Circe (Susan Arnold) seduces young Glaucus (Christopher Hokin, in mask) in a scene from "Endymion."

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That luscious line is the first of 4,000 that John Keats wrote for his very long, very wordy, very beautiful poem, "Endymion."

Tucson actor/director Joseph McGrath has read all 4,000 lines. He's loved them, pored over them, used them as vocal calisthenics to keep his voice in shape.

And he's a tad stunned that no one has done what he has: Adapted the poem into a workable theatrical piece.

"Endymion," lovingly slashed down to 1,500 lines by McGrath, opens The Rogue Theatre's season on Thursday.

"I'm really kind of shocked at the psychological depth of some of the character dialogue in Keats' poem, and it's never really been given wing in the air," said McGrath.

"It's like turning over a rock and finding a gem there."

The adaptation, he thinks, will bring a wider audience to Keats' story of trembling emotions and innocent love.

"Now you have the chance to understand it on one hearing," said McGrath, who also directs and performs in the production.

The poem, based on the Greek myth, tells the story of the great love the moon goddess, Selene, has for the beautiful shepherd boy, Endymion.

"As a 4,000-line poem, it's difficult to get through," said McGrath. "It's got so much embellishment in it. . . . But there's a lot of stuff that's perfectly accessible."

The language, the story and the romance of the poem make it an ideal theatrical piece, he said.

"Keats has written some marvelous things that need to be exposed," said McGrath. "It's fanciful, romantic. Imagine 'Midsummer Night's Dream' with twice the passion. It's really soaring, operatic emotion with a real fanciful theatricality."

Whoa. That's quite a task for a young theater company to take on.

But it's exactly the kind of theater that McGrath and his Rogue partner, Cynthia Meier, committed to when they opened the company last year: theater that relies heavily on language and ideas that are intellectually thrilling and challenging.

A big job, true. But McGrath and Meier don't think small.

This production, for example, has a cast of 16. Plus live music.

"We get a lot of devotion and dedication from the people we have," said McGrath about his tight ensemble.

"They love being part of this style of theater. This is the kind of thing that actors look forward to. For me, it doesn't get any better than this."