Editorial Disclosure: DCist contributor Jason Linkins has a supporting role in this production

Take a little Neil Gaiman, add a healthy dose of Jasper Fforde, infuse with a serious shot of Shakespeare and pepper with clever literary references throughout (and a refreshing amount of silliness), and you have Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s Rough Magic, now being showcased by Rorschach Theater as part of the Shakespeare in Washington festival.

As a festival entry, this one’s a smart pick – it’s not your typical modernist revision or classic choice. Rough Magic toys with Shakespearean characters with affection and without undue reverence. A dramaturg (an unlikely heroine for sure, but an amusing one to anyone even tangentially associated with the theatrical community) has the inexplicable power to pluck characters from books at will (Shakespeare and musicals are easy; anyone too complex is too hard to control), but her abilities are put to the test when Caliban (Cesar Guadamuz) escapes from The Tempest and needs her help before Prospero (Vasanth Santosham) brings down all of New York City in order to destroy him. The script has plenty of clever allusions, and frequently posesses a lyrical quality that lets your imagination run wild when events are narrated rather than performed.

While an inarguably fun night of theater, Rough Magic doesn’t precisely feel like a Rorschach production. The company usually is masterful at making the most of meager surroundings, and transporting us away from their theatrical space and into another realm. The staging is not without its neat tricks (our first look at Prospero is thrillingly horrific, for example). But the set doesn’t conveniently lend itself to specific location changes, giving the show a more amateur look than befits the company.