Regional Reviews: Washington, D.C. The Tempest Also see Susan's review of Famous Puppet Death Scenes
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 reconciliationand 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
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