By Manning Harris
fmanningh@gmail.com
Anyone who cares about theatre in Atlanta rejoices that Georgia Shakespeare, recently beset by financial woes (like so many arts organizations) has pulled itself back from the brink of doom, and in a big way. The evidence: the new production in Piedmont Park of “The Tempest,” running through Sunday, May 13.
“Shake at the Lake” has become “Shakespeare in the Park,” performed at the Legacy Fountain, near the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Check the GA Shakespeare website at the end of this review for important information about parking and the new location.
Shakespearean scholar Harold Bloom calls “The Tempest,” one of the Bard’s final plays, a “visionary comedy.” Prospero, the former Duke of Milan (here Prospera, Carolyn Cook), was betrayed some years ago and now inhabits a magical and seemingly deserted island with her daughter Miranda (Caitlin McWethy) with two extraterrestrial creatures, shall we say: Ariel (Chris Kayser) and Caliban (Neal A. Ghant). There is a storm which deposits Alonso (Mark Kincaid), his son Ferdinand (Nick Arapoglou) and others on the island.
“The Tempest,” directed by Sharon Ott, is a play full of magic, revenge, romance, redemption, and forgiveness. Prospera, with her magic staff and robe, pretty much rules the island (and in fact caused the shipwreck). Much of the magic of the play is watching her and the other characters undergo discoveries and transformations.
And there are a lot of surprises—not the least of which is water from the fountains—which bubbles up in delightful, colorful displays. If I were you, I’d sit as close as possible to the stage; I like intimacy in a theatre and being able to see the expressions on the actors’ faces. You’ll think you’re at Woodstock if you sit in the very back (of course that perspective has its own charm, I suppose—to each his own).
The acting is uniformly excellent. Much of this cast performed this show last year at the Oglethorpe location. Ms. Cook is one of Atlanta’s finest actors, and her Prospera anchors the play. Ms. McWethy is lovely as Miranda. The comic trio of Stephano (Bruce Evers), Mr. Ghant’s Caliban, and especially Mark Cabus as Trinculo could form their own vaudeville troupe.
Then there is Chris Kayser as Ariel. Is this man in league with the devil? Here he youthens before your very eyes. It is worth the price of admission (I know, some seats are free; read the website) to see him bound down the hill, through the audience as the magical Ariel, with the lithe, slim body of a 20-year-old. I’m told Mr. Kayser is 60-something, but I don’t believe it. I do believe he’s a great actor.
There are no weak links here: Mr. Kincaid, Mr. Arapoglou, Brian Kurlander’s Sebastian, Andrew Benator’s Antonio, Allen O’Reilly’s Gonzalo, and many others, including the dancing, singing sprites.
We’re outdoors; so the show is miked, superbly (sound designer/composer Stephen LeGrand). A couple of opening night snafus; nothing that won’t be ironed out by the time you see it.
I treasure my theatrical memories: GA Shake’s 1997 “Tempest,” with John Ammerman and Saxon Palmer as Prospero and Ariel, was unforgettable, and probably had more of “such stuff as dreams are made on.” Of course they were indoors.
And I do miss the charm and intimacy of the “funky Lake Clara Meer” setting, as the AJC’s Howard Pousner called it; but if GA Shake can corral its new seating capacity a bit closer to the stage, they should reign at the Park for a long time.
For more information, visit gashakespeare.org.
