Life’s a beach
The Tempest
Written by William
Shakespeare
Directed by Judith
Jarosz
Theater
Equity Showcase (through
Review by Michael
D. Jackson
Director Judith Jarosz has
directed a slimmed down version of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, dropping the opening storm scene to begin with the
entrance of Prospero and Miranda. A
sense of the storm scene is nicely evoked as an insert during Prospero’s
description of the event. Although the
dropping of the storm scene robs us of an explosive and dramatically exciting
opening, it does allow the story to launch a bit faster and this is welcome.
The mighty figure of the play
is Prospero, displaced as the Duke of Milan by his brother Antonio and
abandoned at sea with his daughter Miranda.
Prospero has educated himself into the ways of a sorcerer and has caused
a tempest to shipwreck his enemies as they happened to pass by. These enemies, including his brother, are now
wandering about the island, frightened by the potential dangers, while Prospero
looks over them, gleeful of his revenge.
This general set-up allows for a young romance of the “love at first
sight” variety; for a couple of comic buffoons who run into a deformed
creature, Caliban; to infuse an inactive plot with a few laughs; and a quartet
of Royals who find themselves perplexed by mild mishaps. The
Tempest seems like it should be more attractive than it is, with magical
dancing spirits, sorcery, the storm sequence and a happy ending for all. However, Theatre Ten Ten’s production is
simple and performed without any flourishes, perhaps not so far off from how
the first productions might have been presented. However, without taking advantage of all that
could be done with a play about a magical world, a lot of the potential fun of
the play is lacking. This is a little
like Peter Pan without the flying. So,
then, this writer dares to criticize Shakespeare’s play for being dull overall,
but there you have it: so much the better that the long winded text has been
edited down.
A lot of the responsibility
for making the play really work is the performance of the actor playing
Prospero, for he has lengthy speeches in his first scene that describe a lot of
back story. Prospero must be a beguiling
presence that can command our attention and make us hang on his every
word. Unfortunately, David Fuller as Prospero is not that
magic person; although he adopts a commanding stance, reads his lines with a
booming voice and gestures with wide arms conducting unseen miracles, he does
not rule the play as he must. Kendall
Rileigh as Ariel also has a number of long descriptive speeches and for all
her ballet and tumbling about to give the impression of a nymph, she does not
illuminate the text. More successful are
the other sub characters, even the two-dimensional lovers (Ka-Ling Cheung and Greg Foro),
who make their scenes clear and believable.
Especially good is Scott Michael
Morales, who gives the really fun performance of the production as Caliban,
the half monster/half fish who comically terrorizes the drunken Trinculo (Anne Gill) and Stephano (David Weinheimer). The three have some entertaining comic
business that liven things up, but these days it takes quite a brilliant comic
talent to make drunken humor more than mildly amusing and here the device is
tiresome. As the Royals, Catherine Handy, Matt Bernhard and Richard
Brundage apply their talents suitably, but there isn’t a lot there to make
them feel valuable. Although, Sybille Bruun as Gonzala, councilor to
the Queen, manages and interesting character that rises above the rest of the
group.
Design elements were all very
basic with Giles Hogya and David Fuller’s myriad of square
platforms standing in for the environs of the island and Sherrice Kelly’s helpful lighting adding some mood and ambiance to
the pallet. However, Viviane Galloway’s costume design
distinguishes the production, setting it in a resemblance of the 19th century,
but with a whimsy that befits a magical story.
Judith Jarosz has directed a simple production and although unified and
sprinkled with delightful moments, it does not radiate the magical powers the
story suggests.
Writing: 1
Directing: 1
Acting: 1
Sets: 1
Costumes: 1
Lighting/Sound: 2
Copyright 2008 by Michael D.
Jackson
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