THE TEMPEST – Written by William Shakespeare; Directed by Kevin Rich. Produced by the Colorado Shakespeare Festival (CU campus, Roe Green Theatre, Boulder) through August 10th. Tickets available at 303-492-8008 or CUpresents@colorado.edu.
Dramaturg Amanda Giguere uncovers a fantastical, yet authentic, tale of the probable origins of the storyline for THE TEMPEST. It involves a large fleet of ships departing from England in 1609 with supplies for the colonies in Jamestown. However, one of the ships became lost during a huge “tempest” at sea, drifted for days, finally coming upon what is probably now Bermuda. They found naturally growing food, a temperate climate, and set to work rebuilding their ship. Sound a little familiar? Their story of hardship and survival made its way back to England into the mind of Shakespeare, who uses it to tell a tale of revenge using magic and heart.
Director Kevin Rich has created both a realistic depiction of the dangers of sea travel, the struggle for survival, the wonder of first love, and the humor of human foibles. He has found the darkness of disappointment and the need for recompence while maintaining the possibility of reunion and forgiveness. “Thou shalt be free as mountain winds; but then exactly do all points of my command.”
Roll in an endearing love story as Miranda (Madison Taylor) sees Ferdinand (Jordan Pettis) for the first time – “How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world, that has such people in’t!”
And, best of all, plumbs the depths of the humor as the fallen sailors, Trinculo and Stephano (Matt Zambrano and Sean Scrutchins), encounter the “monster” Caliban (Karen Slack) for the first time. “Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises, sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.” He has staged this scene of discovery to highlight the common sense of Caliban juxtaposed against the drunken belligerent behavior of the supposed more civilized Englishmen sailors. All three actors make the most of their scenes together which brings a smile of anticipation to the audience when they show up on stage again. Ms. Slack is a bold (in some sense) choice for the role of Caliban who is often portrayed as a dirty animal-like creature. Not so bold in the sense that she brings a clever and conniving Caliban to life with her ability to do “sly.” Her partners in this frivolity, Mr. Zambrano and Mr. Scrutchins are up to the challenge of sorting out what this creature is and how they can use it, in spite of their inebriated state.
Prospera (Ellen McLaughlin) speaks to her sprite Ariel that “I have required some heavenly music, which even now I do.” In this case the heavenly music was composed and performed by Jordan Coughtry in his role as Ariel. This addition to the production introduces action, sets the mood for both endearing and amusing scenes, and accompanies scenes both quiet and rowdy. A great enhancement overall.
Ms. McLaughlin gives maturity and gravitas to her role as the abandoned and betrayed ruler of Milan who practices magic she has learned from her salvaged books. Depictions of this control of not only the human heart, but the weather and physical manifestation of the island are subtle, but meaningful. Her personal decisions toward those she has “kidnapped” are painfully accomplished but positive, changing her posture and demeanor.
The set, designed by Matthew Crane and lit by Katie Gruenhagen, suggests both the uninhabited island and the broken ships which brought creatures to land. The costumes designed by Sarah Zinn are authentic to the period when appropriate and magical in nature when not. As in the tie-dyed garb of Ariel and his fellow spirits. The use of puppets to illustrate the history of the situation is also an interesting concept devised, no doubt, by Director Rich and the Puppet Designer Myra Su. All in all, a team effort that has resulted in a luxurious production.
A WOW factor of 8.5!!