Shakespeare’s final play, “The Tempest” mixes magic, music, dance, and some of the Bard’s most sublime poetry. It tells the story of the wizard Prospero and his daughter Miranda, living on an enchanted island with the spirit Ariel and the beast-creature Caliban. When a shipwreck strands a company of courtiers, fools, and villains on the island, even the great wits and sorcery of Prospero get confused in the resulting tangle of romance, mischief, and murder.
Director Kathryn Bikle, whose “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” last summer at Caltech garnered much praise, is an Altadena resident with a master’s degree in directing, and her local theater work includes productions with Pasadena’s Basement Theatre and Arroyo Repertory Theater. The “tricksy spirits” of the island owe their movement to choreographer Peggy Burt, of Lineage Dance of Pasadena, and the fantastical clothing of the human and otherworldly creatures is designed by Ann K Lindsey, who created costumes for “Little Match Girl Ballet” at Burbank’s Colony Theater. The original music is penned by Yulan Lin (who has performed with the LA Opera and the Master Chorale) and Gemma Mason (who arranges music for the local singing group “Out of Context”).
The Caltech Players, who presented a very successful “Little Shop of Horrors” earlier this year, bring together Caltech students, staff and faculty, JPLers, and talented members of the Pasadena community to share and create vibrant theater. The cast of “The Tempest” is equally varied; Todd Brun (Prospero) is a Caltech alumnus, Zachary Abbott (King Alonso) a staff member, Kelvin Bates (Ferdinand) a grad student, and Ashley Stroupe (Trinculo) a Mars Rover driver for JPL.
Performance dates are August 2, 3, 4, and August 8. 9, and 10, all performances starting at 7:30 pm. Tickets will be sold at the door, and can be reserved at http://explicit.caltech.edu/; $10 general admission, $5 students; appropriate for ages 12 and up. Performances are in the gardens behind Caltech’s historic Alumni House, located at 345 S. Hill Avenue in Pasadena, between Del Mar and California Blvd; there is ample free parking on Hill and in the Caltech parking garage on Holliston south of Del Mar. For more information, please visit http://explicit.caltech.edu/ or https://www.facebook.com/events/542439839138768/
