Expedition to America’s soul

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark’s expedition to find a water route to the Pacific turns into a time-warping odyssey in Robert Schenkkan’s “Lewis and Clark Reach the Euphrates,” being given its world premiere at the Mark Taper Forum. As the famous explorers chart the land west of the Mississippi, they find themselves catapulted into other American crusades, from San Juan Hill to Vietnam and prewar Iraq. Gregory Boyd directs a cast of eight, who play about 50 roles among them. Schenkkan is no stranger to historical epics: He took the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for his two-part “Kentucky Cycle.”

*

“Lewis and Clark Reach the Euphrates,” Mark Taper Forum, 135 N. Grand Ave., L.A. Opens 2:30 p.m. Sunday. $42 to $55. (213) 628-2772. www.CenterTheatreGroup.org* Runs 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 7:30 p.m. Sundays, 2:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Exceptions: 8 p.m. Dec. 19, 2:30 and 8 p.m. Dec. 21 and 22. Dark Dec. 24 and 25; no public performances Jan. 17-20. Ends Jan. 22.