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This is not a review ofThe Tempest.
Well, no, it is.
It cant help it.
And the playis despite the ebullient productions focus on themes of breaking free from various bonds in service.
Who could argue with that premise?
Who would want to?
The projects utopian bona fides are unassailable.
Its productions, however, are not.
But thisTempestdoesnt demand such an effort, not from its ensemble and not from its audience.
In tone and temperament, it owes much more to Disney than to Shakespeare.
To be fair,The Tempestas presented by Public Works is avowedly an adaptation.
In fact, its a full-blown musical.
Velezs tunes are solidly Contemporary Musical Theater 101: pulsing, intermittently poppy, formulaic.
And there are plenty of intense, sincere heros-journey tunes for Prospero.
Mash up Be Prepared and Easy Street and you pretty much end up with Antonio and Sebastians bad-guy bop.
Listen to Caliban croon, How can I be sure if Im a monster or a man?
and you may find yourself distracted byechoes of DisneysHunchback of Notre Dame.
The poor clowns in thisTempesthave nothing to push against, so they end up just pushing.
When so much of the play takes such a waggishly comedic tone, wheres the need for comic relief?
During their scenes, Perez and Garcia are workinghardfor a scattering of mostly tepid laughs.
At least it makes for a break from that special brand of awkwardness that is Shakespeare thats not landing.
But why shouldnt it land?Thatsthe question.
Why not strive for the play to sing in every instant?
But in thisTempest, the unsung text also feels unloved.
But why should it, when so much more is offered by the material at hand?
In the middle is an open barnlike house frame that says craft brewery or Vermont wedding venue.
(Is it the same house from a different perspective?
What does the house mean?
How does its modernity correspond to the playfully periodish costumes?
I couldnt tell you.)
Then, on the other side of the stage, are some sinister-looking trees.
I kept waiting for them to throw apples.
Sure, the set here is acting as background its easily put into soft focus.
It lingers inside the friction between the plays content and the shows commitment to posi vibes.
The synopsis in the program tells us that this adaptation ofThe Tempestexplores the power of choosing compassion over retribution.
The Tempestis an artists farewell.
And deeper than did ever plummet sound / Ill drown my book.
The cost of Prosperos forgiveness may be her own life.
We cant possibly hear the full weight of these words when Goldsberry speaks them.
Its not her fault; the production asks her for standard musical-theater-heroine vibrancy and vitality, and she delivers.
She radiates the healthy glow of a fulfilled journey of self-discovery.
So lets get a laugh out of judging it together.
These plays arent perfect, and they arent sacrosanct.
Public Works has so much to admire.
Its spirit is unfailingly generous and hopeful.
So I remain hopeful too.
I hope, I suppose, for brave new worlds.
The Tempestis at the Delacorte Theater through September 3.
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