Once again Wilbury Theatre has tackled a stunning, difficult play head on, with mostly positive results.

Director Josh Short has recruited a large, competent cast of familiar actors, led by the amazing David Tessier as Johnny “Rooster” Byron, the charismatic, defiant, self-proclaimed leader of a group of misfits who gather at his ramshackle trailer in the woods to party the days and nights away.

Tessier tackles the tough roles, like Hedwig at the former Perishable and the Threepenny Opera’s Macheath at Wilbury. He is a passionate actor who engulfs his character.

The cast is strong, from John Michael Richardson’s poetic professor to Jonathan Fisher’s manic Davey to smaller but important roles by Shannon Hartman (Phaedra) and Rae Mancini (Ms. Fawcett).

With the advantages of a top-notch cast and director and a set that rivals the Johnston landfill, “Jerusalem” has a lot going for it.

The play, set in England, was a big hit there and off Broadway.

The action takes place outside Rooster’s place before, during and after the annual St. George’s Day fair.

The one thing the play lacks is a good editor, one to take playwright Jez Butterworth’s prolific writing and take it down a bit from its three-act, three-hour presentation.

The play wanders at times, as characters wax poetic, long lists of names are run off, and random distractions get in the way.

The play covers a variety of issues, some disconnected, and has a plot that occasionally gets lost in the mayhem.

Rooster is being evicted. The local government is fed up with the squalor and the late night partying. And then there’s the drugs and alcohol and teenagers Rooster takes in.

And what has happened to the stepdaughter of the angry Troy (Ben Conant)?

And what will happen to Rooster when his time runs out?

“Jerusalem” is a passionate, loud, wandering play that says a lot (perhaps a bit too much) about English society and those who reject the new order.

At Wilbury Theatre, 393 Broad St, Providence, through June 4. Tickets are $15 students, $20 seniors and $25 general admission. Visit www.thewilburygroup.org.