Spare Yet Elegant Staging of Egyptian Tale ‘Cult of Isis’

The Ziggurat Theatre Ensemble more than lives up to its billing as “L.A.’s Mythic Theater” in Stephen Legawiec’s “A Cult of Isis” at the Goldman Amphitheater.

To reach the amphitheater, perched on a Franklin Canyon hilltop, audience members are led up an unpaved path lit only by an usher with a flashlight. (High heels are not advisable; blankets are.)

As we enter the space, we see two Egyptian figures seated on high stone platforms. One is the goddess Isis (Jennifer Chu), one of the most powerful deities in the Egyptian pantheon.

The other is Queen Hatchepsut (Naila Azad), a deceased Egyptian queen.

These otherworldly spectators are the unseen observers of a forbidden ritual, a ceremony that, in these modern days of the 11th century, is a capital offense.

This thrice-told tale is rendered first in “ancient Egyptian” (or at least Legawiec’s conception of the language); then again in pantomime, with commentary from the kibitzing spirits; and finally in English.

The story concerns a sad serving woman (Lyena Strelkoff) who turns to the goddess for the justice that has been denied her. A priest (Luis Zambrano), a priestess (Valerie Spencer) and an acolyte (Michelle Tenazas) prepare the woman for her initiation, not realizing the surprising turn the ceremony will soon take.

Legawiec, artistic director of Ziggurat, has become justly renowned for his elaborately realized retellings of world myths.

Here, Legawiec has had to pare down his typically intricate staging to suit the limitations of his rustic space.

The result is spare, but elegant.

Legawiec’s longtime collaborators Robert Velasquez (costumes) and Leif Gantvoort (lights) help create the strikingly visual production that is Ziggurat’s stock in trade.

Susan Christiansen’s haunting original music, well vocalized by Spencer and Tenazas, helps set the sacramental mood for this short but satisfying evening.

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“A Cult of Isis,” Goldman Amphitheater at the Sooky Goldman Nature Center, 2600 Franklin Canyon Drive, Beverly Hills. Friday, Sunday, Nov. 3, 4, 10 and 11, 7 p.m. $15. (310) 842-5737. Running time: 1 hour, 10 minutes.