Don't Say Anything Important While I'm Gone: September 2007

This weekend Allie, Steve, mom and I went down to Cedar City for the Fall Shakespearean Festival. We only saw one play this time since there was only one Shakespeare play this time. However, the play was definitely worth the drive.

The play is about a man named Duke Prospero and his daughter Miranda that have been banished to an island. Prospero has found a magical power on the island, along with magical creatures that serve him. When his brother's ship is passing the island, Prospero has his magical fairy, Ariel, have the ship crash onto the island.

Prospero brings the voyagers safely ashore and scatters them in groups about the island. Ariel, at Prospero’s bidding, leads Ferdinand to the cave of Prospero—and Miranda, who does not remember ever having seen any other man than her father, immediately is smitten with the prince.

On another part of the island, Alonso, his brother Sebastian, Antonio, and others wander sadly, convinced that the young Prince Ferdinand is dead. All but Sebastian and Antonio are lulled to sleep by Ariel, but these two remain awake to plot the death of the sleeping king and their taking over of his kingdom. They might have succeeded if Ariel hadn't awakened the intended victim just in time.

On a third isolated part of the island, Trinculo, the king’s jester, is reeling drunk. He encounters Caliban, and they are soon joined by the butler, Stephano, who so delights Caliban with “moon-liquor” that Caliban swears to follow him forever. The three then make their own drunken plot to break free, through force, of their various masters, but Ariel, who has heard every word, tells his master.

Meanwhile Miranda and Ferdinand have exchanged vows of love, and Prospero, who is now convinced of their true love, blesses their engagement. While the lovers are conversing, Prospero and Ariel mock the king’s court with a lavish banquet which vanishes as soon as they try to eat. They then rebuke them for their crimes against “good Prospero . . . and his innocent child.”

Finally, after Miranda and Ferdinand are treated to a prenuptial masque enacted by the spirits of Iris, Ceres, Juno, and their nymphs, Prospero decides that all have suffered enough and that it is time to forgive for injuries of the past. Spellbound by Ariel’s magic, everyone, for the first time, is brought before Prospero, where he reveals himself as the wronged duke of Milan. Prospero first brings in Prince Ferdinand, supposed dead, and announces his engagement to Miranda. He then frees his faithful servant, Ariel, and returns the island to Caliban. The crew of the ship, which is magically afloat again, arrives to take all back to Milan, and Prospero renounces his magical powers, with a last order to Ariel to command “calm seas and auspicious gales” for the voyage ahead.

The best performance was done by Ariel, who was played by Michael Brusasco. He's the actor that I was raving about last year and actually met after one of the performances. He did really, really well. He had the coolest costumes, the best magical effects, the best facial expressions and acting all around. Not to say that other people didn't do a good job. The entire play was done really well, and I would recommend it to anyone in the family that would want to go see it.

(Pictures by the Utah Shakespearean Festival http://www.infowest.com/personal/b/bakerhouse/shakespeare.html and the Synopsis is from http://www.bard.org/education/resources/shakespeare/tempestsyn.html)