Humorous, intelligent, with a bittersweet ending, Arcadia is the perfect opening show for the School of Drama's 2004-2005 season, which is dedicated to the theme of exploring scientific ideas. Director Gregory Lehane's rendition of the Tom Stoppard standard is a wonderful blend of wit, mathematics, philosophy, and love that leavesthe audience feeling satisfied, though somewhat confused. This isa magnificent performance that features engaging characters and tackles some thought-provoking concepts.

While the action takes place in a single set, the plot constantly shifts between the years 1809 and 1993. The story opens with the young Thomasina Coverly going over lessons of algebra and the meaning of "carnal embrace" with her tutor Septimus Hodge. As the play progresses, we discover that it is their stories which scholars Hannah Jarvis and Bernard Nightingale as well as the Coverly descendants are trying to piece together in 1993. Towards the end of the production, the lines between past and present begin to blur as characters from both time periods share the stage at the same time.

As the drama within the 1809 Coverly household unfolds with love affairs, duels, and the arrival of the mysterious guest Lord Byron, the illustrious poet, we see the events both as they occur and as the scholars and the Coverly descendantspiece it together. As Hannah, Valentine, and the pompous Byron scholar, Bernard Nightingale, played by Chuck Hittinger, find documents, books, and letters to support their theories, we discover how easily history can be re-interpreted to fit our own personal views of what happened. This becomes evident when Nightingale tries to force the documented evidence to prove correct his theory that Byron killed the poet Ezra Chater in a duel.

Upon entering the theater, one is first struck by the beautiful set and lighting of Arcadia. The set conveys an elegant country estate with high-arching, frosted windows, columns, and a wood-paneled floor with matching tables and chairs. The windows are back-lit with a deep blue for daytime and paler colors for dawn and dusk, and the lighting of the mansion is warm,resembling candlelight.

Thomasina is artfully rendered by Kat Mandeville as a mischievous thirteen-year old and averitable genius. As she struggles with concepts beyond her mathematical capability, we see her ideas about the function of math as it relates to nature examined nearly two hundred years later by her descendent Valentine Coverly, played by Mike Dunay, and the scholar Hannah Jarvis, played by Claudia Duran, who is also trying to piece together the story of the mysterious Coverly estate "hermit."

While all of the performances were exceptional, perhaps the most skillful was Stephen Schellhardt's portrayal of the intelligent, witty, and emotional Septimus Hodge. His repartee with the foppish poet Ezra Chater, played by Will Reynolds, and his loving friendship with his student Thomasina made him one of the most versatile and likable characters in the entire play. Duran's Hannah Jarvis was also extremely compelling as a scholar who has sacrificed personal relationships for her love of history. Also impressive was Dunay's turn as the geeky but passionate Valentine.

The play itself is witty and entertaining, but often confusing. Several characters, such as Mrs. Chater, Lord Coverly, and Lord Byron, are never seen, but frequently referred to. It is often difficult to tell who is related to whom and who has been having an affair with whom.Additionally, many of the concepts of math about patterns in nature, the function of history, and the philosophy of time are fascinating but hard to follow in long monologues. But the well-calculated humor and the passionate performances of the actors more than make up for the complications of the script, leaving the audience mesmerized and talking about the play for hours afterwards.

The show lasts two and a half hours with a fifteen minute intermission. Performances will beheld Tuesday through Thursday at 7:30 pm, Friday at 8 pm, and at 2 pm and 8 pm on Saturday.