Past Reviews

Regional Reviews: Washington, D.C.

The Tempest
Shakespeare Theatre Company

Also see Susan's review of Famous Puppet Death Scenes


Rachel Mewbron and
Geraint Wyn Davies

The Shakespeare Theatre Company's production of The Tempest is spectacular in all senses: intensely entertaining to the audience while also presenting a spectacle of color, sound, and light. Director Ethan McSweeney, like the play's magician Prospero (Geraint Wyn Davies), marshals the elements at his command to conjure a world of beauty and amazement.

The dazzling moments begin immediately. Lee Savage's scenic design compresses the wide stage of Sidney Harman Hall with a false proscenium and boxes, setting up expectations that explode with the opening scene of sailors fighting a massive lightning storm. When the old-fashioned stage curtain finally rises, it reveals a sand-covered island decorated with the hull of a wrecked ship, and most of the fireworks are verbal.

While Prospero created the storm to bring his enemies to the island he now rules, Davies presents the deposed duke's mood as less vengeful than simply tired of the years of estrangement. Prospero may toy with his brother Antonio (Gregory Linington), who usurped his power and sent him into exile with his young daughter Miranda, but his ultimate goal is forgiveness and reconciliation—and even amusement at the follies of humanity.

As Miranda, Rachel Mewbron is both winningly innocent and smart enough to know what she wants. (Ferdinand, the shipwrecked prince played appealingly by Avery Glymph, knows when to give up fighting.) Longtime company member Ted van Griethuysen, now 80 years old, gives a beautifully burnished performance as the nobleman Gonzalo, and Liam Craig is hilarious as cynical jester Trinculo.

Sofia Jean Gomez is a captivating Ariel, bound by ropes as Prospero's servant but spending most of the play aloft (flying effects provided by ZFX Inc., flying director Stu Cox). Clifton Duncan's Caliban is a figure of dignity rather than ridicule, who speaks his lines in a musical Caribbean accent.

McSweeney's design team helps bring the miracles to life, notably Nevin Steinberg's encompassing sound design, Jenny Giering's score, and James Ortiz's oversized puppets.

Shakespeare Theatre Company
The Tempest
December 2 - January 18, 2015
By William Shakespeare
Prospero: Geraint Wyn Davies
Miranda: Rachel Mewbron
Ariel: Sofia Jean Gomez
Caliban: Clifton Duncan
Alonso, King of Naples: C. David Johnson
Ferdinand, his son: Avery Glymph
Sebastian, Alonso's brother: David Bishins
Antonio, Prospero's brother: Gregory Linington
Gonzalo, a councillor: Ted van Griethuysen
Adrian, a courtier: Avery Clark
Trinculo: Liam Craig
Stephano: Dave Quay
Boatswain: Sean Fri
Master: Matthew Pauli
Voice: Nancy Anderson
Mariners and spirits: Freddie Bennett, Ross Destiche, Asia Kate Dillon, Ben Henderson, Dan Jones, Matthew Pauli, Stephanie Schmalzle, Kedren Spencer, Jessica Thorne, Katherine Renee Turner
Directed by Ethan McSweeney
Harman Center for the Arts, Sidney Harman Hall
610 F St. N.W.
Washington, DC
Ticket Information: 202-547-1122 or 877-487-8849 or www.shakespearetheatre.org


Photo: Scott Suchman