BPO and ICTC Team Up for an Amazing Show!

The Bard is in Town

Irish Classical Theatre Company and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra are presenting a condensed version of The Tempest by William Shakespeare with incidental music by Jean Sibelius this weekend at Kleinhans, and it is a joy to behold. 

In The Tempest, Prospera, played by Aleks Malejs in a brilliant performance that combines rage, steely determination, wit, and ultimately compassion and forgiveness, is a sorcerer who brews up a storm with her magic so the ship of her brother, Antonio, will run aground and she can wreak vengeance upon him. He usurped her position as Duke of Milan and forced her and her daughter onto a boat on the open sea 12 years ago, expecting them to perish. Instead, they washed up on the island and have lived there since with their servant and slave, the monstrous Caliban, and the fairy Ariel. Conspiracies abound, romance is kindled, and eventually, all’s well that ends well.

a Full Orchestra and Live Cast

The full orchestra and large cast create a compelling evening of music and theater that captivates the senses. The opening scene of the shipwreck combines the chaotic music of the overture with the visual of the terrified characters trying to right the ship along with projections of the roiling sea and fire on the walls of the stage. The projections, by Brian Milbrand, are used to great effect throughout the evening, from showing a placid sea to intensifying the rage of Prospero, or projecting song lyrics onto the ceiling. Song lyrics? you might ask. Members of the Philharmonic Orchestra Chorus add a third element to the proceedings, two tenors and two sopranos singing songs of four of the characters while the actors continue their performances. Other members of the Chorus also contribute their talents. All the elements meld together to form a perfect union of music, theater, and song.

The actors have a ten-foot wide area in front of the orchestra to perform their magic, and Director Fortunato Pezzimenti and Set Designer David Dwyer use every inch of it, also allowing the action to spill over into the aisles at times. 

Patrick Cameron is excellent as Caliban. He moves from ranting and raving to obsequious boot-licking in a flash. He is also one-third of the comic relief along with the other two Stooges – Todd Benzin as the dim-witted drunkard, Sebastian, and Kevin Craig as the clueless Trinculo. Their antics inject quite a bit of hilarity to the seriousness of the play. Marisa Caruso is light and airy as Ariel, flitting across the stage as she works her magic. All of the actors in this large cast perform admirably, and of course, our world-class orchestra is, well, world-class.

Valedictory Works

PBO Conductor JoAnn Falletta and Director Fortunato Pezzimenti held a “Musically Speaking” talk before the performance ( as they will before each performance) and spoke of their collaboration and the intricacies of combining these elements. They also spoke of The Tempest being the “valedictory work” of  Shakespeare and Sibelius, albeit several centuries apart, and that they both emphasized forgiveness over vengeance, humility, and the wisdom of age. Prospera embodies these elements in this superb evening of entertainment.

Please note that this show is for one weekend only, so if you want to see it, now is the time.