 | |
| Production photo by Craig Schwartz |
The new production of The
Tempest put on by the good folks at A Noise Within highlights the magical
qualities of the play, while also hitting the right comedic notes and stressing
the theme of forgiveness. There are some excellent performances here,
particularly by Rafael Goldstein as Sebastian, Jeremy Rabb as Stephano, Kasey
Mahaffy as Trinculo and Geoff Elliott as Caliban.
This production is visually compelling. The stage, upon
the audience’s arrival, is covered with a dark tarp, with deep blues, greens
and purples on the backdrop, giving the feel of the ocean. The opening storm
scene is then done by cast members rushing in and lifting the tarp to create
waves, with one person downstage, acting as the ship's figurehead, but
also holding a model of a boat, which she then moves against the waves created
by the billowing tarp. It might sound a bit odd, but it works quite well. It’s
also interesting, because those figureheads were thought to ward off evil
spirits, and of course spirits play an important part in The Tempest, particularly in this production. While this is done
beautifully, it is in place of the dialogue of the play’s first scene, and so
we’re not introduced to the men of the boat until they’ve landed on the island,
and I do think we lose something by not seeing the men all together at the
start.
The first lines of this production have Miranda (Alison
Elliott) calling to her mother. Yes, Prospero is female in this version. I have
mixed feelings about a female Prospero, because that obviously changes something
regarding the relationship with Miranda, as well as the character’s motivation for bringing Ferdinand to their shores. I have to admit part of my
reluctance to accept a female Prospero is the bad taste left in my mouth from
that completely reprehensible film by Julie Taymor. That being said, Deborah
Strang does a wonderful job in the role, embodying the character’s strengths as
well as vulnerabilities. She plays Prospero as both mother and father figure to
Miranda.
Of course, a female Prospero causes many changes to
Shakespeare’s lines. For example, “Sir,
are you not my father” becomes “Madam,
are you not my mother.” Of course, Prospero’s next line in the play, “Thy mother was a piece of virtue and/She
said thou wast my daughter,” no longer can work (and that is quite a funny
line). And when Miranda says, “Had I
not/Four or five women once that tended me,” she stresses “four or five,” which makes us think of
Prospero as tending on her, as would a loving mother. And though most of the
lines are changed to indicate Prospero’s gender, Ariel does still at one point
say “That’s my noble master.”
Ariel is also female in this production (though, of
course, that is less unusual). As I mentioned, this production puts emphasis on
the magical aspects of the play, and so Ariel’s entrance is done as spectacle,
with lights and sound, and a group of spirits spinning a large platform around.
It works really well, and this production does much with that one movable
platform. It seems that these other spirits serve Ariel, but when Prospero says
“How now? moody?” she is able to dismiss
the other spirits with a motion of her hand. A somewhat adversarial
relationship between Prospero and Ariel (Kimberleigh Aarn) is established
quickly.
Caliban, as played by Geoff Elliott, has a wonderful sad
quality, steeped in the misery of his situation, and believing his home, his
island, was taken from him by Prospero. Geoff Elliott’s excellent performance
really makes us feel for this wretch, and we can’t hate him when he tries to
turn on his master.
When the men arrive on the island, it is like the meeting
of two worlds. This is stressed by the differences in wardrobe. The men are all
in light-colored suits and hats, as from the 1920s. It would, of course, make
sense that their dress would be slightly more modern, as Prospero and Miranda have been
on the island for twelve years. All are in ties, though Gonzalo’s is a bow-tie,
setting him apart from the others. William Dennis Hunt gives a delightful performance
as Gonzalo.
Of the men, it is Ferdinand (Paul David Story) that we
meet first. Interestingly, at his entrance, Miranda holds a parasol and
Prospero dons sunglasses. It is almost as if they are anticipating the changes
to come, adapting to more modern times even as Ferdinand first arrives. Miranda’s
“What is ‘t?” (upon seeing him) is
wonderful. She is clearly taken with him immediately, and when Prospero frees
Ferdinand from a spell and he drops, she drops too, an empathic move that is a
nice touch. Though of course a female Prospero makes Miranda’s lines “This/Is the third man that ere I saw! The
first/That ere I sigh’d for!” unusable.
Miranda watches Ferdinand at the beginning of Act III,
crouched and unseen. Interestingly, there are spirits on either side of her,
who are also unseen, both by Ferdinand and by Miranda. Prospero then watches
the unfolding scene with Ferdinand and Miranda from within the audience.
Ferdinand has a delightful, youthful innocence, which works well when he
is stacking the logs and talking of Miranda. He also has an air of honor about him,
which is appropriate. I did want a little more sadness in his “I do think a king,” because he is saying
he believes his father is dead. And Miranda’s reading of “I am your wife if you will marry me” is rather flat. There is
something lacking in their chemistry.
There is a lot of humor in The Tempest, and this production garners much laughter from the
audience (often because of the great humor inherent in Shakespeare’s text, but
also due to particularly spot-on delivery of those lines – as Prospero’s
deliver of “Shake it off” in Act I
Scene ii). One inherently funny scene is that of the meeting of Trinculo and
Stephano with Caliban. In this production, Trinculo is dressed in a loud, blue plaid
suit jacket, and gives some very funny line readings, like on “What have we here.”
When we next see Stephano, he is wearing a homemade crown
and is seated on a throne of sorts, having really settled into the role of
master of Caliban – at least with the trappings and air of the role, if not the
actual responsibility. He has a staff at this point, drawing an interesting
parallel to Prospero. Also interesting is that he has a cape, but it is made
from Caliban’s own garb, so in his newly adopted lofty role he has actually
taken from his one subject, just as Caliban believes that Prospero has done on
a much larger scale. Caliban of course does not make this connection.
The changing of genders in both Ariel and Prospero causes
some minor problems. When Ariel gets Stephano to believe that Trinculo is
speaking against him, it doesn’t quite work as well, because Ariel’s is clearly
a female voice. And when Stephano agrees to kill Prospero for Caliban, he says,
“Monster, I will kill this woman,”
which is much more difficult to swallow than “Monster, I will kill this man.” After all, Stephano isn’t really a
bad man, and in a fight with a man you’d worry more for his safety than for the
other man’s. And I just don’t believe he would agree to kill a woman.
Instead of the play’s epilogue, this production gives us
a silent moment with Prospero and Caliban, with Prospero waving her staff to
free Caliban. While this is not in Shakespeare’s text, it’s actually a really
nice moment, and fits in well with the themes highlighted by this production.
The brief set changes throughout the production are turned
into musical interludes, with tribal rhythms. There is one intermission, coming
at the end of Act II.
This production of The
Tempest was directed by Geoff Elliott and Julia Rodriguez-Elliott, and it runs
through November 22, 2014. A Noise Within is located at 3352 E. Foothill Blvd.,
in Pasadena. There is free parking at the Metro Parking Structure.
(Note: I also posted this review on Pop Culture Beast.)
No comments:
Post a Comment