The Swan Theatre at Wyuka (3600 O St.) will present Shakespeare's "The Tempest" opening Thursday, June 3 and playing Thursdays through Sundays, June 3-6, 10-13 and 17-20. All performances are at 7:00 PM. Ticket prices: $15 adults, $12 seniors, and $9 for students. For more information or to reserve tickets, call The Haymarket Theatre at 477-2600.
For the fourth year, Bob Hall will direct Summer Shakespeare in the open air Swan Theatre in Wyuka Cemetery's beautiful swan park. This year for the first time, the event will be coproduced by the Haymarket Theatre and Wyuka. This relationship will continue in future with The Haymarket being responsible for producing and fundraising while Wyuka provides the magical Swan Theatre."The Tempest" is Shakespeare's finest Romantic Fantasy and is considered his farewell to London and the Globe Theatre before moving home to Stratford. The text dates from 1623 and contains some of Shakespeare's most memorable lines, such as: "Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows.""Full fathom five thy father lies."and of course,"We are such stuff as dreams are made on and our little lives are rounded with a sleep."
The story centers around Prospero, formerly Duke of Milan, now a powerful but marooned magician. Twelve years before, Prospero was betrayed and overthrown by his treacherous brother, Antonio who, conspiring with Alonso the King of Naples set Prospero and his daughter Miranda adrift in a hopelessly leaky boat--"The very rats instinctively have quit it." Miraculously, the boat is tossed up on a desert island where Prospero, through his magic studies, is able to make two not quite human creatures into his slaves: Ariel, a spirit of aerie magic, and Caliban, an uneducated, brutish creature of appetite.As the play opens, all of Prospero's old enemies, Alonso the King of Naples, his brother Sebastian and Antonio, Prospero's treacherous brother, are shipwrecked by the eponymous tempest raised by Prospero's magic. Also on board are Prince Ferdinand, Alonso's son and heir, Gonzalo, a councilor still loyal to Prospero and two very drunken servants, Stephano and Trinculo -- as well as a small assortment of servants and sailors.Through adroit manipulation of magic, Prospero confronts his enemies, wins the love of Ferdinand for his daughter, recovers his Dukedom and in the process learns the value of mercy. The play alternates poignant scenes with farce and romance. It is one of Shakespeare's most poetic, entertaining and wondrous plays.
The Cast
Alonso, King of Naples. . . Stephen Buhler
Sebastian, his brother. . Larry Mota
Prospero, the right Duke of Milan. . . Stephen Gaines
Antonio, his brother, the usurping Duke of Milan . . .. Brad Boesen
Ferdinand, son to the King of Naples. . . Ivan Lovegren
Gonzalo, an honest old councilor. . . Richard Imig
Adrian, retainer to the King. . . Rob Burt
Caliban, a savage and deformed slave. . . Richard Nielsen
Trinculo, a drunken servant. . . Tom Crew
Stephano, an even more drunken butler. . . Jim Hopkins
The Boatswain. . . James Barnes
Miranda, daughter to Prospero. . . Nora Smith
Aerial, an aerie spirit. . . Darin Hemmert
Director: Bob Hall
Costumes: Jan Stauffer
Scenery Designers:
Bob Hall and David Bogus
Design
This year, Bob Hall will design a simple setting in which to place the ceramic
sculpture work of David Bogus. Bogus, a graduating MFA in Art, has created an
island-like series of sculptures filled with sea imagery and capturing the feel
that bits and pieces of many ancient civilizations have washed up on Prospero's
shore. The pieces were recently on view at and exhibit in Richards Hall
where Bob Hall had gone to see sculpture by Roxanne Jackson, images of which
have been used for "The Tempest" poster. When he saw David Bogus' ceramics
in an adjacent gallery, Hall knew he had found the set for "The Tempest."
Other artists work also will play a part in our production. Artist Rana Schmitz
will create puppets while Susan Kempler-Smith from the UNL Textile Department
will lend her expertise to costumes. Lincoln composer James Barnes will
compose music.
These partnerships represent a Haymarket Theatre program of collaboration with local artists. We want to facilitate a "cross-pollination" of ideas and in doing so, pique the interest of other arts fans to attend theatre and vice versa. Theatre thrives as a collaborative art and the Haymarket seeks to be at the forefront of this process.