Sofia Jean Gomez, Pranidihi Varshney, Stacey Yen and Nicole Shalhoub star in Mary Zimmerman’s adaptation of The Arabian Nights at BRep.

Tell me a story! The legends of a culture reflect the people’s values, beliefs, ideals, morals, and more. Much is revealed about the community of ancient Iraq (as well as Persia and India) in BRep’s brilliantly shining production of The Arabian Nights, written and directed by Mary Zimmerman (adapted from a translation of The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night). And the more we learn about different cultures, the more we both understand them and see similarities in ourselves via our shared humanity.

When King Shahryar (Ryan Artzberger) discovers and then kills his unfaithful bride, he proceeds to marry a virgin every day and kill her every night (ah, the sanctities of marriage).  Scheherezade (Sofia Jean Gomez), one of the last virgins left in the kingdom, has a plan and marries the King. To stall her “inevitable” death, she recounts a fascinating story, but by dawn she arrives at a cliffhanger. So the King lets her live, and the glorious stories continue for one thousand nights (accomplished in 2-1/2 hours with intermission).

Sorry, there is no action-packed Ali Baba and/or 40 thieves or “open sesame” here. Zimmerman has cleverly chosen from the enormous compendium of exotic tales of incarnations of love, eroticism, forgiveness, and more. As the stories colorfully unveil themselves, the contemplative King (and perhaps the audience) becomes wiser. As seen in Zimmerman’s previous works at BRep Metamorphoses and Argonautika, mythology lives and breathes with well-fleshed characters, adventurous plots, epic theatricality, and abundant surprises.

The stunning ensemble of fifteen fleshes out a multiplicity of different roles. The women are beautiful and the men are handsome and bearded. Talented actress Gomez makes Scheherezade wise beyond her years, but relegated to back-up roles in the tales-within-the-tales (within-the-tales). As the characters fly by in their stunning costumes, it’s difficult-to-impossible to pick a favorite. However, Alana Arenas shines in various roles (several shirtless).

Zimmerman stages with beautiful broad strokes. As the audience enters, they see gray drop-cloths and a concrete back wall. But when the lights dim to the shadows of night and the exotic music begins, the vibrantly multihued characters enter, rip away the cloths, and fill the stage with stunning carpets and dazzling colors. Exotic lamps descend, and the audience spontaneously bursts into applause. The ensuing staging is every bit as fascinating, narrowly allowing us all to avert “story exhaustion.”

The tech? Fantastic! From Daniel Ostling’s sumptuous scenic design to the fabulous costumes by Mara Blumenfeld to the magical lighting design by TJ Gerckens, the audience is miraculously transported to mythical times and places. The deliciously tantalizing music that ties it all together comes from Andre Pluess and The Lookingglass Ensemble.

If The Arabian Nights could be considered a kind of ancient Our Town, then gays and lesbians are once again invisible (certainly a cultural diversity issue). Yet the universality of the predicaments and the cleverness of the solutions do provide some inclusion. And the cast really is beautiful.

Check out The Arabian Nights for a captivating escapist journey. Or attend for further insight into the people and culture of ancient Iraq. Or just go for a really good show and fun time. Jump onto your magic carpet and get your tickets now!

The Arabian Nights continues until Jan. 4 at Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison Street, Berkeley. Tickets ($13.50 to $71) are available by phone at (510) 647-2949 or (888) 4-BRT-Tix or online at www.berkeleyrep.org.