VALLEY WEEKEND : ‘Sigismund’ Suffers From Clash of Styles : Ghost Road collaboration with CalArts on reworked Calderon classic ends up as fast-food version of ‘Life Is a Dream.’

The Ghost Road Company has been something of a phantom group in the L.A. theater landscape, based here but usually working as far away as Arcata, Pittsburgh and Edinburgh.

It has a pedigree of first-rate collaborators (Berkeley Rep and Dell’Arte Players) and big dramaturgical ambitions. Adaptations have ranged from “Elektra” to Islamic spiritual texts to John Guare.

Of the group’s three artistic directors--Katharine Noon, Ferdinand Lewis and Donald Gordon--two received MFA’s at CalArts and one of them, Lewis, now teaches at the school. Quite naturally, CalArts has welcomed the company into CalArts Theater Presents, a series of visiting productions by professional companies.

Ghost Road’s entry to the series is Lewis’ adaptation of Pedro Calderon de la Barca’s 17th century “Life Is a Dream,” retitled “Sigismund.” It would seem to be an ideal match of experimental company and experimental school, pros with students, plus an infusion of non-Shakespeare classical text--any non-Shakespeare will do.

But look at that title change, and it’s a tip-off that not all change is an improvement. Ghost Road likes toying with text; its “Elektra La-La” had the vengeful heroine as a cybernaut, and “Sigismund” does a serious compactor job on Calderon. Toying can be wonderful and enlightening (think of “West Side Story” or Tony Kushner’s “The Illusion”); it can also turn more into less (think of Charles Marowitz’ mangling of “Hamlet”).

Lewis’ work recalls Marowitz much more than Kushner, removing huge chunks of Calderon’s still-glistening lyrical language, which translates nicely into English. In its place is a crude clash of styles--passages of Calderon packed next to jokey, archly casual banter. It’s supposed to shake up the complacency attached with the classics, but all it ends up being is the fast-food version of “Life Is a Dream.” You’re in and out in 75 minutes, but all you’ve got to think about afterward is what to do with the rest of the evening.

The original plot becomes a victim of the compression, so we don’t get the full extent of how deeply astrology-obsessed King Basilio (Jeffrey S. Libby) has distorted the life of his son Sigismund (Cody Henderson), whom he has imprisoned because the stars told the king that his heir would murder him. The attention and comedy is consumed here by the courtly tussles of Estrella (Alina Phelan) and Astolpho (Caleb Terray).

Partly because of Henderson’s deadly flat delivery, partly because of the comic shift of focus, Sigismund’s dilemma (Is he dreaming this? Is dreaming the only reality?) isn’t the concern it should be. Indeed, the mostly student cast not only doesn’t retrain our focus onto the play’s central themes of identity, empiricism and power, but it’s unable to generate any of the kind of fresh energy that the text aims for.

Even if they are, the actors don’t sound classically trained under Roger Henderson’s overly busy direction. So what remains of Calderon’s poetry is pretty faint. Lisa Hyman cooks up some moments of real spice and anger as Rosaura, but she’s the exception. Cal Arts’ Coffeehouse Theatre is far from an ideal space but Kevin Cauley improves it with some eccentric yet ideal lighting choices, in a production that could stand more of them.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

DETAILS

* WHAT: “Sigismund.”

* WHERE: CalArts Coffeehouse Theatre, 24700 McBean Parkway, Santa Clarita.

* WHEN: 8 p.m Fridays and Saturdays. Ends Feb. 3.

* HOW MUCH: $2-$7.

* CALL: (805) 253-7800.