PTC aims to create a beautiful, thrilling 'Tempest'

Much of what made Shakespeare great is that so much of what was written 400 years ago is directly relatable today. Pioneer Theatre Company's production of "The Tempest," opening on Oct. 21, is a perfect example.

"It's such a beautiful meditation on how to live and what choices we make," said dramaturg Elizabeth Williamson. "It's a play about finding a way to be in a state of grace — being at peace."

Roughly, the play takes place on a deserted, but magical island. Prospero, an exiled duke, rules over the spirits, sprites and monsters. When a ship carrying the brother who put Prospero on the island in the first place crashes on his shores, Prospero must choose between revenge and forgiveness.

"It's some of the best poetry ever written," Williamson said. "And at the same time, it's an earthy comedy. You find yourself thinking, 'How did he do all that and yet it feels so together?' It's one of my favorite plays."

Widely considered to be the last play the Bard wrote completely on his own, "The Tempest" was written toward the end of his career. "It's a play about letting go and in a lot of ways I think we feel that we see in Prospero, we feel we see something in Shakespeare also, setting aside his own powers," Williamson said. "Sort of leaving the theater, to a degree. Giving up his theatrical magic."

"'The Tempest' is extraordinary in many ways," said actress Julia Motyka, who plays Ariel, Prospero's servant and aide. "Shakespeare always had the incredible knack for offering human truth in some of the most extraordinary poetry imaginable," she said. "You have a lead character that has been so deeply hurt by the people who are supposed to love him. And he seeks revenge — magical revenge — and he begins to discover the amazing ability to forgive. It's one of the most amazing things we are capable of — that we are given the ability to reason and forgive."

The lofty themes aside, "It's also one of Shakespeare's funniest plays," Williamson said. "I think that's something about Chuck's (Charles Morey) direction is that he's so good with comedy and this one is so funny."

Morey directed "The Tempest" 27 years ago — his first Shakespeare play for PTC. Now in his last season, he revisits the play, one of his personal favorites.

"In a play about letting go, it is certainly resonating with the cast," Williamson said. "The cast is filled with people who have worked at PTC with Chuck before. I think it's moving for him to be surrounded by people he's worked with before for this last production."