This ‘Tempest’ Rises to Nearly Perfect Storm

Some directors faced with the sensual opportunities of “The Tempest” just can’t resist drowning in them. They pack Prospero’s magical isle with one vivid image after another, often dimming Shakespeare’s language and overwhelming the brilliance of his characters.

Not so with Shakespeare Orange County’s staging at Chapman University in Orange. Thomas F. Bradac’s approach is simple and effective: Let the characters create much of the bold atmosphere and adorn it all with only a few visions to suggest the supernatural at the play’s core.

Craig Brown’s austere set makes it hard to conjure a place where shipwrecked men mingle with the other world. There’s no hint of land and sea, only a raised platform that does bring to mind a promontory where Prospero watches over his barren world.

This does, however, give the actors more room to move. Besides, there are surprising sights, although presented judiciously. To hint at the sorcerer’s sway draping “The Tempest,” odd things happen: Banquet tables float above the ground and 12-foot-tall spirits emerge, airy and imperious.

These are just passing fancies, though, that give way to the show’s bolder performances. Michael Nehring’s Caliban is an eye-opener. He takes this deformed lackey--Prospero’s Igor--and turns him into a conniving creature who punctuates the dialogue with spasms of rage. Caliban, who appears and exits from two holes in the stage, is scary and funny at once. Kids at Friday’s opening night were enthralled while watching him slouch and roll about.

Terra Shelman’s Ariel is also a ticklish presence. As Prospero’s slave, the little sprite who desperately wants to be free, Shelman is lithe and willing. Eager to please, she all but cartwheels into action, slowing down only to appraise these strange humans she’s now dealing with. It’s hilarious when she sniffs one of King Alonzo’s (Carl Reggiardo) and Duke Antonio’s (Lorin McCraley) men, shuddering at the earthy sensation.

Ariel, and everybody else, spins from the center, which is Daniel Bryan Cartmell’s weighty Prospero, usurped by brother Antonio and abandoned on the island. There have been mischievous, eye-twinkling Prosperos quick to forgive, but Cartmell’s isn’t going for that.

This is a darkish take with only flitting moments of humor, but it conveys Prospero’s conflicted nature. When he finally does show generosity, moved so by the love between daughter Miranda (Elizabeth Taheri) and Alonzo’s son, Ferdinand (Alex C. Ferrill), you can see it’s an emotion hard-won.

As for Taheri and Ferrill, their chemistry is hard-won as well. In the first act, there’s no verve between them, leaving this key coupling weak and poorly drawn. Later, though, it builds somewhat, mostly due to Taheri’s evolving portrayal. She’s too blank when first met but her schoolgirlish thrill at encountering men in this “brave new world” eventually charms.

Stephano (Peter Westenhofer), the drunken butler, and jester Trinculo (Christopher Villa) are beguiling, too, but in a very different way. These clowns stumble, roar and sputter as they find an unlikely ally in Caliban. Their playfulness in this garden of good and evil helps to nicely balance the play’s heavy and lighter elements.

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“The Tempest,” Waltmar Theatre, 301 E. Palm Ave. on the Chapman University campus, Orange. Thursdays through Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m. Through Aug. 12. $24. (714) 744-7016. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes.

Daniel Bryan Cartmell: Prospero

Elizabeth Taheri: Miranda

Terra Shelman: Ariel

Michael Nehring: Caliban

Alex C. Ferrill: Ferdinand

Carl Reggiardo: King Alonzo

Raymund Manukay: Sebastian

Lorin McCraley: Antonio

Raymond Lynch: Gonzalo

Peter Westenhofer: Stephano

Christopher Villa: Trinculo

Michael Drace Fountain: Adrian

Ryan Gimbel: Francisco

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A Shakespeare Orange County production of Shakespeare’s play. Director: Thomas F. Bradac. Set: Craig Brown. Costumes: Linda Carol Davisson. Lighting: Paul DeDoes. Sound and composition: Chuck Estes. Stage manager: Julia Stormont.