Oh brave new world!

The Tempest at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the second of director Sam Mendes' Bridge Project which mounted two Shakespearean plays, drew us into a wonderful, magical world on Friday night.  This is such a beautiful play, full of mystery and wonder, and once again the Bridge Project production created this world through a wonderful repertory cast, original music, creative staging.  Greg and I saw As You Like It in late January (as you may recall from this blog) and the cast members re-connected with us immediately.  Mendes also linked the two plays together visually through his casting, costumes and scenery.  We left the theatre with much food for thought.  Once again I'm going to list some highlights rather than make any attempt at an intelligent, coherent review of the entire production.  Mendes and the Bridge Project were certainly intelligent and coherent; but I'm not.

• Stephen Dillane's Prospero was an author, scholar, and creator of this magical world. (Dillane also played the skeptical, melancholy Jacques in AYLI).  Dillane straddled the audience and the stage before the play began, sitting with the show's violinist reviewing Prospero's yellowing manuscripts and precious books while we 21st century humans settled into our seats.  But then Prospero gets up, puts on his robe and begins to circle the sand  sprinkling water from a bucket in a ritualistic fashion.  He moves slowly but then moves quickly around and around the diameter and we are pulled into his world as water is pulled down the drain.  We are now ready to suspend disbelief and become inhabitants of this tropical island originally populated by witches.
• Christian Carmargo (the romantic hero in AYLI) is now the androgynist sprite Ariel and he ushers in the magical spells in a variety of costumes ranging from a fearsome bird of prey to a slinky seductress.  Yet he is a most appealing sprite, longing for freedom as he caters to Prospero's demands.
• Caliban is both loathsome and pitiable, emerging from the center of the sand pit with first one hand piercing its way through the stage floor and then his pathetic, unhappy head (much like Gollum) whining about his misfortunes.

• Caliban's is even more loathsome when he is seen next to the radiantly beautiful Miranda whose eyes widen at the sights beyond her imagination and limited experience when the "Brave new world, that has such people in't" lands on her isolated, primitive island.  Juliet Rylance is as entrancing as the naive Miranda as she was as Rosalind charmingly confused by love in AYLI. 
• Miranda and her new love, Ferdinand, are allowed a glimpse of their glorious future IF they refrain from consumating their love until they can be properly married (oh that all we parents had the same power as Prospero!)

• Mendes "twins" some of the characters:  the evil usurping brother Antonio is the same actor in the same tuxedoed costume as Oliver in AYLI.  The loyal Gonzalo in the Tempest is the same as Adam whose touching death in AYLI moved me.

All the action was held together by a magical set in which sand and water were subtly controlling the lives of the shipwrecked characters.  Ethereal music from drums and wind instruments enchanted both the characters and audience.  In the end, we (the audience) had to release Prospero with our applause which we agreed to reluctantly because no one wanted the magic to end.