 | The Tempest |  |
"Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows." Act II, scene ii
Written: 1611
Theater Oobleck ; April 0, 2003 Chicago, Illinois
Starring : Dave Buchen, Carrie Chantler, Robyn Coffin, Teria Gartelos, David Isaacson, Mickle Maher, Kat McJimsey, Colm O’Reilly, Dan Telfer, Saskia Volkers, Lisa Black, Guy Massey
Reviewed on : 2003-05-05 00:00:00 ; Reviewed by : Eric Tsou
| There is little to expand upon in the beautiful prose and timeless themes
of Shakespeare, but Theater Oobleck's performance of Mickle Maher's highly
entertaining and thoroughly imaginative Spirits to Enforce does succeed
in adding a touching, if unnecessary, second epilogue to The Tempest.
The premise follows a group of telefundraisers attempting to finance and
sell tickets for their production of The Tempest. Through conversations
with the solicited donors, it is revealed that these telefundraisers are
actually superheroes of the mysterious Fathom Town where our story takes
place. As the phone conversations become more desperate, we learn that
Fathom Town was built upon Prospero's isle in the wake of his departure
centuries ago. Furthermore, these superheroes are the remnants of the
spirits from Prospero's isle survived these last several centuries longing
for a return to the last time their lives had any meaning - the time when
they were under Propero's yoke.
Much of the humor and drama of this play derives from the heroes'
improbable powers and their perhaps predictably mundane lives and problems
which, mysteriously, are discussed at some length with the potential
benefactors. Some of these discussions fall a bit flat while others are
pleasantly engaging. Not surprisingly, their relative efficacy hinges
upon the strength of the performances supporting them. Very few of the
actors' lines are delivered to one another. Instead, they are generally
addressed to the audience through their disembodied phone proxies. This
allows each actor to pursue his or her character in largely independent
fashion which presents good material for a directorless production
(Theater Oobleck works without one) though it does give the performance a
somewhat disjointed feel.
Sprinkled in with these character defining monologues are excerpts from
The Tempest, including the epilogue from which the title is taken.
These snippets have been co-opted into this production as elements of the
sales pitch to potential ticket buyers, a clever way to provide a nice
sampling of the wonderful language from the source material. Lisa Black,
as Cecily Gray, provides nice gravity to several of Prospero's verses.
Also standing out, Guy Massey, as Emory Lawson (aka Ariel), turns in a
subtly nuanced performance reflecting his character's hopeful longing for
his master's return combined with his resigned understanding that it can
never be. Prospero has died in the centuries between then and now in a
display of one of the text's main themes, that of time's disrespect for
the world of man.
|
|
Matthew William Peters, 1741-1814
Near the Cell of Prospero
Reviews
|  | Akademietheater Wien
October 26, 2011 |  | Guildford Shakespeare Company
July 26, 2010 |  | Krazy Kat Theatre
November 2, 2009 |  | Theater Freiburg
April 4, 2009 |  | The Baxter Theatre Centre and the Royal Shakespeare Company
February 20, 2009 |  | Classic Stage Company
September 17, 2008 |  | Darker Arts at The Rosemary Branch
February 26, 2008 |  | Ragged Wing Ensemble
January 27, 2007 |  | The Company of Ten
January 26, 2007 |  | Royal Shakespeare Company
August 18, 2006 |  | ODTÜ Oyunculari
April 2005 |  | Adana Devlet Tiyatro
December 17, 2004 |  | Theater Oobleck
April 2003 |  | Chicago Shakespeare Theatre
2001 |  | Royal Shakespeare Company
1997 |
|
>> next reviews
|
|
