Two seasons ago, Leeward Community College made a big splash — literally — by staging Tony Award-winner Mary Zimmerman's play "Metamorphoses" on a stage dominated by a large pool of water.

This year, the subject changes from Greek myths to Persian tales with Zimmerman's "The Arabian Nights," based on the legend of Scheherazade, who stalled her death for 1,001 nights by entertaining her husband with stories of love, comedy and passion.

Under Paul Cravath's direction, the large student cast keeps the production funny and sexy, and designers provide a lavish feast for the eyes. Piles of Oriental carpets and dozens of hanging lanterns grace the set by Donald Ranney Jr. Exotic and colorful costumes by Sami Akuna, and striking lighting effects by Sarah Whitehead assure that there is always something new to look at. Elaborate masks, headdresses, props and makeup add finishing touches.

And if anyone in the cast has a special talent, Cravath is sure to showcase it. He uses 30 actor/singer/dancers, many of them double-cast, to fill the stage with harem girls, slaves, lunatics and royalty. Performers move from chorus to featured roles with ease and grace, while the audience enjoys a kaleidoscope of unfolding action.

Carman Jones is the resourceful Scheherazade, physically stunning in shining cloth of gold and remarkably articulate as she weaves tales to distract her husband from thoughts of bloodshed.

Jeremy Wagner is the darkly sinister Shahryar, a man so embittered by catching his first wife making love with a slave that he marries a new woman each night and executes her in the morning, ensuring monogamy through serial murder.

But it's the collective work of the chorus that is the star of the production. The layered plot unravels stories within stories, many of them featuring wild and comic sexual escapades. A wife cheats on her husband in quick succession with a baker, a greengrocer, a butcher, and a clarinet player, all of whom brandish a collection of phallic props. Then each wins his freedom by entertaining the judge with his own engaging story.

While simulated sex draws the attention of teens in the audience, the younger set is charmed by the clarinetist's tale "Abu al-Hasan's Historic Indiscretion." In this, Patrick Pascua enacts the fate of a man with the bad luck to loudly pass gas on his wedding day.

Not only does it cancel the wedding, it drives him into years of exile — only to learn that the event has been memorialized with its own date on the national calendar.

The refrain of "shouldn't have eaten those chick peas" carries us out to intermission.

Act Two takes on a more somber tone, with teachings from the Quran, science, and complicated riddles, the babble of many stories told simultaneously, and the power of a special song.

The show's big finish brings us visually and without preaching to the skies over present Baghdad, swirling with the smoke of fires and ordnance.

LCC main stage productions are characterized by their youthful spirit and abundant energy. "The Arabian Nights" fits squarely in that mode and should play well for all age groups.