A Mystical Climb Up Everest in ‘Chomolungma’

Where all too many theatrical presentations simply pay lip service to multidisciplinary art forms, writer-director-composer-designer-comparative mythologist Stephen Legawiec does something meaningful with them.

Legawiec’s Ziggurat Theatre (formerly the Gilgamesh Theatre) has garnered well-deserved acclaim for its evocative weaving of disparate elements into rich, expertly staged explorations of the human psyche. The company’s latest effort, “Chomolungma” (the Tibetan name for Everest), transforms the fictionalized chronicle of an ill-fated expedition up the world’s highest peak into a beautiful, haunting mythic quest.

“Chomolungma’s” mountain climbers convincingly span two cultures--the ambitious, achievement-obsessed Europeans (Lance Guest, Dean Purvis, Nele Snoeck and Michael Krawic) and the more reflective, spiritual Tibetans they enlist to guide and assist them (Bobby Nish, Ray Chang, Ogie Zulueta). With little appreciation of the brute, elemental forces they’re tackling, the naive adventurers find themselves in a desperate struggle for survival after an avalanche cuts off their return path. This point of no return is both physical and psychological, forcing them to abandon their allegiances to countries, families and most cherished beliefs--a worldly leave-taking presided over by the impartial dancing goddess of the mountain (Constance Hsu).

Meanwhile, the parallel stories of the Tibetan villagers (Muni Zano, Peter Choi, Dawn Sito, Gina Chai and Derek Delgado) down below envelop the journey in a dense tapestry of chant, narrative and song (with musical accompaniment by Tim Gittings and Charles Sharp). A high point of the production is an eloquent ballad sung by the expedition leader’s wife (Gwendoline Yeo, who accompanies herself on a Chinese zither).

While its characters are drawn with pinpoint, individual precision by a uniformly talented cast, “Chomolungma” remains an ensemble piece in which the collective sum is greater than its individual components. That Legawiec manages to depict human beings acting in accordance with their most unfailingly noble impulses--without lapsing into sentimental romanticism--is a big part of the magic of this very special piece.

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* “Chomolungma,” Gascon Center, 8737 Washington Blvd., Culver City. Fridays through Sundays, 8 p.m. Ends May 2. $15. (323) 655-8587. Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes.