Trinity’s Bilingual ‘La Tempestad’ Dazzles, Makes Mirth

Mauro Hantman is Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, who has been shipwrecked with his beautiful daughter Miranda (Lily Kops) on an island in the middle of nowhere. They are joined by the spirit Ariel (a scene stealing Alexander Crespo-Rosario in heavy makeup) and Caliban (Gloria Vivica Benavides), a child of the witch Sycorax. Ariel and Caliban are enslaved by Prospero to cast spells on people.

Prospero’s brother Antonio (Alison Russo) betrayed him and took his title. He gets shipwrecked on the island too (what a coincidence!), along with the King of Naples (a subdued Bill Mootos), his son Ferdinand (Justin Mitchell), and a whole batch of advisors and servants.

Ferdinand falls under a spell cast by Prospero and romances Miranda. 

Did I mention this is a comedy? The series of betrayals and love affairs and deceptions are taken straight out of Shakespeare’s other classics. The difference is the characters don’t end up stabbing each other to death at the end. 

Trinity Repertory Company has presented several top flight Shakespeare productions in the past, including “Julius Caesar,” “Macbeth,” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Unfortunately “La Tempestad,  does not reach those heights. For some reason, the characters and their dilemmas did not engage me or hold my interest. And that’s a shame, because obviously a lot of time and effort went into making this show.

This is an exceptionally good-looking show. Dahlia Al-Habieli’s scenic design is dazzling, creating a mystical island paradise for the characters to inhabit.

Yvonne Miranda’s costumes are gorgeous. Prospero is introduced wearing a coat made up of what resembles 50 strips from various colored shirts, all taped together. 

Carolina Ortiz Herrera’s majestic lighting complements the action perfectly. John Flores’ sound design is exquisite, especially the sounds of roaring thunder emanating from the skies.

Also “La Tempestad” earned much laughter from a sizable portion of the audience, perhaps due to the exuberance of the performers. 

‘La Tempestad’ Performances Competent, Short of Potential

The performances are all fine, but there’s nothing special here, as they seem to fall short of their potential as demonstrated in previous productions. For instance, Hantman is a great actor, but Prospero spends large chunks of time off-stage. It’s impossible to have much of a rooting interest in him.

Another Trinity Rep. veteran, Anne Scurria, brings wit and vitality to the role of Gonzalo, the King’s advisor. But it’s a frivolous character with little dramatic impact.  Russo (“A Doll’s House Part 2”), another highly talented performer, is also underutilized here. Antonio isn’t provided enough depth by the script.

A lavish party scene featuring jazzy music as the characters all dance around in a circle, however, is exuberant and fun to watch. 

‘La Tempestad’ Translations Distract

The production was adapted and translated by Orlando Hernandez, Tatyana-Marie Carlo, and Leandro Castro and directed by Christie Vela. The characters speak in English and Spanish. The translations are projected on a wall above the stage. This proved distracting, because the audience ends up looking away from the performers to understand what they are saying.

A major miscalculation was to have the characters alternate speaking their dialogue in Spanish and English. A word of advice for anyone planning another production of this show: just choose one language and stick with it.  

For me, something was lost in translation.

La Tempestad runs through April 27. Trinity Repertory Company, 201 Washington Street, Providence. Run time is 2 hours 15 minutes including intermission. For tickets, call 401-351-4242 or visit www.trinityrep.com.

Author: Joe Siegel

Joe Siegel is a regular contributing writer for WarwickPost.com. His reporting has appeared in The Sun Chronicle in Attleboro and EDGE.