The Plays The Summer Schedule Will On Wheels: Educational Outreach The Company Will's Pals: Get Involved FoolsCap Newsletter All About The Festival Special Needs Accessibility Sponsors Contact Us Home		Summer 1997 'The Tempest' Neither rain nor gloom stops the Shakespeare production By Judith Egerton, Courier-Journal Critic © The Courier-Journal From June 14, 2025     Just as the marooned magician, Prospero, was conjuring an ocean storm to shipwreck his enemies, raindrops began falling on the Central Park audience who braved threatening skies Thursday night to see William Shakespeare's "The Tempest."    There were few in the audience, but they were committed. They covered themselves with raincoats and umbrellas and waited. After a 10-minute delay, the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival resumed with the second of nine scenes. And Prospero must have cast a benevolent spell on the local weather, for not another drop fell during the outdoor performance.    "The Tempest," Shakespeare's final play, tells the story of Prospero, the former Duke of Milan, who has been banished to an enchanted island by his evil brother, Antonio. On the island with Prospero is his beautiful 15-year-old daughter, Miranda.    After Prospero uses magic to wreck the ship carrying Antonio and other conspirators, the deposed duke faces the choice of whether to exact revenge or bestow forgiveness on his brother and the other shipwreck survivors. While Prospero schemes, Miranda falls in love with one of the survivors, Ferdinand, son of the King of Naples.    The stars in this production, directed by Curt L. Tofteland, are undoubtedly the larger-than-life size monster, Caliban, and the mystical sprite, Ariel.    They and other island spirits -- Iris, Ceres, Juno and a school of water nymphs -- were created by John A. Hofland, a master puppet designer, with help from puppet engineer Jim Vandehaar. Donna Bailey and Vivian Appler, who have experience making puppets, assisted in their construction.    Hofland's creations, influenced by the cubism of Picasso, are fascinating and fun to see. The fishy-smelling monster, Caliban, with his bulging green eyeball and lumpy scales, looks like an abstract Creature from the Black Lagoon. The costume is inhabited by Michael Lee. Children giggled whenever he appeared on stage.    Ariel, a spirit of the air, is made of gauzy and fluffy fabrics. The spirit floated above the humans, manipulated by actress Be Boyd, who spoke Ariel's lines while moving the spirit about the stage.    In addition to Boyd's fine contribution, director Tofteland's performance as a drunken sailor and Monte Priddy as the king's counselor, Gonzalo, also stood out. Both projected their lines loudly and clearly, yet so naturally that the Elizabethan language wasn't difficult to understand.    Gregory Bell, however, was not impressive as Prospero. He failed to project the controlling power of the magician, nor did he illuminate Prospero's quandary, which required him to resist the alluring darkness of revenge to follow the more moral path of forgiveness.    If Bell's entire performance had been as strong as his final soliloquy, "The Tempest" might have breezed along more smoothly.    Even so, the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival production with its eye-catching puppets provides an enjoyable (and free) way to experience Shakespeare or to introduce children to one of the world's greatest playwrights. Back to FoolsCap
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