The Tempest (c) Joan Marcus
Theater: The Tempest
Shakespeare in the Park/Public Works (closed)
Premise: As the final full production at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park before a lengthy year-and-a-half renovation project, you can’t get any more joyous and crowd-pleasing than this musical take on “The Tempest.” With songs written by the immensely talented Benjamin Velez dropped in between Shakespeare’s text, “The Tempest” is a rousing production by the Public Works leg of the Public Theater. These are not the kind of adjectives normally associated with “The Tempest,” one of Shakespeare’s late comedies (only in its most academic definition) in which the exiled Duke of Milan, Prospero (Renée Elise Goldsberry), having been stranded on an island for years with only her daughter Miranda (Naomi Pierre) as her comfort, exacts revenge on the people who usurped her crown by summoning a tempest to crash their ship onto her island prison. They include her false and malicious brother Antonio (Anthony Chatmon II) and Alonso (Joel Frost), the King of Naples, who believes his son Ferdinand (Jordan Best) to have drowned in the shipwreck. But Ferdinand is alive and, having been separated from the other survivors, has fallen in love with Miranda. Prospero gleefully plays the two like pieces on a chess board (literalized in Alexis Distler’s serviceable set). Also in the story are two natives of the island: the sprite Ariel (Jo Lampert) and the savage Caliban (Theo Stockman), both now in servitude to Prospero. But is the angry, vengeful Prospero going to take his revenge on his captives, or will he be able to summon a grace towards forgiveness?
The Tempest (c) Joan Marcus
My Take: There was a lot of emotion swirling in me when I saw “The Tempest.” First, the Public Works production only ran for a week, so being able to actually see it was a surprise, especially on the last day of its run, making it the last performance of a Shakespeare play at the Delacorte for a long time. Public Works productions strives to incorporate the diverse communities that make up New York City by having them participate in the creation and performance of their productions alongside professional actors. In “The Tempest,” the strong 80 or so ensemble mostly play Ariel’s spiritual extension or crew members of the sunken ship. These actors, who range from young children to older participants, are fun to watch, their enthusiasm infectious. And the audience was all-in. There’s a song in which Prospero hears Miranda refer to Ferdinand as her log man as he fetches kindling for the fire, leading into the song “Log Man,” which the woman next me could not stop giggling at whenever that nom de plume was sung. All the Benjamin Velez songs are enjoyable and capture the spirit of “The Tempest,” especially the opening number “Cast a Spell” with its haunting “bum bum bum bum bum” refrain from the chorus.
The Tempest (c) Joan Marcus
The abridged Shakespearean text is also well done, giving all the characters their due, including the fools’ plotline of Stephano (Joel Perez) and Trinculo (Sabrina Cedeño) believing they can become the rulers of the island. My one problem has to do with director Laurie Woolery’s theoretical choices that somehow feels clunky in execution. It’s fine to cast Prospero as a woman, as Julie Taymor did in her 2010 film adaptation starring Helen Mirren, but for her to be on the younger side (via Goldsberry’s youthful personality) requires Rubik’s Cubing of the plot that I felt wasn’t entirely successful. Prospero’s wrath should equal the tempest she conjures, but here, I sort of felt a softening of her purpose from the beginning. But for a week’s celebration of New York diversity, Shakespeare in the Park and the Delacorte Theater, it was magical enough to let any quibbles go. When Prospero entreats the audience with “In this bare island by your spell/But release me from my bands/With the help of your good hands,” the audience was all too happy to oblige with applause and cheers.
The Tempest (c) Joan Marcus
VIP: Renée Elise Goldsberry. Having this Tony award-winning actress from “Hamilton” anchor this production was its biggest asset. Goldsberry, who has since been seen in diverse TV projects like “Girls5eva” and “Altered Carbon,” has never abandoned her theatrical roots, but her command of both Shakespeare’s language and Benjamin Velez’s musical power in this production proves it’s time for Goldsberry to lead a Broadway musical of her own.
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