A cute, warm-hearted adaptation, Jocelyn Bioh’s Merry Wives grabs Shakespeare by the breeches and bum-rushes him into the 21st century and the boisterous mix of Harlem’s West African community. There is no question that this apparently American-born-and-bred cast does a stellar job with them, but there is also no question that it’s often hard to catch some of the language Bioh has so painstakingly preserved. The other issue here is just how well a Shakespearian farce translates into Reynolds’s take on the West African theater tradition, which embraces a certain flavor of comical bombast and melodrama. There are a few too many plottings and ill-fated assignations between the wives and Falstaff, and a less-than-compelling romantic subplot featuring a tangle among the single set. Merry Wives (★★★☆☆) runs through Oct. 5 at the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Harman Hall, 610 F St. NW.