The Public's Tempest in Central Park

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 10:26pm

Buy, cheat, and steal...get thee to the Tempest in Central Park! Absolutely brilliant production and staging! I'm shocked that this is the first performance!

More to add later, but I hope everyone here had as much fun in Central Park as I did this evening!

[PalJoey]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 10:48pm

Great to hear. Thanks. It's only 3 performances, right?

[#1Elphie]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 11:08pm

I absolutely loved it. It's quite ambitious to have so many people and such a diverse array of different groups onstage, but it made for some fantastic moments of theater. It really was wonderful. Norm Lewis and Todd Almond give particularly great performances, and all the participants onstage are very talented.

*POSSIBLE SPOILER??*
The ballerinas' scene with Trinculo, Stephano, and Caliban was probably my favorite part; it was so creative and well choreographed.

Updated On: 9/6/13 at 11:08 PM

[PlayItAgain]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 11:20pm

with so many people involved why are they only doing 3 performances, i dont get the logic.

[dshnookie]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 11:40pm

Is this another "line up at the crack of dawn" to guarantee tickets? I'm hoping this isn't as popular as the summer offerings, and lining up a little later in the day will yield success.

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 11:47pm

Don't think the word is out yet...but worth getting up early for.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 11:47pm

Considering this is only three performances (unlike the summer productions) and it's the last of the Public's Delacorte productions for the year, there is an insane demand for tickets. My friend was there for 6 hours (went at 6am) and she was still 30th in line. That was a Friday morning. The weekend will be insane.

[#1Elphie]

Posted: 9/6/13 at 11:48pm

I got in line at 7:30am, and I'm horrible at judging numbers, but I'd guess I was somewhere around #100 or a bit less? (probably between 75-100).

Like Play Esq. said, it really is worth the wait. Just a heads up, though; it was pretty cold this morning (the line is in the shade for most of the morning), so if the next couple of days are like today, be prepared for chilly weather.



Updated On: 9/6/13 at 11:48 PM

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 9/7/13 at 11:26pm

I guess I get to be the dissenting voice about this, but I really didn't like it. I think it was an ambitious undertaking and I'm supportive of the spirit in which it was designed, but the execution and end result left a lot to be desired.

As each community group came on there seemed to be little dramaturgical sense to what they were doing. Worse, the songs were bad. Some of the melodies were ok, but those lyrics!

I did like the costumes; the first time the ensemble came out it felt like Munchkinland.

The book scenes with the four Italian royals were stilted and the actors couldn't find the rhythm of the language. The comic scenes were better, mostly thanks to Jeff Hiller, but they weren't given any songs.

Norm Lewis sounded nice like he usually does, and Laura Benanti had two minutes of stage time.

I had high hopes after this thread, but ultimately I was not a fan.

[MorningGlow2]

Posted: 9/7/13 at 11:36pm

As others have noted, it is indeed an ambitious undertaking with 200 performers for a 90min+ show. I enjoyed it immensely for what it was supposed to be (a celebration of the arts community of NY).

It did get busy at times with so much going on, but I thought the show was very well put together. Every community group got their spotlight without distracting too much from the main storyline of The Tempest. Especially enjoyed the ballerinas - great choreography. And taiko! Loved how they managed to work them in to the opening scene!

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 9/8/13 at 12:04am

A guy was nice enough to give me a ticket that he wasn't using. The entire thing was incredible. Just being outside at a theater was great but the costumes, talent and overall design were just amazing. What a beautiful, perfect night at the theater. And of course Norm Lewis. He killed it. Incredible!



Updated On: 9/8/13 at 12:04 AM

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 9/9/13 at 6:10pm

Spot on review from the Times...a little surprised they reviewed it considering how few performances there were. Suppose they do for Encores!, might as well this. I don't remember the Times doing a review for the initial performances of Hair in Central Park (prior to the full mounting).


Times Review