The timeth hast cometh for thy to bear witness thus another production puteth oneth by thou UMD Theatre Department. If the words in which I use seem outdated, and “old-timey” English-like, that is because I am taking inspiration from the Theater Department’s first production of the semester, The Tempest, a play by none other than William Shakespeare.

The Tempest tells the story of the sorcerer Prospero, who was long banished on an island with his daughter and a few associates. He hatches a plot to shipwreck his betrayers and claim back his old title as the duke of Milan. Soon, Prospero realizes that his path to freedom may put his beloved daughter at risk. The Tempest is frequently considered Shakespeare’s metatextual tribute to theatre itself.

I attended the premiere of the production on Friday, Feb. 7. In the world of theater, there are bound to be problems that pop up, and for the first show there was a brief delay due to technical difficulties with the lighting.

There was an actor who was already sitting on stage before the show even began, so I can’t imagine how much longer it felt for him to wait with the technical difficulties. Soon enough, the play started.

The beginning of the play felt unsettling with the actors moving about the stage while chanting unintelligible words. The lighting effects also played a key role in this unsettling feeling as they flashed different colors and pointed different directions.

I enjoyed the aesthetics of the setting. I find it interesting how creative the Theater Department can be when making sets for the Dudley Experiment Theater, which is where this play took place. The props included tiered platforms that looked like huge trees, hanging colorful paper mache lanterns and big strands of fabric with phrases written on them.

The prop that impressed me the most was this monster-like spirit that took six people to move in unison around the stage, almost like puppeteering. I liked that the different body parts weren’t connected, making its presence feel larger.

Perhaps I was a bit tired watching this play, but sometimes it was hard to follow along with the Shakespearean language. So many thous, thys, and thuses. I got more comfortable with the language as the play continued.

I was very impressed with the physicality of the characters Ariel and Boganashla, played by Cody Manh Do and Luke Pfluger respectively. How they managed to leap, flip, roll and move around the stage is far beyond what I, or most people I know, could do. I jumped a little in my seat when they would pull out these moves.

Prospero sending Ariel to complete another task after putting Miranda to sleep. Photo curtesy of UMD Theatre and Dance Instagram

I was also impressed with the singing capabilities of the 4 spirit characters. I've been in choir for eight years and I still wouldn’t have the confidence to sing a cappella with other people. I found their singing to be soothing and brought a sense of comfort to the situation occuring in the scene.

The bits that I enjoyed the most were when the cast would do random dance breaks to modern music, such as the characters Antonio and Sebastian. Most notably, when the whole cast danced to “Hot to Go,” by Chappell Roan. These bits reminded me of how random theater can be and I love that it’s a type of art that doesn’t always need to be taken seriously.

My two favorite characters in the play were Trinculo and Stephano, played by Elsa Persson and Abby Aune respectively. Their characters had great chemistry and balanced each other out well. Their body language, facial expressions and commitment to the ridiculous antics of their characters always brought a smile to my face. I want a whole play just about them.

Two other characters that had great chemistry were Miranda, the daughter of Prospero, and Ferdinand, the son of Alonso, played by Katherine Warmka and Molly Fabian respectively. One thing that I love about theater is that gender does not need to play a key role in casting, and that what really matters is how well a person can play the role. Historically within theater, characters have been known to be played by the opposite genders.

Ben Carpenter is the writer behind Ben There, Done That — a column dedicated to reviewing fine art shows at UMD and around Duluth.

I often wonder how the actors kept from breaking character, because there were some funny innuendo jokes and gags. Specifically, when Ferdinand was holding a log against his body in a certain way that resembled a certain body part. I love good bodily humor in a play, something Shakespeare often included.

The ending of the play was not how I expected the story to turn out. Throughout the play I didn’t fully trust that Prospero’s intentions were in good will, and I expected certain people to potentially die, especially since it’s a play by Shakespeare. I don’t want to spoil it for you, though. You’ll have to see it yourself.

Overall, I enjoyed the play more as it progressed. It’s not my favorite production the Theater Department has done, but I still recommend going to see it.

I applaud all the actors, technicians, production staff, stagehands and everyone involved with this play. The Tempest runs through Saturday, February 15th. For information about upcoming shows at UMD, check the full season schedule on their website.

Ben There, Done That: The Tempest