The ‘Dream’ Team of Calderon and Cavander

Typically, “Hamlet” is the go-to world classic if you want an existential conundruminvolving a prince and an identity crisis.

But the Dane at least knew where he was. In “Life Is a Dream,” the 1635 masterwork by Pedro Calderon de la Barca, Prince Segismundo finds himself in a world he cannot trust--not only because it’s bubbling with court and familial intrigue, but because he does not know if he’s awake or asleep. His very existence is a question mark; no fact is certain. He’s as boggled as the protagonist in the film “Memento.”

A Noise Within commissioned a new translation of this extraordinary Spanish Golden Age title from Kenneth Cavander, whose version of “Oedipus Rex” was presented two years ago by the Glendale-based classical company. The resulting production, staged by Julia Rodriguez Elliott and Geoff Elliott, stars the latter as Calderon’s prince.

The man who would be king has lived like an animal all his life, in chains and in disgrace. At Segismundo’s birth, bad omens urged the king of Poland, Basilio (William Dennis Hunt, trading up from the king he got stuck with in “Cymbeline”) into shuttering away his son, lest he take the throne one day and become a tyrant.

In his old age, the king rethinks the validity of these omens. Why not drug Segismundo, release him, trick him into thinking he’s king and see how he fares? Who says the stars know what’s what? If it doesn’t work out, more drugs, back in the slammer, and he won’t know what hit him.

“Life Is a Dream” is a sustained nature-versus-nurture argument, wonderfully theatricalized. The play’s kicked off by a separate set of characters, chiefly the disguised Rosaura (Abby Craden), dressed as a man, looking to avenge the Polish clot Astolfo (Robertson Dean) who done her wrong. As this strand intertwines with Segismundo’s tale, Calderon achieves something akin to what Shakespeare achieved with “Hamlet”: He takes familiar, even hoary storytelling elements and elevates them into something amazing--poetic pulp fiction.

“Wild” is one adjective that doesn’t fly out of your mouth when you’re talking about the theatrical aesthetic of A Noise Within. Calderon’s play--especially if you don’t know it, or haven’t seen it staged lately, or ever--has a careening quality ideally served by a wilder production than this.

But despite its sober-sidedness, several fine performances prove nicely in sync with Cavander’s quick-witted translation. Elliott’s an extremely controlled and well-spoken actor, perhaps too much so for this noble savage, but he locates the character’s innate sadness. Craden’s especially fine as Rosaura; she knows how to propel a scene forward without losing focus. Dean’s Astolfo teams up savvily with Jill Hill’s fellow schemer for the throne, Estrella. Mark Bramhall’s Clotaldo is the essence of fussy authority.

It’s a kick to see Calderon’s play mix it up with the rest of the Noise Within repertory. The actors clearly enjoy its virtual-reality landscape. Visually that landscape, as framed by the skeletal, multi-location setting by Michael C. Smith, probably would’ve been better off dominated by some other color than “Howard Johnson’s orange,” but as we say in these circumstances: Too late now.

* “Life Is a Dream,” A Noise Within, 234 S. Brand Blvd., Glendale. Saturday, 2 and 7 p.m.; Wednesday-Thursday, 8 p.m.; May 18, 8 p.m.; May 19, 2 and 8 p.m.; May 26, 8 p.m.; May 27, 2 and 7 p.m.; other performances TBA. $16-$40. (323) 953-7795. Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes.

Mark Bramhall: Clotaldo

Robertson Dean: Astolfo

Geoff Elliott: Segismundo

Jill Hill: Estrella

William Dennis Hunt: King Basilio

Stephen Rockwell: Clarin

Abby Craden: Rosaura

Written by Pedro Calderon de la Barca, translated by Kenneth Cavander. Directed by Julia Rodriguez Elliott and Geoff Elliott. Scenic design by Michael C. Smith. Costumes by Anna M. Wyckoff. Lighting by Ken Booth. Music by Norman L. Berman. Stage manager Armina La Manna.