Lend Your Ears, Shakespeare Lovers, and the Bard’s ‘Tempest’ Will Sweep Through Your Homes

When Covid shut down live theater a few years ago, many artists turned to Zoom and other digital platforms to stay active and sane, and to help fans do the same. The results, which included some audio-only productions, were trumpeted back then as a potential means to make theater more accessible in good times as well as bad — even if, everyone agreed, nothing could replace the sense of immediacy and communion provided when people gather in the same physical space. Some initiatives have indeed endured. Since 2020, a nonprofit, Knock at the Gate, has provided immersive audio presentations that theater lovers can enjoy from their own homes, or anywhere else virtual entertainment can be accommodated. Its current outing is an abridged version of Shakespeare’s late-career romance, titled “The Tempest: A Surround-Sound Odyssey,” adapted and helmed by its artistic director, Joseph Discher.Mr. Discher, who’s also an actor and voice artist, directed another edited-down version of “Tempest,” a physical staging, for the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey back in 2009. For this new adaptation, which runs 99 minutes and is available to stream through March 1at KnockattheGate.com, listeners are advised to use headphones in a dark environment, in order to enhance the specific sensory rush intended.“Tempest” would seem an especially good fit for this endeavor: Shakespeare’s tale of betrayal, vengeance, and forgiveness unfolds as a storm is raging, and involves spirits and enchantment, offering many possibilities to spook, seduce and titillate an audience without having them look at anything. Mr. Discher’s take begins with a burst of thunder, followed by the sounds of crashing waves and bellowing voices as a storm summoned by the sorcerer Prospero destroys a ship carrying his brother, Antonio, and several others.The storm reunites the siblings, who, for the uninitiated, have some rough history: Prospero was the duke of Milan before Antonio conspired with the king of Naples, Alonso, to usurp that title. The rightful duke has since taken refuge on the island where “Tempest” unfolds, with his daughter Miranda, who’s now conveniently entering womanhood, as the fellows shipwrecked with Antonio include Alonso and his son and heir, a nice young man named Ferdinand. The island’s other inhabitants are essentially captive servants to Prospero, albeit opposites in character and intent: Ariel, a spirit, yearns for his freedom but is a faithful and valued confidante; Caliban, whom Prospero refers to disdainfully as his slave, will eventually plot to murder his master and have his way with Miranda — while Antonio and Alonso’s brother, Sebastian, make their own dastardly plans concerning Alonso and his devoted counselor, Gonzalo.Several of these roles are iconic, and Mr. Discher has recruited a few relatively well-known performers. Joel de la Fuente, whose television credits range from a recurring role on “Law & Order: SVU” to streaming series and video games — other cast members have experience in voice work as well — lends a lyrical authority to Prospero, suggesting a leader who wears his gravitas lightly.Hale Appleman, an alumnus of “Smash” and “American Horror Story,” makes a fine, impish Ariel, periodically singing in a tangy voice that can suggest mischief or wistfulness. That voice gets some technical support at points, when the character is practicing his magical powers; the use of layering and echo can be obvious, and when Ariel confronts Antonio and his fellow schemers toward the end, he sounds downright demonic. (Rider Q. Stanton, Kristina Tevdoradze, and Leigh Roberts all contributed to the sound design.)Emily Skeggs and Sean Hudock bring an endearing ingenuousness to Miranda and Ferdinand, and Raphael Nash Thompson deftly juggles pomp and earnestness as Gonzalo. As Caliban, “Future Man” star Derek Wilson — also abetted by technology, it seems — speaks his lines in a permanent growl; while the approach may suit a figure often perceived as monstrous (by others in the play as well as audiences), it doesn’t always serve the nuances that make Caliban and other characters here among Shakespeare’s most sophisticated and compelling. The natural world, at least, is more fully represented: That crackling and howling that launches the production and reoccurs throughout is offset by the sounds of gentle rainfall, birds chirping, and sweet music (written by Mr. Discher) — making this “Tempest,” for the most part, a three-dimensional experience in every sense.

Lend Your Ears, Shakespeare Lovers, and the Bard’s ‘Tempest’ Will Sweep Through Your Homes

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