[NEohioPAL]Berko review: THE TEMPEST (Great Lakes Theatre Festival)

[Roy Berko]

Farce over substance:  ‘THE TEMPEST’ at Great Lakes
Theater Festival

Roy Berko
(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--
Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times	

“We are such stuff as dreams are made of.”

“THE TEMPEST,’ now being staged at Great Lakes Theatre
Festival, is sometimes billed as Shakespeare’s last
play.  In fact, ‘HENRY VII’ and ‘TWO NOBLE KINSMEN’
were written later.  Another misconception about the
play is that it is a comedy.  Modern editors have
relabelled it as either a romance or a fantasy.  To
add to the interesting background of the script, when
it was written it was basically ignored as a minor
work.  Today, however, critics and scholars consider
it to be one of the Bard’s greatest works.

In contrast to many of Shakespeare’s plays, which make
for excellent reading, ‘THE TEMPEST’ requires staging
to develop its full effect.  It is inherently
theatrical since it contains invisible beings that the
audience can see but the characters cannot and lends
itself to farcical interludes that can’t be created on
the page.  It is multi-sensory theatre which includes
storms, music, and sounds which are required to create
its imagery. 

Shakespeare, in his major plays, often asked, “What is
a human being?”   This is the theme of ‘THE TEMPEST.’ 

The play begins with a tempestuous storm at sea. 
Twelve years previously Prospero, the Duke of Milan,
was usurped by his brother Antonio with the support of
Alonso, King of Naples, and the king’s brother,
Sebastian.  But for the help of Alonso’s advisor,
Gonzalo, he would have been killed with his only
daughter Miranda.  Gonzalo furnished them with the
means to survive, including Prospero’s precious books,
and cast them into the sea. They eventually landed on
a remote island, once ruled by the witch Sycorax, but
now inhabited by her only son, the malformed Caliban.

Upon his arrival Prospero released Ariel, a powerful
spirit who had been enslaved by Sycorax.  It is
through the help of the “invisible” Ariel that
Prospero, aware that a passing ship contains his
brother and the co-conspirators, causes a storm and
shipwrecks the vessel.  As the play unfolds, love,
plotting, drunkenness, a test of faith, new awarnesses
and physical and psychological discovery take place. 
With a good production, it is Shakespeare at his
finest.

Any director of ‘THE TEMPEST’ must make several
decisions:  How far is s/he going to go to take the
fantasy?  Is farce or comedy going to reign?  Andrew
May, directing his first play for GLFT, has decided to
let loose all the effects, play for laughs, thus
overshadowing the text.  

As for the cast, Sara Bruner is delightful as Ariel,
the airy Spirit.  She moves well and develops a
consistent character.  Handsome David Gregory is on
target as the naive love-controlled Ferdinand.  

On the other hand, Aled Davies disappoints as
Prospero.  He displays two moods...quiet or yelling. 
He doesn’t build a compelling character.  When we hear
Prospero recite the epilogue, after laying down his
wand, we should feel that all in the world is well. 
Unfortunately, that was not the case.

David Anthony Smith (Sebastian) yells almost every
line.  Dougfred Miller (Antonio) is often difficult to
hear as he doesn’t project.  Though they delighted the
audience with their overdone actions, Jeffrey Hawkins
and Lynn Robert Berg, are over the top as two drunken
shipmates, substituting slapstick for concept.  Pretty
Laura Welsh screeches her way through the role of
Miranda, daughter to Prospero.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:   If you like farce carried to its
max, startling special effects, and stress on visual
effects over substance then you’ll like this
production of ‘THE TEMPEST.’  It’s not a bad
production, just one with a debatable interpretation
and some questionable acting.
   
For educators:  GLTF has prepared an excellent
teacher’s guide to accompany a discussion for students
who will be attending this fun production.  A special
student rate of $13 applies for the run of this show
and ‘HAY FEVER.’

‘THE TEMPEST’ and ‘HAY FEVER’ run through  April 21 at
the Ohio Theatre in Playhouse Square.  For ticket
information call 216-241-6000 or go to
www.greatlakestheater.org




Roy Berko's blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2002 through 2007, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at http://royberko.info
      
Roy's theatre and dance reviews appear regularly on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.  His reviews also appear on www.coolcleveland.com


 
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