Most people would probably imagine a play which involves long discussions of landscape architecture, the life of the poet Lord Byron, the destruction of the ancient Library of Alexandria, Newtonian mechanics, the laws of thermodynamics (I swear I'm not making this up!), Latin phrases, archaeology, fractal geometry, literary research, and grouse hunting (!) to be a confusing bore, but that is absolutely not the case with Tom Stoppard's Arcadia. (1999 Note: Tom Stoppard and Mark Norman won the Oscar® for Best Original Screenplay for Shakespeare in Love.)

Arcadia is one of the funniest plays to hit Los Angeles in years. On stage the actors had to pause time and again while the audience burst out laughing at line after line of incredibly witty dialogue. One may have never thought the "heat death of the universe," the state of ultimate entropy, to be amusing, but it's hard not to laugh hysterically when the cause of the breakdown of the physical universe is demonstrated to be caused by . . . sex — and everything which happens in the play seems to bear out the argument.

The play is set in an English country house, both in April, 1809 and in the present day, with alternating scenes explaining to the audience the mysteries of the present and the past, and their often ridiculously simple explanations in the past and present. For example, a major mystery of the present is known to the audience, but not to the investigators, to be a simple, spontaneous sketch drawn as a joke in 1809; simple notes are luridly re-interpreted; a question on the meaning of the phrase "carnal embrace" leads to numerous misunderstandings in 1809, which eventually have an impact on the present-day characters. (Hint: if you don't speak Spanish or Latin, look up the origin of the word "carnal" to fully appreciate one joke that runs from character to character for almost a quarter of an hour.)

Directed by Robert Egan, this production of Arcadia has an outstanding cast, whose few faults are outweighed by their tremendous vigor and dedication to this difficult-to-perform play. (I mean, after a creaky entrance, could you get a standing ovation for delivering a lecture on fractal geometry? Daniel Zelman managed it as Valentine Coverly. Although some of the "witty" dialogue owes more to Oscar Wilde and Gilbert and Sullivan than to (for instance) Plautus, the cast goes at it with zest and verve. In the 1809 sequences, Angela Bettis (young "Thomasina Coverly"), Douglas Weston (her tutor, "Septimus Hodge") and Kandis Chappell, as "Lady Croom" are particularly funny in the aforementioned "carnal embrace" discussion. Mark Capri and David Manis stand out as the wretched poet, Ezra Chater and as Captain Brice, Lady Croom's brother, who are bamboozled repeatedly by the fast-talking Hodge.

In the present-day scenes, Kate Burton (daughter of the late Richard Burton) and John Vickery are wonderful as the feuding author Hannah Jarvis and her critic Bernard Nightingale, who may or may not be in love with each other, to the chagrin of Valentine Coverly (Hannah's "fiancé") and his sister Chlöe (Suzanne Cryer).

The cast is rounded out by Jefrey Alan Chandler as the loyal (but affordable) butler, Jellaby, and Howard Shangraw as the 19th century landscape architect Richard Noakes, whose redesign of the estate's garden sets the whole string of mysteries and farcical tragedies into motion. Teen television and motion picture star Christopher Masterson plays a dual role: the autistic savant Gus Coverly of the present, and the arrogant hunter and Etonian scholar of 1809, Augustus Coverly, who, we learn, knows a truth which would destroy the career of one of the modern investigators if anyone knew of it. The tortoise also plays a dual role, but is not named in the credits, nor is the rabbit, who only appears in one scene, however.

I am reliably informed that Arcadia has been one of the most widely-produced plays of the past year. Do NOT miss this opportunity to watch a terrific performance by an outstanding cast, right here in Los Angeles. Ticket information may be obtained by calling the Mark Taper box office at (213) 972-0700; group discount information is available at (213) 972-7353 {voice mail option "1"). (Note from the Grand Panjandrum: If you didn't see it at the Mark Taper, you have already missed your chance.)

Because of the strong language and adult themes, the play may not be appropriate for children and younger teenagers, but older teens and adults who have college educations (or who just watch a lot of PBS or A & E) should love it. Your cheapskate reviewer is even thinking of actually buying a ticket to see it again, so it must be good!

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