Mandy Patinkin's portrayal of Prospero in Classic Stage Company's revival of The Tempest is ill-conceived, at best. The actor evidences blatant disregard for Hamlet's advice to the Players by sawing the air with his hands, and generally indicating his character's intentions. He lowers his voice to growl the majority of his lines, and while his brusque demeanor is occasionally funny, it also lacks dimension. However, that's not the only problem that afflicts Brian Kulick's haphazard staging of Shakespeare's grand play.

The main difficulty is that the production lacks a coherent vision. For example, contemporary stagings of The Tempest often emphasize the colonial themes within the text, par[...]