A Thousand and One Huzzahs

I need to expand my vocabulary.

I need new ways of saying a show is exceptional, unique and an example of the highest level of professionalism a theatergoer can expect to see in Kansas City—or anywhere. That has basically been my response to three of the four productions we’ve seen so far in Eric Rosen’s inaugural season as Kansas City Repertory Theatre’s artistic director.

The latest is Mary Zimmerman’s “The Arabian Nights,” an intoxicating mix of music, imagery, storytelling and heightened theatricality.

One could argue that the piece is too long and that her acknowledgement in the final moments of the cultural destruction wrought by the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq is unnecessary. But you can’t fault the ensemble performance or the sheer audacity of Zimmerman’s vision

The playwright/director gives us a show that is visually mesmerizing, sexy, witty, outrageously comic and, at times, deeply melancholic. More than that, it is a vivid example of what I choose to call “pure theater.” It stimulates the imagination in surprising ways with the most basic of theatrical tools—human beings, a few hand props, judiciously employed musical instruments and atmospheric lighting. All theatre is high-tech anymore but this show embraces a low-tech performance aesthetic that pays big dividends.

Daniel Ostling’s scenic design is so simple but effective that you’re tempted to say the show takes place on a bare stage. It doesn’t, but he creates the illusion of spareness. J.T. Gerckens’ lighting design is crucial in setting the appropriate tone for each episode in a series of tales while Mara Blumenfeld’s costumes bring vivid color to the stage, even as they project a look of simplicity.

The ancient Arabic tales, often translated as The Thousand and One Nights, have been adapted by Zimmerman into modern English, which nonetheless retains a certain old-world formality even in the play’s bawdiest moments.

The premise, of course, is that Scheherzade (Sofia Jean Gomez) is chosen by King Shahryar (Ryan Artzberger) to be his bride. The problem is that he was so traumatized by the betrayal of an earlier wife that he now marries a virgin every night and then murders her—thus eliminating the possibility that she will ever be unfaithful.

So the fast-thinking Scheherezade and her young sister Dunyazade (Stacy Yen) convince the king that she is such a fabulous storyteller that he decides to spare her life for one night. One night becomes two and then three—until at last she has told stories for a thousand nights and by so doing has transformed the king from a homocidial maniac into a rather jovial fellow.

The talented performers act out the tales, sometimes performing a story within a story, moving from one episode to the next in a fluid style that’s almost vaudevillian. Each of the 15 actors enjoys memorable moments. Among the standouts: Ari Brand as the Madman, Allen Gilmore as the Jester, Nicole Shalhoub as the Jester’s Wife, Evan Zes as the gas-passing Abu al-Hasan and Alana Arenas as Sympathy the Learned.

The philosophical view for this show, perhaps like the tales themselves, accepts the world as a place where cruelty, tragic loss and sudden death coexist with passion, buffoonery and a love of life. There’s much wisdom in “The Arabian Nights” and much humor. This is a brainy show that embraces very low comedy at times. I dare you not to laugh out loud.