`The Arabian Nights,” the production that solidified Mary Zimmerman’s reputation as a director of rare and happy gifts, has returned to Chicago this month for an encore presentation that is more mature and yet as fresh and innocent as it was when Lookingglass Theatre Company premiered it in 1992.
In its current home in the Steppenwolf Theatre Studio, the production appears even more opulent and elegant than it did the first time around, thanks to the new shadings of T.J. Gerckens’ lighting, the perfect costumes of Allison Reeds and the set design of velvet drapes and oriental rugs by Daniel Ostling.
The majority of the actors in the present ensemble are Lookingglass veterans who do not appear to have aged at all in five years, but who seem to have acquired a world of storytelling expertise in their vocal and physical performances.
The rest of the cast, including Naama Potok as Scheherezade and Adam Dunnheisser as the ruthless king she enchants, fits in seamlessly with the others, effortlessly turning themselves into lovers, lunatics, animals, acrobats, musicians and singers as the tales demand.
Zimmerman’s adaptation of the 1,001 nights of Scheherezade’s stories, meanwhile, has lost none of its theatrical magic. (She also has toned down the jarring contemporary note of the Persian Gulf War that marked the ending of the original production.)
Once again, the balletic athleticism of the actors is amazing. Once again, the tinkle of cymbals and thump of drums precisely punctuate the romances. Once more, the ache of love and the pain of betrayal turn almost palpable in the actors’ hands.
There are many moments of laughter in the play, especially when Andrew White reprises his portrayal of poor Abu-al-Hasan, that unhappy man with the flatulence problem.
But for most of the production’s 2 1/2 hours, there is total silence from the audience, which is as engrossed and enraptured with the stories as is King Shahryar.
In an ensemble of virtuoso display, a few special moments stand out: A slow, rhythmic river journey accompanied by a soft, sweet chorale; an almost unbearably plaintive song of true love, piercingly delivered by Doug Hara; and the joyous explosion of the entire cast in a brilliant condensation and overlapping of exotic tales.
This is a “Nights” to remember.
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“The Arabian Nights”
When: Through Jan. 4
Where: Lookingglass Theatre Company at Steppenwolf Theatre Studio, 1650 N. Halsted St.
Phone: 312-335-1650
