Through Sun 11/7
Bring on enchantment, feuding families and romance! Shakespeare’s The Tempest at Great Lakes’ Hanna Theatre in Playhouse Square welcomes live audiences for the first time since the 2020 Big Shutdown.
Director Sara Bruner and her merry crew create a fitting celebration in this lively presentation of (what may be) the last play Shakespeare wrote alone — and, perhaps consequently, one that falls into poetry and senior philosophy at the expense of plot. But who cares? With beautiful speeches like Prospero’s meditative lines —”We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep” — it’s easy to look inward and at the islands we find our lives lived on today.
The story is simple: there’s a storm. As a result, a ship’s passengers (royals and their entourage) are tossed into the sea. They land on an island controlled by a political exile, Prospero. Prospero studies magic. His teen daughter and a native creature are the only others there with him.
The set? A bare-bones scaffolding with a tower to one side and vast swatches of soft-hued fabric draped here and there. There’s also a pit which we are persuaded reaches deep into the earth.
Especially pleasing in this Tempest are director Bruner’s choices (what to cut, what to keep). Shakespeare plays, if performed with every textual bit collected or added during his lifetime and long afterward, might last days — or it would seem like it — so all directors get to shape these famous dramas. Bruner has chosen to give only a quick nod to feuding families and a ruler’s difficulties, in favor of emphasizing the play’s supernatural elements and super-silly slapstick. An excellent evening’s entertainment results.
One way Bruner accomplishes this is by delegating Ariel (Joe Wegner), a spirit and servant to Prospero, to speak first — a great choice. And so, when the play opens, we see Ariel standing on a high perch, but we hear Wegner’s disembodied voice floating from odd corners all over the theater. It’s a fun way to help us know we’re in a spooky place. It’s easy to admire Wegner’s Ariel, not only for his windswept hairdo, but also for his energy as he climbs and saunters around the stage from top to bottom
As Prospero, the man in charge of the island, Aled Davies shows authority. He speaks the play’s most famous lines with deliberation, as if to be sure we don’t miss one word. In this way he gives listeners the chance to say, “Oh yes, I remember that from school.” It’s satisfying to be reminded of the Bard’s last thoughts as Prospero (and Davies) meditate.
The other way Bruner enhances the play involves comic characters Trinculo (Jodi Dominick) and Stephano (Jillian Kates). Attired in brightly colored clownish short skirts and heels, we know the two are fools — and female fools at that. It’s a delightful twist and Dominick and Kates play off each other as if they’ve been doing it all their lives. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, move over — there’s a new duo in town.
Nick Steen as Caliban, an athletic monster, pairs well with the two clowns as the three wander through the story drinking too much and getting into trouble. At the end, we know Caliban’s situation, as Steen makes clear, isn’t always funny, especially when he asks Prospero the magician to release him and to leave the island. He makes a good case.
Romantic and traditional elements (comedies must end in a wedding) are supplied by the courtship of Prospero’s daughter Miranda (a winsome Angela Utrera) and Ferdinand (a handsome Domonique Champion). Other cast members included Jaime Nebeker (Adrian), Julian Remulla (Sebastian), David Anthony Smith (Antonio), Lisa Tejero (Gonzalo), Jessika D. Williams (Alonso), and Lynn Robert Berg (ensemble).
A winning and welcome addition to Tempest magic includes the stunning sound design by Matthew Webb, the beautiful employment of parachute fabric by scenic designer Efren Delgadillo Jr., and Helen Q. Huang’s elaborately crafted costumes which highlight the difference between monochromatic islanders and color-drenched shipwreck victims.
Other contributors included production stage manager Nick Cathro, lighting designer Rick Martin, assistant stage manager Rachel Kaufman, associate director Jaclyn Miller, and Chad Ethan Shohet.
BOTTOM LINE: An excellent production with a fresh take. Upon seeing an actual theater audience enjoying The Tempest, I join with Miranda and say (without any ironic undertones) “Oh, wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world, that has such people in ‘t!” Here’s to more to come as the Great Lakes’ Theater season opens.
The Tempest runs through Sunday November 7.
[Written by Laura Kennelly]