It tells the story of a husband and wife, Gwen and Harry Harris, who are going through a rough financial period.

He’s a Madison Avenue advertiser on the verge of filing for bankruptcy. She’s unemployed and looking for a job in the publishing world. They’re (very) recent empty nesters, as their children are off on vacation, their daughter to Paris and their son to Nairobi.

Their future depends on whether or not he’ll land a big contract from a Midwest yeast company whose founder has a reputation as a man with a “strict moral compass.”

That man, Wilbur Wilberforce, decides to drop in on the couple unexpectedly (the doorman is carrying on with a widow, so he’s able to walk up right to their door). When he arrives, he catches Harry dressed as a woman, an improvised costume for a masquerade ball.

Instead of coming clean, Harry panics and introduces himself as “Hilary.” Things are complicated when Wilberforce takes a liking to Hilary and pursues her relentlessly.

In years past, the community theater has shown a knack for presenting extraordinary plays with smart scripts. Unfortunately, this selection, though it does have some spark, is a bit of a misfire.

The biggest problem is the play itself. It’s too talky, and the dialogue — written by Norman Beim — is stilted, built around quips and bon mots that sometimes work but at other times fall flat. For example, when Gwen tells Harry about being sexually harassed at a job interview, he reacts with a few wisecracks. It’s almost as if the characters were built around the jokes, not the other way around.

There is some fun to be had with the idea of a man passing himself off as a woman, and it is here that the play really gets going. But compared with the long exposition, this payoff itself is a bit short and comes to an abrupt conclusion.

Just as the characters are about to sit down to a meal, the play fast-forwards to the next morning as the couple sit on a couch and talk about what happened at the dinner. The playwright could have mined the dinner for laughs. Instead, we get just more talking.

The actors — Marilyn Wolfe and Haig Koshkarian as Gwen and Harry and John Fojtik as Wilberforce — are all new to the PowPAC stage.

They seemed to have trouble remembering their lines on opening night, but that’s something that could likely be corrected during the course of the production. Otherwise, they were able to pull off some of the comedy well.

There are some strong laughs and some comical moments, and some people appeared to be enjoying themselves during an opening night performance.

The play is directed by Kate Hewitt and produced by Debbie David and Lynn Wolsey.

The theater is located at 13250 Poway Road. Performances are at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $15 for general admission, $13 for students, seniors and active members of the military.

For reservations, call 858-679-8085. For more information, go to www.powpac.org.