Lookingglass delivers gleefully acted 'Treasure Island'

When it comes to “Treasure Island,” adaptation not imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Robert Louis Stevenson's 1883 novel has inspired many. The latest comes courtesy of adapter-director Mary Zimmerman, whose gingery take on Stevenson's coming-of-age adventure tale runs through January at Lookingglass Theatre Company. A co-production with Berkeley Repertory Theatre, this “Treasure” reflects Zimmerman's flair for storytelling and for seafaring sagas evidenced earlier in Lookingglass' 2006 “Argonautika”

In this case, a top-notch cast and eye-catching design make for a commendable production that just skims the surface of Stevenson's yarn. But even without probing the underlying themes of unchecked greed and misplaced trust, this “Treasure” is still a rollicking ride.

The action commences in a small coastal town in 1750 England, at an inn operated by the widowed Mrs. Hawkins (Kasey Foster) and her teenage son Jim, confidently played by the winsome, animated John Babbo.

Into the Admiral Benbow Inn stumbles the bedraggled Billy Bones (a wonderfully tormented, entirely truthful Christopher Donahue), a drunken buccaneer carrying a sea chest and a secret. Not long after, he receives a visit from a growling former comrade known as Black Dog (a scary Steve Pickering), Billy dies, leaving an unpaid tab and a locked chest that Jim and his mother open in the hope of collecting the money their late lodger owed them.

Among the chest's contents is a treasure map. Jim shares it with the good-natured but overly chatty Squire Trelawney (Matt DeCaro) and the decent, hardworking Dr. Livesey (Andrew White). Excited about the prospect of a high seas adventure, Trelawney and Livesey decide to purchase a ship, called the Hispaniola, hire a captain and crew and set out with cabin boy Jim to find the treasure.

Enter Long John Silver (beautifully played by Lawrence E. DiStasi, who is as charismatic as he is menacing). A sailor with a peg leg and a parrot (created by Blair Thomas), Silver hires on as a cook and quickly charms young Jim. Silver recommends to Trelawney a motley crew that arouses the suspicions of the upright Captain Smollett (Philip R. Smith). He is overruled by Trelawney, who is unaware that he has hired a gang of pirates who are in fact the very men who sailed with the pirate captain whose booty they seek.

The Hispaniola sets sail to the sounds of its crew singing a raucous sea shanty (music by Andre Pluess). But the sailing is not entirely smooth.

Jim overhears the crew discussing mutiny, a plan spearheaded by Silver, and informs the others. Both sides bide their time until they arrive at their destination, where the revolt commences in the first of several battles pitting the lawful against the lawless. Fleeing the ship, Jim and the others make their way to the island where he meets disheveled, half-crazed Ben Gunn (played with engaging eccentricity by Pickering, one of several actors performing multiple roles).

A race to uncover the treasure ensues, accompanied by shifting loyalties and moral dilemmas that test and form the character of the impressionable Jim.

All of it unfolds on Todd Rosenthal's impressive set. The ship's rigging, rope ladders and trap doors are set against a tattered sail, beneath a giant mast, and Rosenthal's Hispaniola sways back and forth as if it were sailing the high seas. It works as a vessel, but efforts to transform it into a tropical island with foliage and a few palm fronds fall short. Far better are Ana Kuzmanic's costumes, which range from stylish, 18th-century frock coats to the grubbiest of rags.

Lookingglass' enthusiastically told, gleefully acted production reflects Zimmerman's trademark visual tropes including a delightfully whimsical reveal of the pirate's treasure. But while spectacle typically dominates Zimmerman's work, “Treasure Island” contains several moments of dramatic heft. Among them are Mrs. Hawkins' farewell to Jim, played with pitch-perfect understatement by Foster, and the obvious horror reflected in Babbo's face when Jim is forced to defend himself against a lethal threat.

It may not examine too deeply the human psyche, but this “Treasure Island” is a jolly good adventure. And that is enough.

“Treasure Island”

★ ★ ★

<b>Location:</b> Lookingglass Theatre Company, Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, (312) 337-0665 or <a href="http://lookingglasstheatre.org">lookingglasstheatre.org</a>

<b>Showtimes:</b> Times vary but largely 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Friday; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Saturday and Sunday through Jan. 31, 2016. See website for showtimes by date.

<b>Running time:</b> About two hours, 30 minutes with intermission

<b>Tickets:</b> $55-$85

<b>Parking:</b> Nearby parking garages

<b>Rating:</b> For all ages