Shakespeare’s Tempest Reimagined at the Lafitte Greenway Station through May 25
Magic
Shakespeare employs magic in The Tempest, his autumnal dramedy, to move his plot along and serve as a metaphor for the spells he had cast with words in all his previous works.
Those who go to The NOLA Project‘s Shakespeare’s Tempest Reimagined at the Lafitte Greenway Station will experience the thrill of unbridled theatrical magic as writer/director James Bartelle and a marvelous cast of 11 transform an anodyne metal and concrete shed into a wondrous island where just about anything can happen.
Bartelle adapted The Tempest, trimming it to a fleet 90 minutes, and, according to him, the result is “50% Shakespeare’s words and 50% new.” Those who don’t know the play, or even those who have just a passing familiarity with it (like me), might well wonder where Shakespeare ends and Bartelle begins, so seamless a job has he done of matching the Bard’s verbiage.
To give one example, at one point the knave Trinculo is discovered hiding under the cloak of Caliban who’s stretched out on the ground. His pal, finding Trinculo with his feet extending out from the bottom of Caliban, asks, “How camest thou to be the excrement of this moon-calf? Doth he…shit Trinculos?” Though I was pretty sure Shakespeare hadn’t written those lines, I made a mental note to double check after the performance. (Indeed, ’twas Bartelle finely capturing the Bard’s essence.)
Perhaps more importantly, Bartelle has excised some parts of The Tempest that one might now find cringey such as when Prospero, a usurped Duke with magical powers, refers to Caliban, the island-born son of a sorceress, as his “slave” as though that was a good thing. The trade-off is that Bartelle also omits allusions to Caliban’s attempted rape of Miranda, Prospero’s young daughter, and his Nazi-like exhortations to “Burn [Prospero’s] books”. The result may be a less multi-dimensional portrait than this fantastical creature deserves, but that’s certainly Bartelle’s prerogative (and, hey, most traditional productions don’t give Caliban his full due either).
Regardless, the end result offers The Tempest’s main plot-strands inventively reimagined (yet more or less hewing to traditional interpretations) for modern audiences, especially those with limited attention spans. And among the larger themes of Shakespeare’s that Bartelle retains, and rightly so, is the needed restoration of the natural order of things (as when an unjustly dethroned ruler regains his proper place).
Under Joan Long’s simple but evocative lighting, Bartelle has directed his actors with gobs of imagination to bring out the script’s high drama and low comedy. Monica Ordoñez’s effective choreography, Alexis Marceaux & Stephen MacDonald’s subtle but pleasing score which employs various percussive instruments plus conch shells, and Megan Harms’ basic, earth-toned costume, all enhance the proceedings.
And what a pleasure to have a production feature a cast, especially one uttering Shakespearean lines, who speaks the playwrights’ words so trippingly that they make details clear that in lesser hands (on lesser tongues?) could be muddy, a tribute both to them and director Bartelle.
Monica R. Harris brings both dignity and righteous indignation to Prospero, making him a bit prickly yet ultimately humane and worthy of our respect. She overcomes her relative youth (most Prosperos are significantly older) to give a commanding performance and we miss her when, for a long stretch in the play’s mid-section, she’s offstage. I’d love to watch her in the role again in, say, ten or fifteen years.
I have never seen a Caliban as pitiful and defiant as Keith Claverie. In a masterful performance, Claverie captures Caliban’s hopes for improving himself and the self-delusion he employs to that end. Howling pitifully, it’s almost hard to believe that just a year ago Claverie was the nebbishy Seymour of Little Shop of Horrors.
Monica R. Harris, Keith Claverie, and Alexandria Miles in Shakespeare’s Tempest Reimagined (photo by John Barrois)
With touching earnestness, spiky blue-ish hair, and her ethereal voice, Leslie Claverie makes an ideal Ariel, the spirit who yearns to be freed from Prospero’s service. As with husband Keith, is this the same actress who was the put-upon platinum blonde Audrey in Tulane Summer Lyric’s Little Shop?
Ashley Ricord Santos and Kristin Witt provide divine comic relief as Trinculo and Liana, whose plans to become rulers go drunkenly awry. Wisely, they, guided by Bartelle, embrace their characters’ reality, eschewing mere clownish buffoonery. Ricord, even when she has no words to speak, is still pricelessly funny.
After her terrific Juliet last year, it’s a pleasure to see Alexandria Miles, as Miranda, working her way through Shakespeare’s ingenue roles. She’s joined by Zarah Hokule’a Spalding, an actress new to me, as Ferdinand, a young prince who’s shipwrecked on the island, with whom Miranda falls in love. Both are excellent, speaking their lines with intelligence and conviction. What’s missing, however, is that ineffable romantic chemistry between them; there’s a little, yes, but not enough to make you comprehend their “love at first sight” match.
Jessica Lozano, Pamela D. Roberts, Khiry Armstead and Megan Whittle as various nobles who are either plotting usurpations or being plotted about or trying to stop such usurpations are all very good, but their storyline is the most earthbound, with responsibility being shared by both Bartelle and Shakespeare. Still, these four accomplished thespians lean in and ensure that an audience stays invested in their plot.
I would say Shakespeare’s Tempest Reimagined is worthy of NYC’s Shakespeare in the Park or London’s Globe Theater but having seen disastrous Tempests in each of these (Raul Julia and a helicopter in NYC; Mark Rylance leading a cast of three men plus three leather-clad female dancers in London), this close-to-perfection Tempest is far, far better than what I have heretofore
seen in either of those theatrical capitals.
So, if you can, do journey to Lafitte Greenway for James Bartelle’s and The NOLA Project’s supremely humanistic Tempest, a superb demonstration of the magic of theater.
[For tickets and more information, go to https://www.nolaproject.com/tempest]
The Felt Menagerie at the New Marigny Theatre through May 26
The NOLA Project is not the only theater company that’s presenting a show created by a local writer/director that’s inspired by the work of another playwright. That, however, is where the similarity between Shakespeare’s Tempest Reimagined and The Tennessee Williams Theatre Company of New Orleans’ The Felt Menagerie ends.
For this Menagerie reimagines the Williams oeuvre as though someone tossed his greatest hits into a blender, liberally added a combination of Carol Burnett sauce and Christopher Durang spices, hit the “Puree” button, then poured it out and served it up as done by a mostly Muppet cast. The result? A just under 70-minute romp of naughty fun!
Written by Augustin J Correro, who sets it in the rec room of a church in the small town of Tennessee, Mississippi, The Felt Menagerie begins on a note of rebellion — the local DAR chapter, a bevy of catty Southern belles, is holding elections for officers and Violet Vengeable, the current president, faces a challenge from Amanda Wingwaffle for that position.
Into this drama, Blanche Dubious stumbles thinking it’s a meeting of a different sort. Once the confusion settles, a tangled knot of relationships among Brick, Sebastian, Tom, Nightingale, Alan and Skipper emerges (if you don’t recognize those names, this Menagerie may not be for you) as the spoof hurtles to its wild conclusion.
Similar to James Bartelle and Shakespeare, Correro has expertly captured the language and rhythms of Williams which only heightens the parody. I especially liked the line, after Stanley (of Streetcar fame) had delivered a lengthy speech, tossed off by one of the ladies: “Nobody is here for male expository monologuing.”
Felt Menagerie is almost like two one-acts hitched together, the first being “The Ladies of the Club”, the second “The Boys of Tennessee (MS)” which features a prop that might make some of those aforementioned Southern Belles blush (or not). If the script kinda meanders in its mid-section, Correro’s firm direction keeps the action flowing until the closet doors start popping open in the comedy’s final third.
The Felt Menagerie began online during the pandemic when using puppets allowed people to easily portray multiple roles; this is the show’s world premiere live production. Kenneth Thompson created the adorable puppets with a loving attention to detail and craftsmanship.
That said, perhaps ironically, my two favorite characters in this Menagerie were embodied by humans.
As Blanche, making a fabulous New Orleans stage debut, Hope Kodman VonStarnes hits all the right notes. With her flutey, fluttery voice, VonStarnes plays Blanche with innocent but knowing glee. She invests Williams’ iconic heroine with real emotions, never winking at the audience (or only very, very subtly), letting the script’s heightened language speak for itself. I look forward to seeing more of her.
As for Tracey E. Collins as Big Paw Paw, a riff on Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’s Big Daddy, this multi-talented actress is almost unrecognizable in guy drag. Think of Burl Ives, only shorter. Like VonStarnes, Collins leans in to her characterization to hilarious effect.
Tracey E. Collins (center) and the cast of The Felt Menagerie (photo by Nick Shackleford)
Among the puppeteers, I had last seen Jay Canova as the avaricious brother in TWTC’s Suddenly Last Summer five years ago, He was excellent then and now, as two very different types of Williams men, he continues to excel.
Kyle Daigrepont (Violet), Judy Lea Steele (Amanda), and Rebecca Elizabeth Hollingsworth (Maggie the Cat, here Violet’s niece) each contribute a most fun variant species of the “steel magnolia” genus; keep an eye on how Hollingsworth manipulates a cigarette with a perfectly calibrated amount of sass.
One can’t help but notice that Correro has cast two African-American actresses, Delphine J. and Tia Rene Williams, in supporting roles, as two of the DAR ladies, a kind of Greek chorus. That’s fine; they get some of the best lines which they deliver with aplomb. I think, however, Correro could’ve gotten even more comedic mileage from this casting decision and, with some additional lines, offered sly commentary on the lack of roles for thespians of color in the works of Williams…as well as such other playwrights as Eugene O’Neill, Arthur Miller and Neil Simon. Just a thought.
I saw The Felt Menagerie at UNO’s Lab Theatre. The previous weekend, the show had played at the Zeitgeist Theatre in Arabi. Its final weekend will be at the New Marigny Theatre. TWTC is performing in these neighborhoods for the first time as part of its commitment to bring its productions to diverse areas and populations in our community. I don’t recall any other productions touring like that and I think it’s a great idea. Bravo TWTC!
Come to think of it, there is another similarity between Tempest Reimagined and Felt Menagerie. Both offer bounteous theatrical magic.
[Additional information and tickets at https://www.twtheatrenola.com/]
Born With Teeth at Le Petit Theatre
If Shakespeare’s words can currently be heard on Lafitte Greenway, the Bard of Avon recently appeared onstage at Le Petit Theatre as a character in Liz Duffy Adams’ play Born With Teeth.
In this two-hander set in Elizabethan times, Ian Hoch played Shakespeare’s frenemy, collaborator and would-be beau Christopher “Kit” Marlowe, who, in the early 1590s, was a much better established playwright. Hoch made Marlowe deliciously flamboyant and imperious, creating with just the richness of his voice a fully formed character. Yet Hoch’s physicality was equally first-rate; every time he crossed his long legs in preening fashion, he delivered a master class in movement.
Dylan Hunter and Ian Hoch in Born With Teeth
In the less showy role as the then-newcomer Shakespeare, Dylan Hunter countered Hoch’s flash with a stealthy quiet. Hunter endowed the young playwright with a just-below-the-surface intelligence, foreshadowing his future success.
On Lucas Harms’ convincingly realistic London tavern set, Michael Aaron Santos’ topnotch direction got every bit of fun out of Adams’ script.
Yet not even these three talents could overcome Born With Teeth’s inherent shallowness. While cloaking itself in rococo language to attain a highfalutin’ effect, this would-be drama/gay romcom/hist & lit/cloak & dagger never became terribly interesting, Though Adams drops lots of historical names (unless you’re familiar with the period, you’re likely to get lost), the intrigues remain unclear, and we never become invested in what the stakes are.
In too many passages, Adams makes her point and then just keeps spinning her wheels. In others, we feel her authorial hand manipulating the characters. And too often, the script becomes merely repetitive; how many times must Shakespeare say he needs money?
Rather than “a comedy of Elizabethan proportions”, as its subtitle promises, we got much ado about nothing with a tale as forgettable as Hoch’s leg-crossing was memorable.
While some I know enjoyed Born With Teeth, I couldn’t help but wonder why, of all the plays in the world, did Le Petit do this one, especially when there are such finer playwrights (see above) right here???
[Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest directed by A.J. Allegra runs June 6-23 at Le Petit. More info at https://www.lepetittheatre.com/events/the-importance-of-being-earnest]
Mrs. Doubtfire at the Saenger Theatre
Like Born With Teeth, Mrs. Doubtfire, the new musical recently seenat the Saenger Theatre, featured two crackerjack performances.
As Daniel Hillard, a San Francisco-based voice actor whose narcissistic ways lead to a divorce from his wife and a transformation into the beloved nanny Mrs. Doubtfire in order to stay close to his kids, Rob McClure reprised his Tony-nominated, comic dervish of a performance.
Maggie Lakis (McClure’s real-life wife) portrayed Miranda Hillard with a charm and grace so as to make her utter frustration with Daniel understandable, never becoming shrewish or unreasonable.
Maggie Lakis and Rob McClure (above), Rob McClure (below) in Mrs. Doubtfire (photos by Joan Marcus)
Under Jerry Zaks’ ace direction, the rest of the cast were all fine and the show was an entertaining 2 ½ hours.
But if Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell’s book was no more, or less, preposterous than the movie on which it was based, it never really grabbed you. And throughout the score, by Kirkpatrick and his brother Wayne, songs approached memorability but never quite got there unlike their more accomplished tunes for Something Rotten (which, coincidentally, also featured Shakespeare as a character).
My companion for the evening “loved Mrs Doubtfire.” I left the Saenger thinking “Whatever happened to shows like Oklahoma! or My Fair Lady or Fiddler on the Roof or even the more recent Billy Elliot or The Band’s Visit?” and wondering “Is it asking too much to leave a musical these days humming even just one tune?” Sigh…
[Up next at the Saenger is the non-musical, board game-inspired comedy Clue, playing June 18-23. Details at https://www.saengernola.com/events/clue/]
In Memoriam
I was saddened to learn of the recent passing of Glenn Meche who was a lovely, talented bear of a man, always with a smile on his face.
He was a 2010 Ambie Award nominee for Best Director of a Play for Frozen, which garnered awards for Best Actor (Keith Launey) and Best Actress (Diana Shortes) in a Play that season.
In 2013, I wrote about his production of Tennessee Williams’ Battle of Angels: “Glenn Meche’s direction was finely attuned to Williams’ rhythms and brought out the script’s natural comedy without overdoing it. A consummate “actors” director, Meche enabled his cast to bring their characters to detailed, moving life.”
He will be missed. R.I.P.
Curtain Up
With Festival season mostly behind us now, there’ll be more time to head indoors and enjoy some theatrical offerings. The following should keep you entertained through the 4th of July.
The ever inventive Intramural Theater presents the world premiere of The Bermuda Can Company at the Music Box Village Schoolhouse (4557 N. Rampart St.) through May 27. The play tells the story of a rising New Orleans startup that’s set to release “the world’s first fully resealable, recyclable can.” When it dawns on employees that the prototype is missing, however, the shiny veneer of this odd office starts to peel away, revealing a legacy of empty promises, incompetence, and exploitation.
Directed by Intramural Artistic Director Bennett Kirschner, The Bermuda Can Company features Lauren Wells, Philip Yiannopoulis, Mary Davis, and Mary Langley. I hear it’s wild. Tickets and more information are available at https://intramuraltheater.ticketspice.com/bcc
In The Cake by Bekah Brunstetter, all is going well for Della. Her North Carolina bakery is legendary and she’s just been cast on her favorite television baking competition. But then, her late-best-friend’s daughter comes home from New York City and asks her to make a cake for her upcoming wedding. When Della learns that Jen’s about to marry a woman, she is forced to re-examine her deeply held beliefs, as questions of morals, judgment & family swirl around, and Della has to think for herself.
Elizabeth Elkins Newcomer directs Lorene Chesley, Joy Donze, Lara Grice, and Mike Harkins in this Crescent City Stage production that runs at Loyola’s Marquette Theatre May 31-June 16. (https://www.simpletix.com/e/the-cake-tickets-159178)
Also at Loyola, in its Louis J. Roussel Performance Hall, The Komenka Ethnic Dance and Music Ensemble will present its 42nd Spring Concert on June 1st and 2nd.
The show is an “around the world” tour through ethnic dance & music in two hours and will feature presentations representing Appalachia, Cajuns, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hawaii, India, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Slovakia, Tibet, Turkey and the USA 1940’s Jazz Period. (www.tickettailor.com/events/komenka.)
Nearby, at Tulane, The New Orleans Shakespeare Festival kicks off its 31st Season with The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised] [again]. Directed by Graham Burk, this hoot of a show will take audiences on a roller coaster ride through all of Shakespeare’s plays in just 90 minutes. Featuring Keith Claverie, Ian Hoch, and Lauren Malara, this Shakespearean bonbon begins on June 6 and continues through June 16. (https://neworleansshakespeare.org/products/the-complete-works-of-william-shakespeare-abridgedrevisedagain)
Also at Tulane, the Summer Lyric Theatre will be doing Stephen Sondheim’s great opus/penny dreadful Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, June 20-23. Don’t know too much more about it but you can check out their website at https://liberalarts.tulane.edu/summer-lyric-theatre
Meanwhile, in Chalmette, The Company: A St Bernard Community Theatre will be offering another Sondheim work, the dark, chamber piece Assassins The Musical directed by Destinie Collins at The Azienda Theatre (2000 Paris Road).
Like Sweeney, the run is a brief one, just June 21-30. But with tickets costing only $12, and complimentary wine & beer at every show, I would kill myself if I didn’t get to see it! (https://www.showtix4u.com/event-details/84251)
