Seeking and Finding Universal Truths

In his 1997 play “Sympathetic Magic,” Lanford Wilson sets out to explore the universe. That’s a pretty big topic, even for a playwright who’s been working at his craft for four decades, as Wilson has.

But by using some of the larger mysteries of the cosmos to frame the intimate mysteries of personal behavior, he captures something universal about the human condition, even as he admits that the individual is unknowable.

The play arrives on the West Coast in a crisp, vital production by a fledgling troupe known as Theatre Tribe, which has moved into the small, storefront theater at El Portal Center in North Hollywood.

The stage there has been painted to resemble a large star chart (designed by Barbara-Julie Miller), which lends an element of magical realism to the proceedings. The action unfolds cinematically, with scenes cross-fading into one another as the story progresses across the San Francisco Bay area, introducing us to a diverse group of people whose lives are intertwined. (Most roles are double cast, with different combinations of actors appearing at each performance.)

We begin in a university lecture hall, where Andy (Jeff Kerr McGivney), a young astrophysicist, is giving a lecture. Soon, we’re in a churchyard, where Andy’s artist girlfriend, Barbara (Corie Vickers on opening weekend), is visiting her half-brother, Don (Nathan Burgess), an Episcopal priest who leads a largely gay congregation, and his former lover, Pauly (Thomas Burr), the church’s music director. Eventually joining the mix are Barbara and Don’s globetrotting anthropologist mother, Liz (Jenny O’Hara); her assistant, Sue (Alex Fatovich); Andy’s astrophysicist colleague, Mickey (Aaron Jettleson); and Andy and Mickey’s department head, Carl (James Handy).

Science and art cohabit--uneasily, at times--in the Andy-Barbara relationship, while religion and art seek connection in the Don-Barbara and Don-Pauly relationships. Liz contributes an anthropological perspective, filtered through feminism, while the scientists get us thinking about how the dynamics of the physical world, such as Werner Heisenberg’s subatomic uncertainty principle, might apply to human behavior. Sexuality, intimacy and belief come under observation along the way.

Wilson--whose plays include “The Hot l Baltimore,” “Talley’s Folly” and “Burn This”--is not a playwright who announces where his stories are going, and that can make “Sympathetic Magic” difficult to follow at times. The New York critics pretty much dismissed the script in its original production. But as staged here by Stuart Rogers--so that the action seems epic yet almost voyeuristically true to life--it’s absolutely riveting.

“Sympathetic Magic,” El Portal Studio Theatre, 5269 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m. Ends April 20. $15. (323) 769-7060. Running time: 2 hours, 25 minutes.