The Tempest

We can be grateful that Prospero is so leisurely in keeping his promises. Our magician of this Shakespeare play spends much of the time promising to give the bondaged spirit Ariel his liberty, but—as connoisseurs of the play know—doesn't make good on this pledge until late in Act 5. Given the exoticism, excitement, and just plain coolness Ben Diskant brings to Ariel, fans of Adrian Noble's first-rate production will want this studly sprite around for as long as possible.

The multifaceted Diskant—stilts, wings, you name it—is marvelous. Miles Anderson's Prospero is no slouch, and the fanciful staging, complete with an all-purpose oceanlike drape, Bunraku puppets, and other otherworldly touches, helps make this "Tempest," if not a perfect storm, an awfully engaging one. We can even pardon costume designer Deirdre Clancy's questionable choice to clothe the omnipresent spirits of Prospero's island in garb that makes them resemble resort staff, especially when they're leading a return-from-intermission jam session (original music by Shaun Davey) that ups the friskiness quotient several-fold. Winslow Corbett's Miranda, none too innocent, is there, rocking out with the would-be power-mongers of Naples and Milan and Diskant's Ariel, shirtless with his crazy cotton-candy-blue hair.

A solid production of "The Tempest" can remind how almost inconsequential Prospero becomes to his own play. Once he delivers that lengthy expository monologue explaining to Miranda why he raised the storm and his exiled history, Prospero largely drops out of the play. Instead we watch the scheming of Sebastian (Michael Stewart Allen) and Antonio (Anthony Cochrane), the smitten-at-first-sight relationship of Miranda and Ferdinand (Kevin Alan Daniels), and the drunken antics of Caliban (Jonno Roberts), Stephano (Adrian Sparks), and Trinculo (understudy Jonathan Spivey for John Cariani), while Prospero looks on gloweringly and Ariel throws in aid.

Anderson lets us experience and understand Prospero's benevolence; his "revenge" will take a back seat to bringing about harmony and outfitting a brave and hopeful new world for Miranda. Here is a Prospero who, his outbursts aside, loves human beings and island spirits alike. And the spirits—Caliban excepted—return the affection.

The same blue curtain that serves as ship's sail, engulfing ocean, or performance curtain smartly serves as the main set piece of Ralph Funicello's design. The spirits who play instruments are stationed on the second level of the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, and they keep sweet time whether the entity kicking up the music is Prospero, Ariel, or even Caliban, who leads a carousing farewell song to his master as he throws his lot to the drunken buffoons.

Presented by and at the Old Globe Theater, 1363 Old Globe Way, San Diego. June 5-Sept. 25. Tue.-Sun., 8 p.m., in rotating rep with "Amadeus" and "Much Ado About Nothing." (619) 234-5623 or www.oldglobe.org.