‘Medicine’: Old West Meets the New Age

The adventure gets underway well before the start of Ziggurat Theatre’s “The Medicine Show,” an environmental staging that weaves Old West frontier heritage with Navajo mythology at Coldwater Canyon Park.

Pushing the theatrical envelope toward a more complete immersion in the exploration of cultural wellsprings is the continuing goal of Ziggurat artistic director Stephen Legawiec. Here, the assembled audience is escorted en masse by flashlight-bearing guides down a rustic trail--not a strenuous trek, but far enough to sever us from the context of contemporary civilization.

Arriving at a footlit encampment where a lonely wagon hawking “Miracle Tonic” looms in the background (seating is provided in a sole concession to creature comfort), we’re informed by the rugged wagon driver-narrator (Legawiec) that the performance is off because of a mysterious illness the troupe has contracted. After a brief confessional about duping settlers with bogus elixirs, he turns to the Indian lore and rituals that draw crowds--and one particular resurrection myth about a young warrior battling evil spirits.

This intro slyly sets the stage for the legend itself to spring to life, as a starving stranger (Ogie Zulueta) staggers into the camp, seeking aid from a French-speaking servant girl (Alyssa Lupo). As he falls into a fevered delirium haunted by shrouded, masked demons (Tess Borden, Ben Gonio, Tonilyn Hornung, Constance Hsu, Beverly Sotelo and Mario J. Yates), what transpires is an archetypal descent enacted through an ingenious mix of dance, ritual and commedia. The visually arresting results are presented with a clarity that renders dialogue unnecessary.

Great fun, but dress for the mountain climate and terrain (heels are a bad idea).

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* “The Medicine Show,” Coldwater Canyon Park, 12061 Mulholland Drive (meet in the Tree People parking lot), Beverly Hills. Fridays, Saturdays, 8:45 p.m. (no late seating). Ends Oct. 30. $10. (323) 655-TKTS. Running time: 1 hour, 15 minutes.