The Hilberry Theatre, the graduate theatre of Wayne State University in Detroit, continues is 1998-99 season with the Nov. 13 opening of Moliere's Scapin.

The slapstick intrigue, based on stock characters of commedia dell'arte, involves a clever servant's response to kidnapings, parted lovers and foreigners. Scapin continues in repertory with Hamlet, The Mousetrap and A Tale of Two Cities through Feb. 3, 1999.

Professor-director Blair Anderson directs the comedy featuring Fred Shahadi in the title role.

The Hilberry is one of the nation's only graduate theatre companies to present a seven-show season in rotating repertory. Among its graduates are Max Wright (Lincoln Center's Twelfth Night, Ivanov) and Jeffrey Tambor (TV's "The Larry Sanders Show").

Tickets are $10-$17. The Hilberry is at Cass and Hancock on the WSU campus in Detroit. Call (313) 577-2972. *

Also in the Hilberry season:

The Mousetrap through Dec. 3

Hamlet through Jan. 22, 1999

A Tale of Two Cities, adapted from Dickens, Dec. 11-March 4, 1999

Light Up the Sky, by Moss Hart, Feb. 12-April 1, 1

The Playboy of the Western World, by John Millington Synge, March 12-May 8, 1999

American Enterprise, by Jeffrey Sweet, April 16-May 15, 1999

-- By Kenneth Jones