Imagination weaves new Ziggurat myth

Writer-director Stephen Legawiec uses a classic film device -- the elusive object of a quest, a la the Maltese Falcon -- to launch the charming original fairy tale “Salamanticus” at the Miles Playhouse in Santa Monica.

In this case, the device is the Salamanticus, a mystical Book of Destiny that contains an overview of all knowledge. It’s pretext enough for a rousing adventure with a Zen-like edge and considerable philosophical punch.

Founder of the Ziggurat Ensemble, L.A.’s acclaimed myth-based theater company, Legawiec knows his way around a good yarn, as seen in his Chinese martial arts fable “Red Thread” and the Egyptian flavored “Cult of Isis,” measured and austere Ziggurat productions derived from ancient myth. In “Salamanticus,” however, Legawiec gives his imagination free rein, to whimsical effect.

This is not your typical child’s bedtime story. The narrator of the piece is Fibonacci (Luis Zambrano), a famed medieval mathematician notable for his remarkable Fibonacci sequence, an apparently infinite sequence in which each successive number is the sum of the preceding two. And indeed, mystical interconnections are a recurring theme throughout.

Fibonacci weaves the tale of the embattled Kingdom of Nor, whose reclusive King (Michael Klock) has unwittingly ceded power to an evil advisor (delightfully over-the top AnnaLisa Erickson). Fulfilling a promise to a mysterious dying man, three adventurers -- a sweet-natured Vagrant (Jenny Woo), a foolish Hoop Seller (Lorin Eric Salm) and a sexy Kai Dancer (Dana Wieluns) -- brave various dangers in search of the book, which holds the key to the kingdom’s salvation.

Legawiec, who also did the sets and sound, deserves high praise for his wonderfully fanciful costume design, as does long-time Ziggurat collaborator Leif Gantvoort for the lighting.

Tim Storms did the intricate martial arts choreography. Wieluns’ dance choreography includes her steamy tango with a Sendak-esque “Sinister Creature,” a comic highlight in this richly comical fantasy. As always, Legawiec, our helmsman into the extraordinary, charts a course as fascinating as it is unexpected.

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‘Salamanticus’

Where: Miles Playhouse, 1130 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica

When: Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m.

Ends: June 20

Price: $20

Contact: (310) 842-5737

Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes