By Alayna Een
The Tempest at the Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City, UT, is a beautiful island story of love, human nature, and forgiveness. In this production, director Cameron Knight adapts several key roles (Prospero, Antonio, Ariel, and Stephano) as female roles, which allows for the exploration of deeper themes, such as the bond between sisters and the mother-daughter relationship. His careful hand shapes The Tempest into the beautiful storm that it is.
As a story, The Tempest relies on magic and spirits, and Yee Eun Nam’s scenic design and projections provide the perfect ethereal elements for the production. The wood of the stage curves upward at the back, acting like a tidal wave and providing both a natural background for the projections and a secondary platform for characters to eavesdrop on the main action. Sand borders the stage on each side, adding to the island feel and giving the actors simple ways to interact with the set. The characters’ capes, Prospero’s seascape and Caliban’s rags, sweep the sand across the stage in mesmerizing patterns, adding in another layer of magic. Raquel Adorno’s costume design creates contrast between the island dwellers’ natural and ocean-colored garb and the shipwrecked sailors’ suits and formal wear. As storms and the sun rise and fall, Jaymi Lee Smith’s lighting design conveys it all with precision and artistry, complimented by Lindsay Jones’s fluid sound design.
Jasmine Bracey is absolutely captivating as the sorceress Prospero. Her flawless and compelling line delivery helps the audience easily follow the less-familiar story, and her emotional arc from hot anger to peaceful forgiveness is expertly executed. Bracey adds a layer of maternal care to the role, which creates funny and touching scenes with her daughter Miranda (Amara Webb) and tones of regret and betrayal with the outcast Caliban (Aidan O’Reilly). Webb makes a lovely Miranda, with a youthful beauty, energy, and innocence that enlivens the role. Her interactions with Freedom Martin (Ferdinand) are charming, guileless, and—in many instances—funny, making the couple easy to root for. Martin makes a wonderful lovestruck prince, balancing a noble attitude with shy flirtation. Sophia K. Metcalf is the sprite-like Ariel, Prospero’s magical servant. Metcalf’s quick, fluid motions and bright energy match the role of the spirit. But most compelling is the trust, tension, and eventual reciprocated respect in her relationship with Prospero, which Metcalf hints at with a deft touch.
Arizsia Staton is Antonio, the sister of Prospero who stole the kingdom of Milan and sent Prospero and Miranda out to sea to die. Her calculated cunning and matter-of-fact manner are chilling, and she quickly convinces overeager Sebastian (Jon Bixler) to join her nefarious plot to kill the king. The two make a compelling villainous duo. O’Reilly’s Caliban is tortured and vengeful. He creates a character who is pitiful but not pitiable, crafting humorous situations but not funny himself—very effective for the role.
The stranded and sorrowing king, René Thornton Jr. (Alonso), grieves for his son, who is believed to have died in the shipwreck. Thornton’s Alonso showcases strong fatherly affection and dissonance about his past actions, adding to the nuance of the cunning but repentant character. Steven Jensen (Gonzalo) is unfailing in his kindness and devotion to Prospero and his care of the new king, and Jensen adds a great level of uncorrupted loyalty to the role. The comedy duo of Kein Kantor (Trinculo) and Anastasia Blakely (Stephano) is absolutely delightful to watch devolve into drunkenness. Kantor has an open manner and is hilarious in his interactions with Ariel and subsequent doubts of his sanity. Blakely quickly adapts to the role of petty tyrant brings a lot of humor into the role.
All of the elements of the play are unified, and the brilliant character portrayals and casting choices emphasize the themes of familial love and unconditional forgiveness, which made a lasting impression on me. The performance itself is nothing short of spellbinding as it sails securely on to the finale, free from any hiccups or non-titular storms. The Tempest at the Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City, UT, is such stuff as dreams are made of, so sail in to see it soon!
Utah Shakespeare Festival, 351 W Center Street, Cedar City, UT 84720
Select dates July 12–October 8, 2022, 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM
Tickets: $49–59
Contact: 435-586-7878 or 1-800-PLAYTIX, guestservices@bard.org
Utah Shakespeare Festive Facebook Page
No children under 4 years old will be admitted into the theater.
Professional Childcare, 123 S 300 West Street, Cedar City, UT 84720
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