An inspired concept and flawless execution make Antaeus Theatre Company’s The Tempest the most entertaining of summer treats, even for those who’d normally opt for a root canal over an evening of William Shakespeare.

Not that director Nike Doukas has altered The Tempest’s Elizabethan iambic pentameter or the plotting of Shakespeare’s multi-threaded tale, one that recounts the adventures of Prospero (Peter Van Norden), driven out of his dukedom by his back-stabbing brother Antonio (Bernard K. Addison) and exiled to a desert island with no one but daughter Miranda (Anja Racić), a sprite named Ariel (Elinor Gunn), and the “demi-devil” better known as Caliban (JD Cullum) to keep him company.

Using his sorcerer’s powers to unleash the titular storm that opens the proceedings, Prospero soon finds his island not nearly so deserted, with Antonio, King Alonso (Adrian LaTourelle) and Alonso’s brother Sebastian (John Allee) washed ashore and Alonso’s son Prince Ferdinand (Peter Mendoza) in a similar predicament, albeit on another part of the island.

Before long, Ferdinand has fallen for Miranda, Antonio and Sebastian are plotting to murder Alonso, and the comic-relief-providing drunken duo of Trincula (Erin Pineda) and Stephano (LaTourelle) are cooking up schemes of their own.

Previous productions reviewed here have put their own unique spin on The Tempest. (One featured “illusions so mystifying that you’ll give up even trying to figure out ‘how they did that,’” while another featured director John Farmanesh-Bocca’s trademark blend of drama, movement, and dance he calls “physical theater.”)

This time round, director Doukas combines elements of 1930s-40s radio plays (characters mostly speak their lines in front of assorted standing mikes as live Foley sound effects get created right before “studio audience” eyes), Broadway musicals (composer John Ballinger has turned many of the play’s soliloquys into songs), and the recent trend towards having actors double as musicians (with Allee on piano, Cullum on guitar, and John Harvey, who plays Francisco, on percussion).

All of this adds up to a festive atmosphere evident from the moment the audience enters the theater to be greeted by actors and musicians partying with a joie-de-vivre that’s downright infectious.

Storms have rarely raged as thrillingly as the one conjured up by director Doukas working in tandem with fellow Foley designer Jeff Gardner and a stageful of actors-turned-Foley-artists whose 100% live sound effects will have you believing you’re smack dab in the middle of the titular tempest.

And imagination continues to reign supreme for the rest of the evening.

Though the production’s radio play-style miking means it could easily be enjoyed as a podcast, director Doukas makes sure to give the audience as much to look at as to listen to with a visually varied staging that makes ingenious use of scenic designer Angela Balogh Calin’s cleverly set-up playing area, one that features tables strewn with Foley gadgets and a spiral staircase from whose heights Ariel can survey her surroundings.

Sound effects range from the magical to the suspenseful to the terrifying as Ballinger’s tunes run the gamut from romantic ballads to jitterbug rhythms while showcasing a cast who reveal vocal gifts to match their acting chops.

Van Norden rules the stage as Prospero, as commanding as he is emotionally affecting; Cullum makes for a creepy, kooky, mysterious and spooky Caliban; and Gunn turns Ariel into the most bewitching of enchanted creatures.

Mendoza and Racić add up to a thoroughly captivating pair of young lovers, Addison is once again a dynamic stage presence as Antonio, and Pineda proves herself the most delightful of comediennes as Trincula.

Vocal captain Allee and McClain do their accustomed fine work as Sebastian and Gonzala, and it’s great fun to see LaTourelle ace two very different roles (and play both parts simultaneously when Shakespeare’s script gives him no other choice but to go back and forth between characters in an instant).

Last but not least, band members Allee, Cullum, and Harvey are so talented, they could easily book gigs in local night spots on their nights off from the show.

Julie Keen’s eclectic bevy of costumes and Shen Heckel’s myriad ingenious props add to the stage magic throughout as does Vickie J. Scott’s vibrant lighting design, and Gardner’s expert sound design is just what the radio play ordered.

Kaite Brandt is assistant director. Claire Fogle is production stage manager and Talya Camras is assistant stage manager.

You don’t have to be a Shakespeare scholar or fan (or even understand a word of English for that matter) to fall head over heels for The Tempest à la Antaeus. An evening or afternoon of Shakespeare has rarely if ever been this much fun.

Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center, 110 East Broadway, Glendale.
www.Antaeus.org

–Steven Stanley
July 7, 2023
Photos: Frank Ishman

Tags: Los Angeles Theater Review, The Antaeus Company, William Shakespeare