call that closes the show; he's a magnetizing force. Milligan, though often the show's conscience, is also its comic relief, and we identify with both his admiration and ultimate disgust for Don Juan. Signarelle's many asides (he grumbles about, among other things, his master's reluctance to pay him his wages) further endear him to the audience. The best part about watching these two in action is marveling at the expert, frenetic energy they exude as they rapidly deliver the script's tongue-twisting, pattering speeches; there's a strong temptation to applaud at the close of many breathless monologues.

Though servant and master remain the show's focus, they are backed by a group of worthy supporting players; Francesca Faridany in the dual roles of Don Juan's wife and the wife's brother, captures Donna Elvira's haughty sense of betrayal and contrasting genuine worry for the state of her husband's soul, while investing Don Alonso with a fiery vengeance. Laurence O'Dwyer's comic timing in the aforementioned opening monologue is right on target, while he brings a more solemn, resigned air to Don Juan's disappointed father, Don Luis.

The set is often grand, with lots of little tricks to add emphasis, from a moving wooden platform which aids Don Juan and Signarelle as they walk through the forest, philosophizing along the way, and a gloomy, imposing statue, which to elaborate on further would ruin its impact.

Don Juan serves up some social commentary with its more histrionic pleasures; it has a lot to say about the evils of hypocrisy, above all other vices. It's a production that impresses, delivers laughs and even resonates a little in the process. Don Juan runs through March 19 at the Shakespeare Theatre.