Review: ‘Doctor Faustus’ sells his soul at a loss

The cocky protagonist of “Doctor Faustus” may be bored silly by philosophy, medicine, law and theology (and face it, who isn’t?), but selling his immortal soul is a remedy that seems a tad extreme even by today’s jaded behavioral standards.

The tragic Faustian bargain, dramatized by Independent Shakespeare Company in its intimate Atwater Village studio space, renders Christopher Marlowe’s 400-year-old text with impressively accessible clarity, though the production only intermittently attains the audacious vigor of the troupe’s summer forays in Griffith Park.

Combining portions of the “official” quartos published in 1604 and 1616, this new adaptation by director Melissa Chalsma moves briskly through the narrative arc of Faustus’ trade-in deal for limitless — albeit short-term — knowledge and power.

For such a know-it-all, the good Doctor (Adam Mondschein) proves a terrible negotiator. His 24-year lease on omnipotence may have roughly equated to an Elizabethan-era life expectancy (Marlowe himself died at 29), but it’s hardly a good value coming at the cost of damnation for all eternity.

Even more farcical is the ease with which Lucifer’s mouthpiece, Mephistopheles (Suzan Crowley), bamboozles Faustus into frittering away his time on parlor tricks and practical jokes.

After a first-act surfeit of philosophical throat-clearing, the second half affords more openings for ISC’s signature mix of whimsical irreverence and classical precision.

Matt Callahan’s superb clowning antics, André Martin’s put-upon pope and emperor, and multiple supporting roles distributed among Lexie Helgerson, Ashley Nguyen and Sam Breen provide some lively exchanges, but they never quite jell with Crowley’s unflappably formal reserve — her Mephistopheles could be more expressively manipulative as she pulls the strings.

Mondschein’s Faustus modulates smoothly between comically amped hubris and anguished soul-searching. His psychologically nuanced blank verse soliloquies figure among the most essential playwriting pointers Marlowe left behind for his contemporary, a fellow scribe by the name of William Shakespeare.

“Doctor Faustus,” Independent Studio, 3191 Casitas Ave. No. 168, Atwater Crossing Arts + Innovation Complex, Los Angeles. 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays. Ends Nov. 23. $20-$25. (818) 710-6306 or www.iscla.org. Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes.