Theater spotlight: 'The Tempest' at Franconia Sculpture Garden

September 3, 2014 at 6:34PM
Barbra Berlovitz, left, and Harry Wates, Jr., as Caliban and Prospero in "The Tempest."
Barbra Berlovitz, left, and Harry Waters Jr., as Caliban and Prospera, respectively, in “The Tempest.” (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

THE TEMPEST

Thursday-Saturday: "The Tempest," Shakespeare's drama about a dispossessed duke who uses sorcery to reinstate his daughter to power, has had countless treatments in film, opera and onstage. Julie Taymor made the ruler a woman, Prospera, in her 2010 film, amplifying the parts of women in a play that had only one female character. Now two theatrical powerhouses in the Twin Cities are teaming up for a diverse, gender-blind, promenade-style version of play. Barbra Berlovitz, a co-founder of Theatre de la Jeune Lune, did the adaptation, and also plays Caliban. Harry Waters Jr., who originated the role of best friend Belize in the first production of Tony Kushner's "Angels in America" and also played injured singer Marvin Berry in the film "Back to the Future," plays Prospero. The cast includes ShaVunda Horsely as Ariel, Ki Seung Rhee as Antonio, Joetta Wright as Miranda and Bree Schmidt as Ferdinand. (6:30 p.m., Thu.-Sat., Franconia Sculpture Park, 29836 St. Croix Trail, Shafer, Minn., $10, 651-257-6668 or tempestfranconia.brownpapertickets.com.) ROHAN PRESTON

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