"The Arabian Nights" that opens tonight at Bowling Green State University
is are not the child-proofed versions familiar to most of us.
The script by Mary Zimmerman brings the collection of tales back to their ancient
roots, earthier, more violent, certainly more bawdy, and far more subtle.
"The Arabian Nights," directed by Jonathan Chambers, runs tonight, Friday
and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. and continues next weekend. With its
swirl of color and shifting landscapes, the play proves to be the right vehicle
to show off the capabilities of the Wolfe Center for the Arts’ Eva Marie Saint
Theatre.
The black box theater offers a flexible arrangement. For "The Arabian
Nights," the theater is set up with audience on all four sides. No one’s
further than the third row. So when the large ensemble actors sit on stage as
stories unfold, the audience almost becomes an extension of the cast, pulled
into the fanciful realm.

The tale of 1001 nights is framed by that of Shahryar (Dylan Stretchbery) who,
betrayed by his first wife, decides never again to trust a woman. So every night
he marries a new virgin only to slaughter her at dawn. Stretchbery makes
Shahryar’s rage palpable, clearly fueled by a deep-seated uncertainty that he
denies.
Soon, he is running short of virgins, as families flee the land with their daughters,
so he turns to his trusted Wazir (Corey DiNardo) and demands he supply his two
daughters, the lovely and clever Sheherezade (Trina Friedberg) and the younger
Dunyazade (Nicole Navarre). Though, the father urges them to leave the city with
him, Sheherezade says she has a plan to end the shah’s deadly spree.
She conspires with her impish and mischievous sister to keep Shahryar on edge by
spinning stories that always end with a cliff hanger at dawn when her mourning
father arrives with a shroud. The way Stretchbery wields his knife makes it
clear that Sheherezade is in danger, but while fear may flash across Friedberg’s
face, she always steadies her character’s resolve.
These tales, often a tale within a tale within a tale, are acted out by the ensemble
of 16 actors, each taking on multiple parts.
Many begin in the court of the legendary Harun al-Rashid, a wise leader often
required to sort out the affairs of his subjects. Played by Nelson Aviles he is
an upright man eager to absorb more knowledge and ever amused at the foibles of
humanity.
Romantic betrayal, by both men and women, play a part in many of the tales. The show
starts with the fickle nature of male lust in the "Madman’s Tale." At
first the self-righteous merchant (Kailen Fleck) rejects the overtures of a
mysterious woman, and assaults the slave girl (Christina Hoekstra) who delivers
her overtures. This Perfect Love (Holley Mosher) arrives years later, slowly
revealing her charms and seduces the merchant as his assistant (Slade Billew)
looks on. She’s actually tricking him into marrying a deformed woman.
Fleck registers all manner of emotions, disgust to lust, with his elastic face.
In "The Perfidy of Wives," a bride, played by Navarre, entertains a series
of lovers, each of whom must hide in the privy when another arrives. Finally her
jester husband ((Joshua Powell) arrives desperately needing to use the privy and
all the lovers tumble out. They concoct a tale about being messengers from God,
a ruse that fools the jester but not Harun al-Rashid.
In order to escape punishment each – Justin Betancourt, Neil Powell, Chase Will and
Hannah Berry – must each spin a tale, and each tale proves amusing enough, for
Harun as well as the audience, to earn them a reprieve.
Berry also has a prime bit in "Abu al-Hasan’s Historic Indiscretion" as the
bride receiving her groom (Scott Sanville). When he bows, the chickpeas he ate
have their way with his digestive track, and he emits an explosion of
flatulence. The members of the cast get to show off their best juvenile fart
noises, all delivered with delicate comic timing. All the while Berry registers,
first amusement and then repulsion at the helpless al-Hasan.
In the second act, when it’s clear that Shahyar has softened his demeanor, the tales
turn philosophical.
"Sympathy the Learned" is a tale of a wise woman, played with great dignity
by Hope Quinn, who bests the three sages in Harun al-Rashid’s court as they quiz
her with riddles and questions about Koran and the physical world.
Unstated throughout is a subversive strain, that undermines Americans simple-minded
view of the Arab world. In the end the play makes an abrupt turn from fairy tale
into headlines, connecting the fanciful Baghdad with the real-world, world
weary, battle scarred Baghdad in the news.