Old plays, like old jokes, can be just as amusing now as they were when they were first told or performed on stage.

Starting tonight and running through the weekend, the Wichita State School of Performing Arts will present “The Learned Ladies,” a 17th century play by Moliere, that promises to be as funny now as it was then.

“The Learned Ladies” is a comedy of manners, said Bret Jones, director of the play.

“It is poking fun or satirizing people and their use or misuse of knowledge to make them more important than they really are,” Jones said.

Jones said the play focuses on the characters of Clitandre and Henriette, played by junior Steffan Rowe and senior Megan Gill. The two young people want to get married, but Henriette’s mother, aunt and sister don’t think they are a good match and would rather see her married to a poet named Trissotin.

“The whole play is pretty much based on the fact that half the family wants her to marry Clitandre, and the other half wants her to marry Trissotin,” said J. Bailey Burcham, a senior and the show’s assistant director.

Rowe said the ‘learned ladies’ of Henriette’s family provide comic relief because of their fascination with Trissotin and their self-perceived “learned” statuses.

“All the women in the show, with the exception of Henriette, are so focused on learning that several times they say things like they don’t need food, that the only thing they need to nourish is their minds, which is obviously just ridiculous,” Rowe said. “Basically the whole plot of the show is kind of a little bit of a comedy about how ridiculous it is.”

The families find out later that there is more to Trissotin than expected and not in a good way. Burcham said that the play revolves around the same repeating plot, but said the humor keeps it moving.

”Just about every night — and I know the script — I still laugh throughout the entire show, so it’s very, very funny,” Burcham said.

Jones said the play was chosen for its educational experience for theatre students, due to its classical nature, and for the general learning of the community. He said giving the students a variety of classical and contemporary works is important in training them to become professionals. Burcham said there was also another reason for choosing “The Learned Ladies.”

“Something we’ve really been missing in the theater performance department is strong female roles,” Burcham said. “It’s been a lot of guys. So I really thought they chose this one, because it’s giving a lot of powerhouse females a chance to show what they can do.”

Because tickets for WSU students are free, Rowe encouraged everyone to come see the show.

“If people like being entertained, if people like laughing for a couple hours at a time, there’s no reason not to [come],” he said. “You’ll have a blast for a couple hours.”

The show plays at 7:30 p.m. tonight, Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday in Wilner Auditorium.

Tickets can be purchased by calling 978-3233 or going to wichita.edu/fineartsboxoffice. Prices are $10 for the general public, $8 for military, senior citizens or faculty and staff and $6 for students at the door.

Students who get their tickets ahead of time can get one free with their student ID.