As a theater-goer, I go to the theater to escape for a while, losing myself in a story of others’ lives played out before me on a stage.  I don’t want to be aware of my presence, only of the presence of the characters before my eyes.  That’s my preference, but it’s not Prenzie Players’ policy.  As they say, “theater is not a passive experience.”  And, knowing that, I approached the group’s latest production with trepidation, with anxiety.  Despite efforts to approach the show with an open mind as a reviewer, I dreaded the prospect of being pulled into the show and shuffled from room to room.  Yet, I walked away with a bright smile on my face, having enjoyed, yet again, another non-passive Prenzie Players performance.

The production of “Life’s a Dream” is already begun when the audience enters.  Those there to enjoy a night of theater walk into a darkened room with a black floor and a man lying naked in the center of the room.  We’ve entered the tower cell of Prince Sigismund, locked there for most of his life by his father for fear of a prophecy.  It is forecast that Sigismund will be a tyrant, destroying his father to obtain the throne.

After year after year in the tower, with Sigismund now an adult, the king has a change of conscious.  Perhaps this was not the right thing to do, to play God. And so, the king devises a plan.  Sigismund is to be drugged into a sleep, dressed as the prince he is and then allowed to rule as he sees fit.  If Sigismund is a tyrant, then he will be drugged again and returned to his tower cell, where he will be convinced it was all a dream.

Director J.C. Luxton (whom I adored in Taming of the Shrew) labored over the script for months.  Pulling together lines from several different translations of Pedro Calderon de la Barca’s work, Luxton created a script using only the best lines of each version.  The results meanders in and out of rhyme, with a natural flow of some of the most beautiful formation of words I’ve ever heard.  It has the feel of Shakespeare, with the poetic use of words, but is easier for the ears to digest.

As I said, the audience enters into Sigismund’s cell, with him lying naked on the floor, literally.  It was extremely uncomfortable.  I found myself looking for anything else at which to look in order to avoid looking at the naked body just a short distance from my feet.  That discomfort poured into a prayer for the show to begin, and quickly.  Anything to escape this uncomfortable feeling.  And yet, that lack of comfort is perfect.  We are in a prison cell, after all.  This is Sigismund’s life, which can’t be comfortable.  This is not passive by any means and a wise choice by Luxton.

Eddie Staver III portrays Sigismund, a man who’s learned all he knows about life and “human nature” from observing the animals on the hillside through the window in his tower cell.  Taking on the grunts, the animal like movements, Staver strips himself of himself and embodies Sigismund.  His solid performance is enrapturing.  Once his mouth opened and he uttered his first lines, I couldn’t take my eyes off of him.  Despite focus intended to be centered elsewhere, I watched Staver, awed by his continual channeling of the character.  Not once did he merely wait for his next line.  He is Sigismund from before the audience enters to the curtain call.  This is only the second performance I’ve seen with him, but Staver is already my favorite Quad Cities actor, hands down.

In fact, the entire cast is impressive.  Somehow, the Prenzie Players consistently manages to bring together the strongest cast of actors available in the Quad Cities.  I am both awed and inspired all the more with each performance I am blessed to experience.

Maggie Woolley offers yet another nuanced and strong performance, this time portraying Rossaura, a traveler with vengeance on her heart.  Woolley expertly offers moments of confusion, where she’s moved from the path of vengeance, distracted by an attraction to others in the play.  Woolley’s Rossaura is in no way a one-note character and truly intriguing.  I enjoyed studying Woolley’s face to catch the subtle and not so subtle changes created from the inside of this actress rather than simply by speaking the lines from the script.

Jeff De Leon provides the comic relief as Bugle, the traveling companion of Rossaura and then a servant.  De Leon’s portrayal is never over the top.  Instead, he offers a nice, natural comic inflection to his delivery and I was delighted by it.

Jeremy Mahr is also impressive as Clothold.  He stands on the stage with authority, confidence.

Again, the entire cast is impressive.  While there are weaker performances, that is not to say there are weak performances.  Any weakness is only relative to the strength of others in the cast.

The lighting is also worth noting.  I must admit, lighting is not something I notice.  So, if I notice it, it’s either really good or distractingly bad.  Here, it’s good.  With limitations, Lighting Master Jennifer Kingry’s conceived the right feel with her lighting.  The dungeon is appropriately dark, oppressive.  The court is bright.  The intermission has the feel of twilight or pre-dawn.  It just always has the right feel to it.

As I said, I prefer a passive theater experience.  Prenzie Players do not allow that, what with scenes taking place in various places off stage before the show, during intermission and even after the show.  And then there’s the shuffling of the audience from one room to another.  Still, only once was I annoyed by it, at the final move from the tower to the King’s court, but only because I felt lazy and just wanted to sit.  One more Prenzie performance and I may be converted, preferring an active theater experience.  Sadly, the Prenzie Players do not return with another production until the Fall.

And so, I urge you to take in this production.  A warning, though.  It is adult in nature.  There is language, nudity and a death scene which even disturbed me (nice work, Denise Yoder).  If you can handle that, then catch “Life’s a Dream” at the Masonic Temple in Rock Island.  The show runs this Friday and Saturday and next Thursday through Sunday.  All performances begin at 8:00 p.m.  For more information, visit the Prenzie Players website.