CATS Playhouse had its premiere of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest this last weekend. The show is directed by Pat Price.
I had never seen a show at CATS before and wasn’t sure what to expect. I walked in and took my seat just a few feet from the stage. The theatre isn’t huge, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I liked being close to the action.
There was no curtain so while I waited for the show to start, I took in the set which was also designed by Price. It looked great and utilized the space well. Before the show began the director came out and introduced the show explaining how Shakespeare wasn’t always his favorite to read and how once he saw a performance his mind was forever changed on what Shakespeare could be.
I was in a production of Taming of the Shrew in high school, but otherwise I don’t know that I had ever seen any Shakespeare live. Now for me, at least with the movies, there is a good fifteen or twenty minutes where I have no idea what is going on. It just takes my mind that long to really get into the flow and language that he uses which is so different than how we speak today. It was no different for this show.
Luckily, I was able to piece together the basics of what was going on even without knowing the details and acclimated quickly.
The show starts with a horrible shipwreck that leaves a number of people stranded on an island. The storm was created by a spirit named Ariel, played by Elysse West, at the behest of Prospero, played by C. David Morrow, who has lived on the island for 12 years.
The plot gets a little complicated with kings, princes, drunkards, marriage proposals, goddesses, and a guy named Caliban (who is just cool).
In one early scene, Prospero and his daughter Miranda, played by Mary Price, discuss the shipwreck and she begs for him to help the survivors; he promises he will. Morrow and Mary Price do an excellent job together. I couldn’t tell you for certain if they said all of their lines correctly, but even with my limited understanding, the meaning of their words wasn’t lost.
The costumes were appropriate for the show as well. Done by Pat Price with help from Dea Young-Smith, they made some interesting choices. Most of the costumes were very typical for Shakespeare, with lots of flowing garments and breeches and vests. There were, however, a couple characters whose style was a little different. The character of Caliban, played by Josh Brown, wore a top hat and black tie in a look reminiscent of a voodoo witch doctor and Ariel wore a very bohemian skirt and headdress. Interestingly, these are two of the only characters who are natives of the island.
Even some of the set looked like it could have been right at home in a Louisiana swamp. I really liked the feel of this and kind of wish that the director had just leaned into that aesthetic. The juxtaposition of the two styles still works, especially with one belonging to the island and one to the outsiders, but I would have enjoyed seeing how that could have worked for all of the characters.
After the play concluded the director and the actors took the stage to do a question and answer session. I wasn’t expecting this until I saw it in my program, but I enjoyed hearing how the actors prepared for the challenge of taking on The Bard.
I do want to give a super special shout out to Janie Curl who was the stage manager of the show and who, with only three hours’ notice, had to take on the role of Alonso when an actor got sick. She had to use her script while on stage, but seriously did an admirable job considering the circumstances. I do wish that we had been told of the change before the play began because I just kept wondering why that actor had her script!
The Tempest is not one of Shakespeare’s more well-known plays which puts it a little bit of a disadvantage notoriety-wise, but it was fun and I give kudos to all the actors for taking on the challenge.
The Tempest will run for two more weekends, September 6, 7, 13, & 14th at CATS Playhouse located at 2257 34thSt.
For more arts coverage, be sure to check out 24 Frames and tune in to KTTZ-TV.
