The Tempest

Pulse Ensemble Theatre returns to the Riverbank State Park with it’s third Harlem Summer Shakespeare production. The multi-ethnic, open air staging of The Tempest uses Izod shirts instead of Elizabethan ruffs, continuing the company’s tradition of updating the visual aspect of Shakespeare’s plays while keeping the language intact. Set on a mountainous island near North Africa, the show includes music ranging from The Bulgarian women’s choir and Pan’s pipes to African drummers.

Prospero, the ever-gentle Duke of Milan, has relinquished his seat of power in an attempt to stop war and bring peace to the world. But the powers-that-be do not appreciate this gesture and Prospero is sent away. Later, as Alonzo and his noblemen travel on their yacht with their Secret Service escorts, Ariel – a 3-headed spirit – shipwrecks the yacht’s crew on Prospero’s magical island. Lost from all they know, Trinculo and Stefano search this new terrain and besport themselves in true drunken sailor fashion with the creature Caliban.

Alexa Kelley directs, with set design by Joe Spirito, lighting by Steve O’Shea, costumes by Courtney McClain, and sound design by Brian Richardson.