The Electric Company Theatre (ECT) is aptly named since its latest offering, Tristan & Yseult, is just that: Electrifying! ECT’s production of Tristan & Yseult is a stunning blend of remarkable present-day theater and a good medieval tale, and the result is pure genius.

Music fills the air from cool, bluesy songs, featuring musicians Mike Manzer, Rob Bethancourt, and Justin Juknelis, from the onset to the cast solos of numbers such as “Dream a Little Dream of Me,” and “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me,” to the interspersed snippets of Wagner’s Opera on somewhat scratchy vinyl exemplifying the juxtaposition of this ill-fated love story.

The music, the action, and the cast have created a pleasing fusion of style and texture to this musical kaleidoscope, and there is an unspoken promise that the show never ventures too far from the romance of true love. While the music, haunting one minute and campy the next, plays to our sense of listening, the audience’s sense of sight is held captive by the cast outfitted in subterranean black jumpsuits, complete with black baseball-type caps, and matching glasses as they proceed to aimlessly “dance” around the setting with no particular path in mind.

These futuristic-looking clones are the love spotters, who are found wallowing in the club of the unloved. This nerdy Greek chorus is a wonderful combination of clownishness and “watchers,” as their roles transform from witnesses to active participants. Their leader is a disillusioned and bitter midcentury-styled woman known as Mrs. Whitehands (Callie Prendiville Johnson), and she becomes a significant figure in the end, which is also the beginning, as fate would have it. Prendiville Johnson is heavenly, from her pure white costume to her animated and sublime performance, and, as a scene-stealer, she takes command of the stage and holds on until the end.

The stage itself hosts a beautiful backdrop of giant live trees and lush greenery that is more than a make-believe forest; it is Mother Nature providing a perfect outdoor setting for this world of love and intrigue. The “forest” is filled with large packing boxes scattered about, and to the right of the stage sits an actual moving company truck, an intentional prop and an important part of the play.

The tale of Tristan & Yseult is simple enough. After the invasion by King Moreholt (TJ Rodriguez) of Ireland, Tristan, a French knight, saves King Mark and the people of Cornwall by killing Moreholt himself. The king decides to disgrace the dead Irish king’s memory even more by marrying Moreholt’s beautiful sister, Princess Yseult (Emily Porr). Mark sends Tristan to Ireland to fetch the future bride.

Yseult finds out that Tristan is the one who killed her brother, and she also learns that she is betrothed to King Mark of Cornwall. Mortified, she plans to drink a love potion so that she will fall in love with Mark. On the returning voyage to Cornwall, both Tristan and she drink of the nectar, and they have an epic affair on the boat. There is a wedding. Yseult falls in love with Mark and marries him.

Tristan and Yseult both care about Mark, but they can’t keep their hands off each other, and with unbridled passion, the story continues. Talk about complications! For fear of spoiling what is to come, we will pause there; however, this legendary tale may ultimately surprise you, and ECT’s production of Tristan & Yseult is a wonderful marriage of acrobatics, comedy, romance, tragedy, spiraling emotional extremes, the music, the fourth wall breakdown, mad acting skills, but mostly about love, and then some.

On a scale of 1 to 10, the Electric Company Theatre’s Tristan & Yseult is off the charts for creativity, performance, and presentation. The chemistry between Tristan (Gabriel Liron) and Yseult (Emily Poor) sizzles onstage. With boundless energy, the cast leaps, jumps, runs, and dances, and, with an unsurpassed poetic nuance, the actors are unwaveringly committed to a cohesive, interconnected tale of love on a beautiful summer’s night at the theater.

Outstanding performances also include: Jose Oroszco as Frocin, Bobby Gonzalez as Brangian, Jonah Camacho, Noah Camacho, Kyle Hayes, Portia Hildebrand, Sophie Keaney, Jordan Lockhart, Dylan Magallanes, Eliane Moehno, Tamara Powell, Emily Taylor, and Camille Vargas. Directed by Brian Johnson and Michael Polak, Musical Direction by Mike Manzer, Choreography by Emily Taylor. Adapted and originally conceived by Emma Rice and Kneehigh Theatre.

The Electric Company Theatre at The Muckenthaler Cultural Center 1201 Malvern Avenue Fullerton, CA 92833 http://www.electriccompanytheatre.org Runs through June 24, 2026.