Meeting the moment: Idaho Shakespeare offers up a new-world ‘Tempest’ for 2021 season
Idaho Shakespeare Festival opens its second production of the three-show 2021 season this week for a one-month run at the Boise amphitheater.
After 18 months of the pandemic and a canceled 2020 season, “Tempest” checked all the boxes. One of Shakespeare’s most iconic plays, this comedy-romance is now retooled for our 2021 mid-pandemic era.
On the practical side, it is Shakespeare’s smallest cast — just 12 actors. So that works well in managing COVID protocols. And it tells a story that mirrors aspects of our collective psyche: Its central character, Prospero, played by Aled Davies, suffers the ravages of years of isolation, and to reenter the world and create a future for his daughter, Miranda, he must face his anger, self-loathing and frustration — and find his path to peace.
So he conjures a magical storm — a tempest — that causes a shipwreck to bring the very people who usurped his power, and sent him and Miranda into exile, to their island shore.
Director Sara Bruner and her design team conjure this production to fall into lockstep with our times and subtly echo our collective cultural evolution through cross-gender and inclusive casting.
‘Tempest’ for today
Roles traditionally played by men are now cast as women: The king is now Queen Alonso, played by Jessika Williams; Prospero’s staunch ally Gonzalo is played by Jessie Cope Miller; and the lovable clowns Trinculo and Stephano are now high-heeled, wine-swilling cabaret performers played by Jodi Dominick and Jillian Kates.
The cast round out with Domonique L. Champion as Ferdinand, Joe Wegner as Ariel, Nick Steen as Caliban, Jaime Nebeker as Adrian, and David Anthony Smith and Julian Remulla as the villains Antonio and Sebastian.
A longtime company actor, this is Bruner’s third main stage production for ISF as a director. But interestingly, she made her company debut as Miranda in 1996 in Bartlet Sher’s production of “The Tempest.” She also played Ariel in Producing Artistic director Charlie Fee’s 2015 production, so these changes come from a deep understanding of the play.
She has layered original music by composer and collaborator Matthew Webb, puppets created by Chad Shohet of Boise’s HomeGrown Theatre, and let her design team loose to create two very different worlds with color.
One of the benefits of cross-gender casting is that it opens up a clear and stronger path out for Miranda, played by new company member Ángela Utrera, to truly find her power in the world, Bruner said.
Miranda grew up on the island and has never seen anyone other than her father. The only other companions on the island are the monster Caliban and the spirit Ariel. In this version, Miranda’s first encounter with humans is with powerful women.
“I put women in really strong positions so Miranda’s journey could be, ‘Oh, my gosh — and she says it in the play — I’ve never seen another woman in my life. Then all of these powerful women wash up on shore and she really sees a different world,” Bruner said.
So when Miranda says in Act V one of Shakespeare’s most famous lines, “O brave new world, That has such people in’t!” the entire meaning shifts.
“Miranda has never seen another human being, other than her father,” Utrera said. “She still finds her agency and finds humanity without anyone’s guidance. She finds strength in everything around her.”
Especially the women
“Women in Shakespeare are smarter than you think because they know their place in the world,” she said. “She can do what she wants within the confines set by her overprotective father.”
Bruner also cast BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) characters, so Miranda is being exposed to a whole world she has never seen.
It’s been a part of the ongoing conversation with ISF’s Fee about making the company more inclusive and in step with theater companies across the country.
“It’s great to be in a moment in the theater when we can have this discussion and we can actually do it. It wasn’t always possible,” Bruner said. “Really, it’s about acknowledging and bringing in the talent I’ve worked with across the county, but at the core, it’s about the survival of these plays.
“We’ve seen the plays done in the same way for a long time, and that was fine then, but what I’m learning instantly, is that you start examining race, ethnicity, gender instantly in relationship to these plays. It just tunes your ear differently. You hear lines in a different way and you hear the play anew.
“We keep the plays relevant when we build that bridge from then to now and who we are in this moment.”
So in this “Tempest,” the journey, the joy and healing come out of this new perspective.
What to know
There are several changes to the Idaho Shakespeare Festival experience due to COVID-19. Bring your mask, not your chair, as chairs are now provided. You also can preorder a meal at Cafe Shakespeare or bring your own picnic. You’re encouraged to wear your mask when you’re on the move or can’t social distance. Check IdahoShakespeare.org for any last-minute changes to the protocol on its health and safety page.
Tickets: Tickets run $39-$61 general, $28-$40 hillside, $25 for students with valid ID. Box seats, flex packages are still available.
Box office: 336-9221 or IdahoShakespeare.org.
This story was originally published August 11, 2021 at 3:02 PM.
