La Tempestad, or Shakespeare Goes Caribbean at Ophelia's Jump

By William Shakespeare, Directed and Adapted by Beatrice Casagrán
Part of the Midsummer Shakespeare Festival in Claremont
performed at the Sontag Greek Theater, Pomona College

A story of shipwreck and magic, The Tempest begins on a ship caught in a
violent storm with Alonso, the king of Naples, on board. On a nearby island, the
exiled Duke of Milan, Prospero, tells his daughter, Miranda, that he has caused
the storm with his magical powers. Prospero had been banished twelve years
earlier when Prospero’s brother, Antonio—also on the doomed ship—conspired
with Alonso to become the duke instead. Prospero and Miranda are served by a
spirit named Ariel and by Caliban, son of the island’s previous inhabitant, the
witch Sycorax.

This bilingual adaptation is set on La Isla de la Juventud off the coast of Cuba in 1895.
The production is grounded in Cuban culture’s vibrant mixture of Spanish
and African music and religion, featuring live
music with original arrangements of Cuban and Afro-Caribbean music.