A Lively and Streamlined 'The Tempest' at Cleveland Play House Showcases the Work's Comedy, Wizardry

No matter how many Shakespeare plays may be on the docket in Cleveland any year, The Tempest is always a welcome addition, what with its betrayal and revenge themes, its magical whoop-de-do, and one character that is part human and part mixed seafood platter.

This diverting production of The Tempest is produced by the Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Play House Master of Fine Arts Acting Program, a title that defies acronyms and evidently cannot be shortened into anything more palatable (as has been done with the location of the play, The Helen, which is short for the Helen Rosenfeld Lewis Bialosky Lab Theatre at Playhouse Square).

The cast, which is composed of the CWRU/CPH/MFA Acting Program (see, told you so) Class of 2024, is led by director Eleanor Holdridge. In this slightly streamlined and lively version, the wizardry and comedy of TT are brought to the fore, while more serious notes fight for space and attention.

In this telling, Prospero, the right Duke of Milan is reimagined as a woman, Prospera (Shunté Lofton), who has been banished with her daughter Miranda (Victoria Alev Duffy) to a windswept island by her brother, Antonio the usurping Duke (Alfredo Ruiz) along with Alonsa, the King of Naples (Mattie Blick).

Happily, Prospera has a talented servant in the form of Ariel (Ellen Grace Dielhl) who flits around to carry out her mistress's whims, which include arranging for a shipwreck that lands all of Prospera's enemies on the island with the efficiency of an Amazon porch delivery. A bonus in that buch is Ferdinand (Josh Bates), Alonsa's chick-magnet son who turns Miranda into cooked linguine at first glance.

But skullduggery awaits in the form of the island's resident monster Caliban (Gavin Michaels), who is the aforementioned anatomical kluge: human, fish and tortoise. He is kept shackled by Prospera until a couple drunks in the shipwrecked company, Stephano (Dylan Ireland) and Trinculo (Ruiz, doubling) win Caliban over with a particularly delicious cocktail and all three agree to kill Prospera.

As with all of old Will's works, complexities ensue and it is up to the performers and director to make it all fit together and create that special theatrical magic that even Ariel would envy. And while this production succeeds in many respects., other areas are given short shrift.

The actors are to be commended for their commitment to their characters, particularly Michaels, Lofton and Ireland. Even though Michael's Caliban costume is less than inspired, he manages to capture the monster's torment and his stark "otherness." Lofton cuts an impressive figure as Prospera, exuding quiet power as she first relishes in her conquest of her enemies and then considers switching from retribution to reconciliation. And Ireland light up the stage in the dual roles of Sebastian and Stephano.

As for Ferdinand and Miranda, their microwave romance never quite clicks as Bates and Duffy never take enough risks with their chance coupling. And while Ariel spins and poses in delightful ways, Diehl never finds a way to add the subtext of the sprite's frustration at having been promised her freedom many times by Prospera only to have her hopes dashed.

Scenic designer Richard H. Morris, Jr. has fashioned an impressive cave condo complete with hieroglyphics, and the mood is enhanced by ethereal music by composer Daniel Levy, sound effects designed by Angie Hayes and a couple dandy puppet dogs by Kirsten Houck.

Of course, the biggest magic tricks in The Tempest, as always, are Shakespeare's words that weave their own inescapable spell. In just one sentence— "We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep"—he contains multitudes. And that's why we will continue to watch and be inspired, as long as there are theater people who breathe life into those thoughts.

The Tempest
Through September 30 at The Helen, Cleveland Play House, Playhouse Square, 1407 Euclid Ave., clevelandplayhouse.com, 216-241-6000.

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