A successful portrayal of tragedy

Age cannot wither the verdant appeal of the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga, where “Antony and Cleopatra” opens the 2006 summer repertory season. This accessible, engrossing take on William Shakespeare’s grandly romantic tragedy is one for the Botanicum books, staged by Ellen Geer with cinematic propulsion and ignited by exceptional performances from Joel Swetow and Abby Craden as the besotted title pair.

Probably first performed around 1607, “Antony and Cleopatra” draws heavily and sometimes directly from Sir Thomas North’s 1579 translation of the Plutarch account of Mark Antony. Yet even when cribbing, the Bard extracted poetry from history and humanity from nobility. Though “Antony and Cleopatra” isn’t the greatest of Shakespeare’s historical works, it is among the juiciest, and its political applications are undeniable.

It is also hugely problematic in staging terms, the 36 scenes constantly swerving from continent to continent, with multiple scenes at sea. Thankfully, Geer makes shrewd cuts and works the unparalleled venue with inspired scope. Placing temple pillars stage right, with costumer Erica Frank’s raw-textured wardrobe keeping regions and rank in focus, Geer maintains a narrative flow that suggests Egyptian hieroglyphics bleeding into Roman friezes. The marine sequences register through ripe theatrical means, and the climactic massacre, opposing forces crashing down from upstage grove and rear of the amphitheater into Aaron Hendry’s fight choreography, is thrilling.

As perhaps the most richly passionate lovers in Shakespeare’s canon, Swetow and Craden are magnificent. Craden’s dark beauty, which recalls the young Ava Gardner, is perfect for Cleopatra. Undulating through “If it be love indeed, tell me how much,” like the live snake she coyly brandishes later, Craden radiates the infinite variety of every line.

Petulant minx and ruthless strategist, jealous lover, imperious ruler, Craden’s eloquent gestures, resonant timbre and delicious humor depict the woman within the queen throughout, reaching profundity in the immortal longings of her uncanny death scene.

She has palpable chemistry with Swetow, who brilliantly locates Antony’s intellectual conflicts, pangs of conscience and bursts of fury within a sinewy physicality, equally convincing in heroic swordplay and romantic foreplay. “I am ... satisfied,” Swetow’s Antony says, astride Craden, and his ribald audacity is no less incisive than his heartbreaking anguish at “I am dying, Egypt, dying.”

Their blazing, mercurial turns stand up peerless amid a superb ensemble that responds as one to Geer’s lucid, fluid direction. Chad Jason Scheppner makes a stunning Octavius Caesar, divine right personified, and Steven Matt is a moving Enobarbus. Melora Marshall’s feisty Charmian, Earnestine Phillips’ sonorous Soothsayer, Eric Fagundes’ understated Eros and the double-acts of Jeff Wiesen, Mike Peebler and Hendry are among other standouts in a wholly redoubtable troupe. Bring cushions for seating, water for drinking and imaginations for expanding under the powerful mandate of this memorable revival.

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‘Antony and Cleopatra’

Where: Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga

When: 3 p.m. Sundays

Ends: Sept. 24

Price: $15 to $25

Contact: (310) 455-3723 or www.theatricum.com

Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes