Shipwrecked after a violent storm, little do the survivors know that they have landed on an enchanted isle controlled by Prospero, the magician and full of sprites and other extraordinary creatures. Prospero’s magic can do many things, but will it mend a family feud and set Ariel and Caliban free? Come and see what fantastical events will be.

Director's Notes

Directed by J. Tony Brown

The first recorded performance of The Tempest (according to the Revels Accounts) was for King James on Hallowmas Night (November 1st), 1611. The only other one recorded during Shakespeare’s life, also at court, was on the occasion of Princess Elizabeth’s wedding to Frederick V of Bohemia. In the Jacobean court, one of the most popular entertainments was the intermezzo masque, elaborately colorful and noisy entertainments which featured song, dance and fantastic costumes. Shakespeare it seems was tapping directly into the zeitgeist of the court with The Tempest. The play not only features a high sort of masque for the betrothal of Ferdinand and Miranda, involving three Roman deities, which is followed by a more carnival-like dance involving naiads and reapers. It also has a kind of “antimasque” with the appearance of the mysterious shapes in a banquet scene which culminates with the dire pronouncements of a harpy.

Indeed, Prospero seems to be directing the progress of the play as a series of mini-masques, with his spirits as the actors (disguised as such characters as hounds) and with Ariel as his star. He uses music, color and spectacle to draw in his erstwhile supplanter, his brother Antonio, and Antonio’s confederate, Alonso, then springs the moral trap, having Ariel (as the harpy) pronounce the decree of Destiny in recompense for their perfidy. In much the same way, he uses fine garments to entice Stephano and Trinculo, who are plotting with Caliban to murder him in a coup d’état, then commands they be “hunted soundly,” and their joints be ground “with dry convulsions.”

At first blush, The Tempest appears to be a revenge play, but with the help of his closest companions, Miranda and Ariel, Prospero abandons the course of retribution in favor of forgiveness, realizing that “the rarer action is in virtue than in vengeance.” Here we see Shakespeare’s art. It is in fact the playwright himself who has drawn us in with his spectacular pageant to affirm this lesson of the power and virtue of forgiveness for each of us. Even the beastly Caliban is moved to vow, “I’ll be wise hereafter and seek for grace.” (Note that his avowal comes after Prospero’s nod to Caliban, affirming, “this thing of darkness, I acknowledge mine.”) In the end, it is Prospero who entreats us to “Let your indulgence set me free.”

It’s my hope that we too have captured a little of the Jacobean/Shakespearean zeitgeist in this production, embracing the music, dance and spectacle that will please you, and like Prospero I beg your indulgence to perfect this vision. It would be churlish indeed if I failed to express my deep gratitude to all the actors, musicians, dancers and technicians who’ve made all this work. Thank you!

By the way, one of the features of the court masque was the participation of the audience in the entertainments. I hope you’ll be swept along with us in our celebration, and if you feel like getting up and dancing along, well….