What is Paradise and where do we find it? Many have searched for and questioned this perception of perfection. Tom Stoppard’s time-traveling play, Arcadia, tackles the notion of Paradise with integrity and insight. The Pear Avenue Theater presents Arcadia from February 22 through March 18; a night of this production is one chock-full of philosophy, sex, mathematics, metaphor, family, and connection.

“The Pear,” as it is affectionately called, is a cozy 38-seat black-box theater in its fifth season. Arcadia is directed by Rebecca J. Ennals and produced by Diane Tasca, the artistic director at the Pear. Ennals directs with clarity and lets the script do the work while maintaining a conclusive vision. “If we can just get all the words out, it’s great, because the script is so brilliant,” Ennals said. “This play is all about the different levels of love and how we fail at them. Sometimes it [Stoppard’s play] gets so intellectual that you get lost.” This rings true, because at some points in the play, the numerous threads of both stories can be difficult to follow.

Arcadia, at its core, is about the problem of Paradise. In Arcadia, the characters yearn for a perfect world with a clear future and they realize how completely unattainable this ideal is. The play follows two generations of one family in two different centuries; 1809 and the present.

Stoppard’s exceptional script sets the stage for fireworks and the talented actors channel the stubbornly individualistic characters with enthusiasm and wit. This all makes for extremely entertaining story-telling.

In 1809, Septimus Hodge (Michael Barrett Austin) is the tutor of the young lady of the house, Thomasina Coverly (Elvy Yost). Austin is a charming academic snot and his bewildered charisma enchants the audience. As the young student, Yost brings freshness and enthusiasm to the stage; however, her child-like anger comes off as contrived. The two form a strong bond and engage in many-layered wordplay as Septimus’ teachings start to involve more than academia.

Arcadia in the present has two writers of sorts butting heads to uncover a story of the Arcadia of 1809. Slyvia Kratins delivers a powerfully nuanced performance as historian Hannah Jarvis. Kratins conveys Hannah’s fragile pride with measured, defensive movements and the rare articulate crudity. Stewart Lyle enters as Bernard Nightingale, a blustery academic, spewing his passion all over the Coverly house. Bernard and Hannah’s initial opposition and later collaboration are philosophically and personally explosive. Opinions, ideas, and philosophies fly from everywhere, including the Coverly children; a hilarious, optimistic Valentine played by Kris Jacobs and a vivacious, blatantly sexual Chloe played by Melissa Quine.

One problem is the British accents that some characters take on; some characters dip in and out of the accent, while others forget it completely.

Since Arcadia is set in two different time periods, the story must jump easily back and forth between the two. Ennals scores on this one. The transitions are natural and lucid, done in dim lighting with characters of both time periods sharing the stage. As the play continues, the transitions and combined scenes with characters of both centuries become thought-provoking while the connections between the two stories grow stronger.

Costumes are generally well-executed. Some of the period pieces could be a little sharper but they are more interesting than the costumes of the present. Overall, the costumes are used successfully to reveal personality traits and set the time period. Highlights include a delicate, puffed-sleeve, white dress from 1809 and a blue military uniform with yellow tasseled shoulders and a white ruffled collar. Septimus and Bernard each have deep maroon jackets and time-period appropriate collars that match their stuffy arrogance.

The set is simple and effective, with a background golden tapestry, wood-carved tables and chairs, a pet turtle and three white-trimmed doors. On the other hand, a couple of the props looked comically out of place; plastic toy guns for a duel, a wig, and a stuffed-animal for a rabbit; however the actors deal with these props convincingly and with humor.

A night in Arcadia is a night well-spent; this relevant play reveals volumes about the complicated ways in which humans love. The families overcome many obstacles but do not reach Paradise; instead they acknowledge its beauteous, inaccessible quality. The actors bring it home with sizzling chemistry, exploding tensions, and outspoken personalities.

[The Pear Avenue Theater is located at 1220 Pear Avenue, Unit K in Mountain View. Performances are at 8 p.m. Thursday through Friday and at 2 p.m. on Sundays. Friday and Saturday: $20 General/$15 Students and Seniors. Thursday and Sunday: $15/$10. The show runs from February 22-March 18. Go to www.thepear.org for tickets.]