Originally, the one in B minor, which Samuel Baron (flute) and Ronald Roseman (oboe) have played delightfully in the past, had been scheduled.

One involves the fact that his sourpuss sister (played delightfully by Charlotte Coleman, the scrappy Scarlett of "Four Weddings and a Funeral") has been mixing depilatory cream in the good china, which in Young's mind establishes her as a rank amateur.

But the actor that steals the show has four legs: Launce's mongrel, Crab, delightfully played by Mr. Peters's own dog, Huckleby.

Standing at every opportunity in the lovers' way is Lionel Drippinwithit (delightfully played by John Gregorio), abetted by his eagerly violent henchman, Max the Thug (Mr. Jennings again, in a winningly Cagneyesque performance).

One of Mr. Hoffman's most amusing visual achievements here is the bustling court of Charles, who is played delightfully by Sam Neill as a whimsical, imperious fellow with a truly regal sense of free time.

Played delightfully by a soloist, Richard Cameron-Wolfe, these excerpts from "Scenes of Childhood," "Magic Chants" and "Silent Music" have a sophisticated view of simplicity that recalls Erik Satie.

The woman, delightfully played by Rowena Cooper, turns out to be a no-nonsense English type who acknowledges the need for practicality over notions of romance.

(A young man is leaving our sanatorium, cleared of leprosy, we see him go off, with delightfully played march) This was one of the tanka poems recited before the Emperor and Empress of Japan next January.

The colloquy is misguided by an airhead talk-show hostess (delightfully played by Joanne Camp).

Then there is the contentment only an innocent time warp can afford, with a line like "A steady is forever," said by Kim, the teen-ager to be kissed (delightfully played by Susan Egan), to her boyfriend, Hugo (Steve Zahn, aquiver with hormonal overdrive).