Theater Review:

When playwright Erik Ehn was creating his “Book of Tink,” it’s as if he took a deck of playing cards, each representing a character from the legendary “Peter Pan” fable, shuffled it thoroughly — and then proceeded to play 52-Card Pickup.

Seldom have so many familiar characters from stage and literature been represented so contrarily than in this beautifully presented yet frustratingly inaccessible production now on stage at UCI. Leave any preconceptions of Peter, Wendy, Hook or Tinkerbell at home if and when you catch this weekend’s closing performances.

Director Jim Knipple, an avowed fan and friend of the playwright, has created a psychedelic dreamscape populated by some 29 performers, most of whom fill the roles of fairies — all named but none identified — and “mermaid prostitutes” who apparently represent the darker side of man’s nature.

Into this setting appear two Peter Pans — one male (Ryan Patrick Welsh) and one female (Camille Beaumont), performing virtually in unison, but relatively minor characters in Ehn’s vision.

The key protagonists are Wendy Darling, exceptionally well rendered by Nicole Erb, and Tinkerbell, an intense and literally hell-bent Tracy Hazas. Both step out of their character’s lustrous image to engage bitterly in a pitched battle for Pan’s affection. Nana (Kagiso Alicia Paynter), meanwhile, barks out narration from her corner.

Wendy, having been blocked from re-entering the Darlings’ bedroom window after her adventures in Neverland by brothers John (Ian Parmenter) and Michael (Blake Smith), now finds herself a young girl while her brothers are fully grown. And, yes, Captain Hook reappears, but in this incarnation the character is female (Sage Howard) and nowhere near as menacing as in author James Barrie’s original concept. The fairies — with oddball names such as Eskimo Pie, No Iron, Epoxy and Licorice Gum — are the focal points of the UCI show, beautifully choreographed by Heather Castillo to the haunting music of Mazie Wilson into a fascinating ensemble. The handful of mermaid prostitutes (mostly female) offer a more ominous counterpoint.

The overall effect is mesmerizing, a sort of dreamlike (nightmarish?) sequel to the Barrie classic, part balletic and part operatic. A visually awesome experience, however dramatically deficient.

OCC opens a two-weekend production of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” tonight, directed by former student Pete Uribe, who was seen as Edmund in the college’s early 1990s production of “King Lear.”

Uribe, who has played the role of Jesus in “The Glory of Easter” at the Crystal Cathedral for the past seven years, has been teaching acting classes at OCC for the past two years. This is his debut as a faculty director.

Call (714) 432-5880.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: “Book of Tink”

WHERE: UCI Studio Theatre

WHEN: Closing performances at 8 tonight and Friday and 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday.

COST: $10

CALL: (949) 824-2787