As a storm interrupts the initial quiet of the ocean waves, flashes of lightning and crashes of thunder instantly transport the audience to the midst of the storm with the rest of the characters of "The Tempest."
As they watch the screaming mariners on stage pleading for their lives, the audience is pulled into the same supernatural undertow of confusion and storm-tossed terror the unfortunate sailors feel as the Shakespearian storm is brought to life in McCarter Theatre.
The audience members and shipwrecked travelers alike find themselves unknowingly spellbound by Prospera's magic and the squall she has created.
The Plot
When the storm subsides and the travelers have found themselves washed ashore, they wander about the shore of Prospera's lair, as she explains to her daughter these travelers' past offenses.
Prospera, played by Blair Brown, had been shipwrecked with her daughter, Miranda (Rachel Matthews Black), 12 years before on the island where the play takes place.
Sent into exile by her conniving relatives, Prospera has achieved magical sovereignty over the island and claims the native Caliban (Ian Kahn) as her brutish slave and Ariel (Julyana Soelistyo) as her fairy servant.
Having mastery over the forces of nature through her magical powers, Prospera sees that these same relatives who sent her into exile 12 years before are adrift at sea. Thus, she orchestrates a storm to shipwreck them and deposit them unharmed on the shores of her island. Now, as they wander about the isle, Prospera and Miranda watch them interact, and observe as their sentiments of mutiny and lust for power surface.
At Prospera's command, eerily coordinated punctuations of color and magical sound effects mark her spell casting, and characters fall asleep or become invisible at her will.
Prospera and Ariel roam the island without being seen. As Alonsa, the Queen of Naples (Caroline Stefanie Clay) and her loyal counselor, Gonzalo (Yusef Bulos), sleep, Alonsa's brother, Sebastian (Ezra Knight), and Prospera's brother, Antonio (John Feltch), plot to kill the slumberers and seize Alonsa's throne.
A feminine interpretation
Commonly played by men, in Emily Mann's production of "The Tempest," the roles of Prospera, Alonsa and Ariel are played by women. With this gender switch, Mann's interpretation allows for a gentler, more feminine aspect to Ariel's pleas for freedom from servitude.
Thus, Brown and Clay bring a female spark to traditionally male roles of power, and as they give feminine life to masculine dialogue their commanding performances encompass both motherly warmth and harrowing strength.
As Prospera orchestrates the characters' encounters on the island, her maternal warmth tempers her fearful power and magical prowess. While she behaves harshly with Ferdinand (Lorenzo Pisoni), one of the storm's victims, she blesses his marriage to her daughter.
While Prospera watches her former friends and enemies compete for sovereignty of the island and plot accordingly, she never allows their actions to incur dangerous consequences.
The power of Brown's stunning performance drives the motion of the play, propels it forward to a heartrending conclusion.
The implications of Antonio and Sebastian's plan to kill Alonza are serious, but Prospera and Ariel see that the slumberers are awakened in time to elude their attackers. Caliban leads Trinculo, the court jester (Cameron Folmar), and Stephano, the butler (John Keating), on a futile crusade to overthrow Prospera.
As Folmar and Keating's comedic energy lightens the gloom of the political mind games the shipwrecked travelers play, their drunken revelry fosters moments of levity and mirth that may well elicit a chuckle or two.
As Caliban leads his revelers on their quest, as Alonza and her entourage roam the island, and as Ferdinand woos Miranda, these characters come together in a final crescendo under Prospera and Ariel's vigilant watch, and Prospera gets the final word.
A visual feast
Though many of the characters look remarkably dry and well-preserved considering they have been shipwrecked, the costumes and delightfully asymmetrical set provide a feast for the eye, which brilliantly complement the bold flashes of color and eerie sound effects of Prospera's magic.
McCarter's production crew rallies for a technical triumph, succeeding in creating a delightful balance between special effects and the actors' theatrical prowess. Between Prospera's tempered anger, Ferdinand's delightfully romantic love, and the unabashed merriment of Trinculo and Stephano, "The Tempest" succeeds in captivating the audience for what seems like all too short a time. McCarter's production of "The Tempest" puts Shakespeare's words of power and forgiveness into motion and artfully realizes on the stage what many of us have merely read in class.
"The Tempest" is playing at McCarter until March 2 and tickets can be purchased online at www.mccarter.org, or by calling 609.258.2787 or 1.888.ARTSWEB.
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