34°

Mine, of course, is the contrarian view. In school, the picture they paint for us is of Coleridge afflicted with personal disasters and a chronic lack of success at being a productive member of the local economy; coupled with his oppressive marriage, opium addiction, gambling debts and unluckiness in love - in short, a tragic, romantic figure.

Well, "Don't believe the Norton Anthology!" as Coleridge says at one point in the play.

This is pretty much the key premise of all successful drawing room comedies. What does this have to do with the play at hand? Merry Ellefson's "Lost in Kubla Khan" is not really a play about Coleridge, nor is it a musical comedy, but it is alternatingly funny, exalted and sentimental.

Primarily, the similarity lies in the fact that Ellefson is willing to take a contrarian approach to her materials. "Lost in Kubla Khan" is about Virginia Anderson, a woman who has run away to Alaska to avoid dealing with the repercussions of her first big-time romance gone awry. She takes some sleeping pills, and Coleridge, co-founder of the Romantic Movement, jumps into bed with her. The resulting play is a joint dream of Gin and Coleridge.

The set opens in her white, gauzy bedroom. Unfortunately, the canopy is too low, and cuts off Coleridge's head on several occasions - at least from my seat in the rafters. Upstage, behind a gauze curtain, there is a sloped triangle of grass and blue sky with puffy clouds - an idealized Romantic setting.

The character Gina Spartz plays, Virginia Anderson, shares some characteristics with Harper from "Angels in America," whom she portrayed in Perseverance's 1999 production to great effect. Gin is in a slightly lower register and not as delusional. My only critique of her performance would be that I wish there were a bass knob somewhere with which I could fiddle. Yes, Gin is college student, but I still think Gina should speak more from her toes and less from her adenoids.

Paul Marshall plays Virginia's lover and Coleridge's son, both named Hartley. In addition to being an example of the coalition of the dual dreamers dreams, it also references - for those of us who know way too much about Coleridge and Wordsworth - the fact that all the women in these guys' lives had the same name. It's kind of convenient, when you think about it. Marshall plays his role well, even if it is a little thin.

Dawn Pisel-Davis shows great versatility as Fancy, the personification of Coleridge's literary theory. Her cohorts - Ben Brown and Sara Waisanen - seem somewhat under-utilized. Sara can carry an entire play in her pocket. Her Khan is patently bizarre (and I mean that in a good way). Ben Brown is a little more of an unknown factor. Although he was in "On the Razzle," you may remember him as "The Church Lady" from the annual Legislative skits. He is quite good, despite the fact that he can't appear on stage for more than an hour without tossing on a dress. I believe it's in his contract. Regardless, there is a touching scene in 'Verse' Three as Wordsworth that he carries off well.

Finally, we come to Dick Reichman as Coleridge. Dressed in burnt orange silk pants, a matching vest with gold brocade, and a white fright wig, Mr. Reichman plays Coleridge over the top and half way down the other side. It's a big role - Coleridge as romantic savior - and Reichman doesn't shy away from a bit of it. No scenery goes unmunched.

The costumes in general are great. Fancy in a white dress with a black leather jacket is iconic and well worth stealing.

Also, as a poet, I appreciate the cameo role by the full moon.

"Lost in Kubla Khan" may not be a perfect play, but it does, to a large extent, represent my personal aesthetic philosophy of what a play should be. Dream plays loosen the death grip of plot to arrive at greater truths. They employ a logic that surpasses the prosaic and strives toward magic. In other words, they shoot the moon.

Michael Christenson is currently writing "Space-Time-Dream," a play identical to "Lost in Kubla Khan" in every respect, except that it includes gratuitous nudity.