Photo credit: James Murphy, Trainman Photography
The Tempest
by William Shakespeare
Midsommer Flight
July 6 – August 25, 2019
Performed outdoors at Lincoln Park, Touhy Park, Gross Park, and Chicago Women’s Park and Gardens
Reviews
“An hour and forty minutes of pure humor and heart … lovely and evocative stage pictures. … enthralling.”
CRITIC’S PICK
Aaron Lockman, Performink, 07.18.2019
“…directed and adapted by Beth Wolf. It comes in at a sprightly 90 minutes, no intermission. …some really lovely performances … it just moved very quickly but with nothing really being lost. I think that’s the miracle of it. And I have to say I think the sections with Trinculo and Stefano which sometimes can feel a little strained for me – you know, their subplot with Caliban – the comedy there actually worked better for me than I’ve seen it on some larger stages…I highly recommend it.“
Kerry Reid, Dueling Critics, 07.28.2019 – review begins at 38:00
“Plenty of resonant moments, thanks in part to the cross-gender casting of Stephanie Monday and Julie Proudfoot as Prospero and Alonso. The idea of powerful women being cheated of their place in public life—or even having their lives threatened—by callow, grasping men like Antonio (Dylan S. Roberts) and Sebastian (Scott Myers) feels mighty relevant. Wolf’s compact staging comes in at a tidy 90 minutes, but nothing feels rushed here. … a light but sure-handed touch.”
READER RECOMMENDED
Kerry Reid, Chicago Reader, 07.24.2019
“Under the clever direction of Beth Wolf, however, Midsommer Flight revels in theatricality and proves that The Tempest has a role in our daily lives. … The Tempest is a play with many simultaneous plots which are managed by Prospero and collide at her will. Each of these plots is a world all its own, and those worlds are maintained by talented players and directed by the skilled hands of Beth Wolf.”
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Sierra Carlson, Rescripted, 07.29.2019
“Midsommer Flight manages to ensnare the attention of outdoor theater-goers by staging four shows in one; a political thriller, a romance, a screwball comedy and a fantasy novel…. Wolf creates intriguing visuals with little more than bodies on stage.”
RECOMMENDED
Sean Margaret Wagner, Windy City Times, 07.10.2019
“Beth Wolf’s rampaging staging takes Lincoln Park by storm… Midsommer Flight’s rightly sprightly production features a rich score of minstrel music, rapid-fire set switches (including a ship with a human prow), supple and serviceable costume changes, and lots of convulsive entrances and exits. By the end the park, so much manufactured nature, has been domesticated by all-shaping art. It’s become the seemingly inevitable backdrop for a trove of sprawling make-believe.”
RECOMMENDED
Lawrence Bommer, Stage and Cinema, 07.08.2019
“Midsommer Flight’s Tempest, at approximately 105 minutes, rather than the standard 3 hours, nonetheless adequately captures the essence of this challengingly plotted/worded tale encompassing payback, compassion, empathy and exoneration. The minimal props/sound effects combined with the well-phrased language, the original antique/baroque sounding music and the wonderfully gleeful antics of Ariel and The Monsters to create a larger vista than that incorporated by the park. The sights and sounds of the waves hitting the vessel or threatening thunder were nicely timed with the performers movements; it is not at all difficult to “see” the shipwreck, the forest, the magical effects. There are, in addition, some clever visually staged moments that complement the fantasy-infused action of the play.”
RECOMMENDED
Debra Davy, Splash Magazine, 07.23.2019
Cast and Crew
Cast: Featuring Stephanie Monday as Prospero, with Richard Eisloeffel* (Caliban), Alley Ellis (Spirit/Juno), Susan Fay (Gonzalo), Daniela Martinez (Spirit/Shipmaster), Tom McGrath (Stephano), Koshie Mills (Spirit/Ceres), Jennifer Mohr (Miranda), Kat Moraros (Trinculo), Scott Myers (Sebastian), Julie Proudfoot (Alonso), Dylan S. Roberts* (Antonio), Austin James Roach (Spirit/Boatswain), Anthony Jordan Santiago (Ferdinand), Bailey Savage (Spirit/Iris), and Elana Weiner-Kaplow (Ariel). Understudies: Sarah Franzel, Josh Pennington, Jessica GoForth.
Production Staff: Beth Wolf (Director), Hazel Marie (Stage Manager), Skylar Grieco (Assistant Director), Jeremiah Barr (Scenic & Props Design), Lily Walls (Costume Design), Chris Smith and Maureen Yasko (Fight/Intimacy Directors), Elizabeth Rentfro (Composer/Music Designer), Amy Malcom (Vocal and Text Coach).
Beth Wolf 