Montford Park Players' The Tempest

Not a hint of rain darkened the skies above the Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre on Sept. 2 as the Montford Park Players launched into their production of The Tempest. And what followed on stage had much the same quality: a fair-weather interpretation of one of William Shakespeare’s more tonally ambiguous works.

How The Tempest should be categorized has been debated since the first collection of Shakespeare’s plays was published 1623. That First Folio lists the work as a comedy, but given the plot’s dramatic twists and wicked schemes, many critics weren’t content with that label. The Tempest is now often tagged as a “romance,” together with other complicated late-period plays like Cymbeline and The Winter’s Tale.

However, director Dwight Chiles has leaned into the earlier, comedic label in just about every element of his production. Consider Fable Day’s costume design: The wizard Prospero (Paula O’Brien) and his daughter Miranda (Lauren Otis), who have been banished to a remote island for over a decade, are dressed in a combination of rags and ’80s workout wear a la Richard Simmons. The traitorous nobles who banished them, and whose storm-driven shipwreck on the island kicks off the play, don cruise-line leisurewear with bright pops of pink and salmon.

Chiles also foregrounds an unusual soundtrack — the works of Céline Dion. From “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” to “The Power of Love,” the voice of the Canadian songstress offers an emotionally over-the-top commentary on the action. The characters lampshade the music through interjections throughout the play, and choreographer Kristi DeVille isn’t afraid of a little pantomime to Dion’s lyrics. But I think the scoring befits the overall vibe.

The production trims many lines and several characters from Shakespeare’s original text while keeping the script’s key plot points: the love story between Miranda and Ferdinand (Quinn Terry); the attempted murder of Neapolitan King Alonso (Kevin Norris) by his brother Sebastian (Rachel Fralick) and the Milanese Duke Antonio (Emily Dake); and the drunken wanderings of Alonso’s courtiers Trinculo (Blaine Weiss) and Stephano (Sarah Felmet) as they plot a coup against Prospero for control of the island. 

Meanwhile, the part of Prospero’s servant spirit Ariel is split into a five-part chorus consisting of Molly Graves, Ariel Robinson, Danielle King, Denise Lockett, and Stephanie Kleshinski. That magnification of stage presence is strikingly effective, giving DeVille more bodies to flesh out dances and Chiles the opportunity to echo key lines of dialogue with multiple voices.

Each of the action’s subplots is played for laughs, but none more successfully than that of Trinculo and Stephano. Felmet’s boisterous braggadocio — and frequent recourse to the box of Reisling hoisted on her shoulder — perfectly complements Weiss’s nervous energy. The two make great use of the open-air amphitheater as well, refusing to be confined by the stage as they roam throughout the audience.

Amidst all this hilarity, I think Chiles recognizes that every good comedy needs a straight man. And Matt Wade delivers as Caliban. His writhing, tormented approach to Prospero’s despised slave is classical Shakespeare. As he travels alongside Trinculo and Stephano, his angst makes the comedy even more effective by contrast.

There are depths to The Tempest that this production chooses not to explore in full, namely Prospero’s problematic relationship with Caliban, man’s control of and vulnerability to nature, and the lure of ambition as shown by Sebastian and Antonio. But as a lively work of entertainment, it makes for smooth and enjoyable sailing. 

The Tempest runs through Saturday, Sept. 30, at the Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre. For more details and tickets, visit MontfordParkPlayers.org.

(Photo courtesy of Montford Park Players)