Thursday, June 11, 2009

Howward County Times Cover CSC

Thinking Outside the Bard

Outdoor theatre

By Anthony Sclafani

Posted 6/03/09

With 'Cyrano,' Shakespeare troupe hopes to win by a nose

Nearly every weekday, Ian Gallanar makes his way up the hills to the ruins of the old Patapsco Female Institute in historic Ellicott City. There, in the expansive outdoor setting, the long-time theater director is taking on his most challenging mission to date.

Along with some 30 actors and assorted technical crew, Gallanar is mounting his biggest production yet with the troupe he co-founded over half a decade ago. The Chesapeake Shakespeare Company revival of "Cyrano de Bergerac" opens Friday, June 5 and will be nothing if not ambitious.

"The thing is huge," laughs Gallanar, who also serves as the troupe's artistic director. "There are over 40 roles in this play. There are about 80 costumes, and they're all period costumes, so it's not like you can put a brown suit on somebody.

"It's five acts, and each act is set in a completely different location," continues this Laurel-based director. "So it's a big, gigantic piece. You can't just go to any theater and sayy, I think I'd like to do 'Cyrano de Bergerac!'"

Over the past few years the company has gone from an upstart troupe to being one of the most critically acclaimed purveyors of Shakepearean drama in the state. It has received several Greater Baltimore Theater Awards, and in 2007 was the only Maryland drama troupe invited to perform in the prestigious Shakespeare in Washington Festival.

For the first time, Gallanar and company have looked away from the troupe's namesake for their signature summer offering (although they have staged a non-Shakespearean title or two in winter months). This time, instead of sticking with the boy who brought them, they've strayed off into untested territory with an oversized antique by French one-hit wonder Edmond Rostand.

Is this the time to take artistic risks?

"You know why we're doing it?" asks Gallanar with a rhetorical flourish worthy of Cyrano himself. "Because we can."

And he's not kidding.

"We talked it over and we looked at our budget. And we looked at our audience and thought, since we're in our seventh season, it's time to introduce something besides Shakespeare."

That meant a stretch in more ways than one. Gallanar had to hire more actors. Washington-area stage veteran Frank B. Moorman, who plays the title role, had to enroll in fight choreography classes to navigate through the play's many swordfights and physical challenges. And marketing director Rebecca Ellis had to come up with a large prosthetic nose realistic enough to turn Moorman into a believably authentic Cyrano.

It's "Cyrano," after all -- and everyone will be coming to see the man with the long nose.

The main man

"Cyrano de Bergerac," as most folks will remember from high school English class, is a romantic tragedy about a famed soldier and poet with an oversized proboscis who unfortunately is carrying a torch for the fairest maiden in France, Roxanne.

Things get complicated when Roxanne falls for Cyrano's fellow soldier, Christian de Neuvillette, who is too prosaic and tongue-tied to master the language of love. So Cyrano volunteers to be Christian's invisible surrogate and speech writer in the campaign to win Roxanne. As expected, he succeeds only too well for all involved.

First performed in 1897, the play has been rediscovered and adopted by virtually every generation since. It is periodically revived on the professional stage, and enjoyed a mainstream retelling in 1987 when comic Steve Martin wrote and starred in a movie update titled "Roxanne."

Gallanar says the play first got his attention in a cartoon version he saw in his youth. "It was a 'Mr. Magoo' cartoon," he confides. "For some strange reason in the mid-1960s, they made a series of 'Mr. Magoo' classics - cartoon renditions of classic plays like 'A Christmas Carol.'

"What appealed to me was the story. You see this basic story a lot -- in sitcoms, in movies -- it's everywhere."

The same mix of comic and tragic elements that has fueled the play's popularity through the years poses a special challenge for any director attempting to revive it.

As he gets set for another evening of running cast interference and untangling the text's mixed messages, Gallanar reflects on the obstacles already met.

"We have a variety of different actors. Some of them are kids, some of them are interns and some of them are professionals."

Notably included among the smattering of children are Gallanar's own daughter, Isadora Gallanar, as well as Addison Helm, the son of co-star (and managing director) Lesley Malin.

"When you're dealing with so many different kinds of actors, you have to talk to everybody differently."

Altogether, the summer production is another key step forward for a troupe that has been stepping up for some time. Even in a harsh economic environment, when people have notably less discretionary income for tickets, the company sold out its October run of "Macbeth" and had its second-highest attendance records for its outdoor productions last summer, despite near-continuous rainfall.

The troupe's last production, "The Country Wife," also sold out, even though it was a little-known Restoration comedy. Word of mouth about the company's quality has clearly gotten around -- and rave reviews from a variety of the region's media can't have hurt at all.

"It's the largest cast we've ever assembled. It's huge," Gallanar emphasizes, then ends with a wry note of understatement. "But it's great fun, like herding cats."

The company will also present "Twelfth Night" beginning June 26 and that production runs weekends to July 19. There will be a marathon double-header production of both plays Saturday, June 27.

DC Theater Scene Reviews Cyrano

Cyrano de Bergerac

June 10, 2009 by Steven McKnight
Filed under Features, Our Reviews

Monday, March 2, 2009

Howard County Times Reviews Country Wife

Theater Review: Living for today, 'Country' style

Chesapeake Shakespeare Company has its way with Wycherley

By Mike Giuliano

Posted 2/26/09

William Wycherley's "The Country Wife" was written in 1675, but the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company's production of this English Restoration comedy is easy to follow in 2009.

You'll readily adjust to the play's stylized language and customs, because amorous intrigue never goes out of style. As for the three-hour running time: It flies by like a breathlessly paced sitcom in which every marriage just seems like an excuse to commit adultery.

"The Country Wife" is a zesty reminder that 17th-century England was a tumultuous place. The Puritans had banned theater, but they fell from power with the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. Whatever one might say about the ensuing Restoration theater, it was not puritanical. It celebrated life with such bawdy glee that you still sense the playwrights' excitement at being able to freely express themselves again.

The near-manic quality of such theater also conveys the feeling that these stage characters are vigorously living for today, because yesterday was grim and there's no guarantee that there will be a tomorrow. Quickly made references to war, smallpox and other life-shortening things in "The Country Wife" are reminders that there's no point delaying either a marriage or an adulterous affair.

Wycherley's play is predicated on the basic social assumption that marriage is a contract based on financial advantage, social position, and just possibly genuine affection; those who are married have no qualms about having affairs on the side. Not every character in this densely plotted play totally agrees with that assumption, which is one reason why their varied responses to it result in a three-hour play.

This story is brimming with innuendo-laden conversations whispered behind hand-held fans, characters hidden behind large screens, and passionate affairs that go postal with every letter sent to an eager recipient.

The complexities of that plot are best discovered for yourself, but they all spin off of the bawdy scheme that immediately gets the play going. Harry Horner (Scott Alan Small) is a swaggering London playboy whose curly wig is kept in motion by his pursuit of women. He hatches a plot to pretend that he's impotent, thereby making husbands trust him in the company of their wives. The duped husbands will assume Harry is just visiting to play cards, for instance, without realizing that he's playing another game.

Harry is a city slicker whose sly tactics are aimed at targets including a country couple, the stuffy Jack Pinchwife (Keith E. Irby), and Pinchwife's sweet-natured new bride, Margery (Rebecca Ellis). All three actors persuasively embody their roles, with Irby especially impressive owing to the fervor of his authoritarian pronouncements.

The large cast generally meshes well under director Heather S. Nathans, even though a few performers seem all too eager to mug. Among the actors doing fine work are Dave Gamble, Scott Graham, Frank Mancino, Jeri Marshall and Anastasia Wilson.

Surely the real star of this production, however, is costume designer Kristina Lambdin. There are so many beautifully designed costumes on men and women alike that the show becomes a lavish immersion in 17th-century society.

These characters love to adorn themselves with dainty lace, flashy jewelry and elaborate wigs. Their sartorial philosophy seems to be that you must love yourself before you can love anybody else.

Chesapeake Shakespeare Company's production of "The Country Wife" runs through March 1 at the Howard County Center for the Arts, at 8510 High Ridge Road in Ellicott City. Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $25, $22 for senior citizens, $15 for students younger than 22. Call 866-811-4111 or go to www.chesapeakeshakespeare.com.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Baltimore Sun Reviews The Country Wife

The Country Wife': Low comedy in high style
Chesapeake Shakespeare Company ably pulls off 17th-century play

By Mary Carole McCauley | mary.mccauley@baltsun.com
February 12, 2009

"The Country Wife"

Lesley Malin (left) and Scott Graham star in "The Country Wife" at the Howard County Center for the Arts through March 1. (Photo by Kitty R Photography / February 10, 2009)

The ambitious Chesapeake Shakespeare Company spent more than six months putting together its current production of The Country Wife - much of it mastering the intricate movement style required of Restoration theater.

And every single minute of the troupe's hard work shows in this glittering version of William Wycherley's bawdy comedy from 1675.

Restoration theater is among the most difficult acting styles to master, but what's most impressive isn't the way the performers flip their fans or mince around stage with their feet turned out. Under Heather Nathans' sure direction, the mannerisms never overwhelm the acting.

This is a production that holds its own, ounce for ounce, with the big fish in the classical pond - Washington's Shakespeare Theatre, which last fall staged a different Restoration comedy, William Congreve's The Way of the World. It's as if the Aberdeen IronBirds were to tie the Baltimore Orioles in an exhibition game. It's not an impossible feat by any means, but it's certainly unexpected, since the major-league team has all the advantages.

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The Chesapeake company is composed of actors who also have day jobs and, not surprisingly, its bench isn't as deep as that of the fully professional Washington troupe. Performances falter in a few, smallish roles. But the local production is the clearer and more accessible of the two, and - perhaps because it is staged in a 100-seat black-box theater - the more intimate.

That said, Restoration comedy is a bit of an acquired taste. It can be too convoluted and clever by half, too enamored of its own wordplay. It's to the actors' credit that the dialogue generates lots of laughs.

In Wycherley's sex farce, the aptly named Horner pretends to be impotent to gain access to the wives of men he plans to cuckold. The newly married Pinchwife is wise to Horner's scheme, and keeps his wife a virtual prisoner to prevent her from being seduced. Meanwhile, Pinchwife's sister, Alithea, is determined to honor her engagement to a fop, though she loves another suitor.

Rebecca Ellis is a hoot as the willful and impetuous title character, who constantly blurts out whatever is on her mind - and who is just as constantly being shushed. It's great fun to see conflicting urges battle it out on Ellis' expressive face.

Scott Alan Small is virile and charming as the rake, Horner. Fresh performances also are supplied by Lesley Malin, as the all-too-conscientious Alithea (though it would be nice to see more of the character's inner struggle); by Scott Graham as her smitten suitor; and by Annie Grier as a saucy maid.

It's instructive that the most broadly comic roles result in both the strongest and weakest performances. As the fop, Sparkish, Frank Mancino is the human equivalent of meringue - all fluff - while Dave Gamble is a fatuous delight as the easily hoodwinked Sir Jasper Fidget.

Mancino and Gamble's portrayals are every bit as over the top as are those of their less-effective colleagues. So why are the former believable, while the latter (who shall remain unnamed) are not? Perhaps it's because Mancino and Gamble seem physically relaxed. They never screw up their faces, or seem to strain, or subliminally express reservations about their own performances.

I doubt that Kristina Lambdin had $1 million to spend on her sumptuous costumes, but she makes it appear as though that was her budget. When upon occasion the script gets too arch, you can momentarily tune out, and watch those gorgeous garments shimmer and gleam.

if you go
The Country Wife runs through March 1 at the Howard County Center for the Arts, 8510 High Ridge Road, Ellicott City. Tickets are $15-$25. Showtimes are 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays. Call 866-811-4111 or go to chesapeakeshakespeare.com.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Baltimore Sun reviews Macbeth (in the Ruins)

Macbeth' action, unusual set give you a workout

By Karen Nitkin |Special to The Baltimore Sun

October 19, 2008

The Chesapeake Shakespeare Company's production of Macbeth will make your heart pound, and not just when Macbeth wields bloody daggers after murdering Duncan, or when Banquo rises, eerily, from the dead.

Like other CSC productions, Macbeth is staged at the skeletal ruins of the Patapsco Female Institute, set on an appropriately spooky Ellicott City hilltop.

But this time, instead of sitting on folding chairs, the audience walks up and down stairs, climbs hills, peers through darkness, moves from one unheated roofless room to the other, and stands outside for much of the performance.

"We think of this as eavesdropping on the Macbeths," artistic director Ian Gallanar told members of the audience before the show began.

It's a neat idea, and one particularly suited to this ghost-filled, pre-Halloween production and its spooky setting. The logistics have been carefully thought out, and as the audience is guided from one setting to another, marketing director Rebecca Ellis leads the way, saying things like "Let's go see what Lady Macbeth is doing now."

But a little restraint would have gone a long way. Instead of changing locations a dozen or so times, the audience might have been better served with just two or three scene changes. Each shift in location takes more than a few minutes and requires audience members to find new places to stand or sit so they can see the action.

Though some rooms have chairs, and one outside scene offers picnic tables so audience members can feel as if they're part of a celebratory feast, the production, at 2 1/2 hours, requires a lot of standing time and stamina. And when the scenes move out into the dark night, following the action of characters dressed in dark clothing can be challenging at best.

The fine acting all around, particularly by Lesley Malin as Lady Macbeth and Scott Alan Small as the ambitious Macbeth, may make you forget about tired feet and the chilly October night. When Macbeth returns to his wife carrying blood-soaked daggers after murdering Duncan, the king of Scotland, the adrenaline and tension are palpable.

"I have done the deed," Macbeth confides, barely able to believe it himself.

The affection between the scheming Macbeth and his equally ambitious wife is also palpable, and when he calls her "my dearest love" his words contain an implied caress. Later, when she tells her husband to "screw your courage to the sticking place, and we will not fail," we can see him gaining quiet confidence from his beloved's words.

One centerpiece of "the Scottish play," as it is known, is the great banquet scene in which Macbeth, riddled with guilt and sinking into madness, sees Banquo rise from the dead after Macbeth arranged for his murder.

The company stages the banquet at outdoor picnic tables, even asking a member of the audience to pour wine into the newly crowned king's goblet. When Banquo, played by Colby Codding, emerges from the shadows with blood on his forehead, a frozen smile on his face and a blank look in his eyes, Macbeth's first reaction is to find someone other than himself to blame.

"Who has done this?" he asks, terrified, then speaks directly to Banquo: "Thou canst not say I did it. Never shake thy gory locks at me."

Like all Shakespeare productions, CSC's Macbeth is best appreciated by people who are familiar with the play. But the excellent acting brings all the terror, raw ambition and scheming of the play alive, even to those who are new to it.

Plus, it may be the only production of Macbeth that gives your body and your mind a workout.

WYPR- FM reviews Macbeth

Here is the transcript:Grown-up drama now on 88.1 I’m Sheila Kast. If you’re going to the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company’s Macbeth, be sure to wear comfortable shoes and warm clothes as this outdoor production draws the audience into the thick of the action. The theatre critic Martha Thomas who saw the play said braving the elements is worth the experience. Here’s her review.

The Chesapeake Shakespeare Company has transferred last year’s straight- forward production of Macbeth to a new setting and in the process has created a whole new play. The group is remaining at its summer home, the grounds of the old Patapsco Female Institute for this first production of the winter season, taking advantage of the warm evenings of October. But instead of sitting on folding chairs or picnic blankets the audience becomes part of the action, traipsing after the actors as they wend their way through the ruins.

The result may be the most exciting production of the Scottish play you’ll ever see. In some cases, we’re incorporated into the production, standing on a hillside at the end of the battle, as guests at table during the banquet. We feel as if we’ve traveled in time to a Scottish castle in order to witness this grisly drama unfold. The company makes good use of its surroundings, the ruins of a pre-Civil War era school for girls. Macbeth first appears atop a sweeping stone staircase, the great hall with the fireplace becomes the interior of the castle open to the inky sky. Actors appear on second floor galleries and leaning through windows. The opening night audience was double that anticipated and actors did an admirable job of staying in character as spectators often spilled into playing areas.

One of the most dramatic settings is a cramped room off the basement chapel, where Macduff learns that his family has been brutally murdered. Actor Patrick Kilpatrick is lit only by harsh work lights and his shadow looms large against the stone foundation as he rages in his grief while we, the audience, are pressed against the walls or huddled on the dirt floor. Lesley Malin’s Lady Macbeth wanders amid columns in the chapel, swatting her hands to rid them of imaginary spots of blood, while her doctor stands in an opening above to witness her madness.

If you’re keen to hear every word and see every facial expression, this isn’t the play for you. It moves at a pretty pace with audience members jockeying to find the best vantage point for each scene, sometimes unable to see the actors faces or even hear their lines. Cut to compensate for the time required to relocate an entire audience every scene or two, this production depends on broad brushstrokes. Its focus is Macbeth’s rise and fall and many details, like the Macduff story for example, have been eliminated.

It’s held together by the drama of the setting as well as by a powerful performance by Scott Alan Small. His fearsome Macbeth intensifies before us, even as his deeds bear down on him. When Macbeth sweeps into a room or locks eyes with an apparition, we are drawn to follow him. In the final scene Macduff and Macbeth battle it out on top of a hill. The two men race at each other across the grass, grunting, bashing, and clanging their swords. It’s a well choreographed fight that feels authentic in its force and physicality. And it’s a scene like none I’ve seen, with only the trees silhouetted against the starry sky as backdrop. You could just as easily be at the edge of the Birnam Wood as here in Ellicott City.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

CSC on CNN

The Chesapeake Shakespeare Company got a nice mention in a CNN story about the top counties in the US to live a healthy, long life. Click here to see the article

Thursday, June 26, 2008

The Howard County Times Reviews CSC's The tempest

Review: Chesapeake Shakespeare's 'The Tempest'

Comedy reigns in the ruins of the PFI

By Mike Giuliano

Posted 6/26/08

Theater review

Considering that it is set outdoors and has many scripted references to wilderness, it's only natural that "The Tempest" is one of the Shakespeare plays most frequently performed on a lawn during the summer. The Chesapeake Shakespeare Company has the added advantage of staging it against the imposing backdrop of the stabilized ruins of the Patapsco Female Institute in Ellicott City.

This enjoyable production makes the most of its pastoral setting through such staging tactics as the recorded sound of thunder so persuasive it might have you scanning the sky for signs of a real thunderstorm. Although a recent performance on a beautifully clear night never provided genuine reason to worry about rainy weather, that recorded thunder did underscore the extent to which Shakespeare's story relies upon stormy weather.

Prospero, the former Duke of Milan, lives in exile on a desolate island with his daughter, Miranda, who has had such a literally sheltered existence that she's never seen other people. The only exception, if you can call it that, are the two creatures who are subordinate to Prospero's magical power: Ariel, a lively spirit, and Caliban, a monstrous malcontent.

Deposed from his position in Milan by an aristocratic conspiracy, Prospero engineers his revenge by magically orchestrating a storm that causes a shipwreck involving villains from Milan and their equally conniving collaborators from Naples.

Much of the story involves the strange encounters on Prospero's island between its inhabitants and the shipwrecked party. It takes most characters awhile to get a secure grasp on who is who and who is still alive.

Shakespeare adds an affecting romance to give this mostly comic tale a sentimental quality, and he also gives it an ethical quality by transforming the revenge-driven plot into what's ultimately a story about forgiveness.

Most of the leading roles are smartly cast with actors who slip naturally into their roles. As Prospero, Michael P. Sullivan has a commanding presence that makes him fully capable of using magic to alter the course of events. A deft bit of staging occasionally finds Prospero looking down on the action from the second level of the Patapsco Female Institute. He's the master of this particular universe.

As Miranda, Annie Grier seems as sweetly innocent as one expects, and she's truly endearing when she gushes about her attraction to Ferdinand (Shaun Gould), the handsome and good-natured son of one of the villains, Alonso, the King of Naples (Gregory Burgess).

Among Prospero's less than human servants, Wayne Willinger is as filthy and hunched over as you want the bizarre Caliban to be, and he also roams off the stage often enough to turn the lawn into Prospero's domain.

This production effectively adheres to the outdoor custom of having performers romp down a grassy aisle as if it were Shakespeare Street, but director Patrick Kilpatrick should do even more of it with a play like "The Tempest." It would be a slightly scary treat for young kids in the audience, for instance, if Caliban were to get a little closer to them.

The only principal actor whose performance seems ill-considered is Ashly Ruth Fishell as Ariel. Her highly theatrical delivery sounds mannered, with diction so crisp and forceful that it hurts the play's lyrical flow. Although Ariel admittedly isn't happy about being under Prospero's spell and has spirited lines to that effect, Fishell's delivery is too strident.

The large supporting cast humorously makes this nearly deserted island suddenly seem overpopulated. Among the most engaging performances is by Colby Codding as the jester Trinculo. When he and Alonso's butler, Stephano (Jamie Hanna), verbally spar, it's like an eternally funny vaudeville act.

Storms wreck ships in "The Tempest," but the play's comic tone is like a gentle breeze wafting through the hills above Ellicott City.

The Chesapeake Shakespeare Company performs "The Tempest" in rotating repertory with "The Comedy of Errors" through July 13 at the Patapsco Female Institute Historic Park, at 3691 Sarah's Lane, in Ellicott City. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 5 p.m. Tickets are $25, $22 for seniors and free for children 18 and younger when accompanied by a paying adult. Call 866-811-4111 or go to www.chesapeakeshakespeare.com.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

WYPR-FM reviews The Comedy of Errors

Listen to Martha Thomas' review

The Tempest Reviewed in The Baltimore Sun

Shakespeare's comic storm

By William Hyder |special to the sun

June 20, 2008

The Tempest opens with a storm at sea. Everyone on the ship is seemingly lost, but later, one after another, they all turn up on the same island.

The Chesapeake Shakespeare Company shows what happens next in an enjoyable outdoor production running through July 13.

The storm, the audience learns, was caused by a sorcerer named Prospero. Formerly Duke of Milan, Prospero was deposed years before by his evil brother Antonio, with the connivance of Alonso, king of Naples. With his infant daughter Miranda, he was sent to sea in a dilapidated ship.

Luck spared the two from drowning, and they found refuge on an island. Here Prospero studied books of magic left by a resident witch. With the powers he acquired, he freed a captive spirit named Ariel, gaining its help and loyalty, and enslaved the witch's monstrous son, Caliban.

Now, 16 years later, he is using his magic to regain his dukedom. He has brought his enemies and their retinues onto the island, and we see him achieving control over them with the aid of Ariel. He plans to consolidate his power by marrying Miranda to Alonso's son Ferdinand.

Miranda grew up knowing no men save for her father and the repulsive Caliban. At 19, she is ready to fall for the first new man who comes along. Thanks to Prospero's magic, it turns out to be Ferdinand.

Also saved from the storm are Trinculo, a jester, and Stephano, a butler. (Their occupations have to be learned from the program. The late-19th-century costumes designed by Kristina Lambdin give the audience no hint of who they are.)

The two men are urged by the vengeful Caliban to kill Prospero. The drunken Stephano will thus become king of the island; Caliban will gain his freedom. This is conceived as a comic situation, and Colby Codding (Trinculo) and Jamie Hanna (Stephano) make the most of it.

In another plot, Sebastian (Frank Mancino) conspires to kill his brother Alonso, king of Naples, with the aid of Antonio (Ben Fisler). Although meant to be serious, this situation too is played for comedy.

Three male characters become female in this production. Ashly Ruth Fishell is a pert and graceful Ariel. Adrian, a courtier (Rebecca Ellis), has hardly any lines, but Gonzalo, "an honest old Counsellor," is a major character. As played by Jenny Leopold, Gonzalo is an energetic and businesslike woman in the prime of life.

She and Ellis are charmingly and irrelevantly dressed in the style of 1912, with long, narrow skirts and what used to be called picture hats.

Wayne Willinger makes a splendid Caliban, a hairy, hostile creature with a necklace of teeth, resentful that his island has been stolen from him. Gregory Burgess is a sad and dignified Alonso.

As Miranda and Ferdinand, two young people overwhelmed by the wonder of first love Annie Grier and Shaun Gould get many sympathetic laughs from the audience.

Director Patrick Kilpatrick presents the show as a romantic comedy with a generous dash of fantasy. It is more than that. The script cries out for an ethereal atmosphere, an aura of wonder and illusion.

Prospero, after all, is playing God. In the end he forgives his enemies, and there is nothing more Godlike than that. Michael P. Sullivan's Prospero has authority but lacks any sense of the otherworldly.

The script calls for many effects the director does not attempt: spirits take on weird shapes; a banquet appears on stage and disappears uneaten.

The Tempest contains some of Shakespeare's best-known song lyrics, meant to be sung by Ariel and a few other characters. In this production some of the lyrics are recited, others sung in vague chants improvised by the actors. Real tunes could have added to the show's charm, and maybe given an opportunity to some local composer.

Quibbles aside, the CSC production offers an entertaining story, written by a master dramatist and vividly acted. It will provide its audiences with an entertaining evening.

The Chesapeake Shakespeare Company presents The Tempest tonight and June 27, 28, 29, July 4, 5, 11 and 13 at the Patapsco Female Institute, 3691 Sarahs Lane, Ellicott City. Performances are at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 5 p.m. Sundays. The Friday, July 4, performance will begin at 5 p.m. Saturday, June 28, will be a doubleheader: The Comedy of Errors at 5 p.m. and The Tempest at 8 p.m.

Free parking in the Howard County Courthouse lot on Court House Drive. Tickets: 866-811-4111 or www.chesapeakeshakespeare.com. Information: 410-313-8874.

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