CMU School of Drama


Wednesday, February 06, 2019

Pittsburgh Public Theater makes The Tempest feel new again

Theater | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh City Paper: For any theatrical director, making a centuries-old play feel new again presents a sure challenge, and, nine times out of ten, Shakespeare is the canvas they choose to play upon. How many times have people tried to turn the bard’s words into something with which new generations could connect? How many times has such an attempt come off as corny at worst and disingenuous at best?

1 comment:

Sophie Nakai said...

I did this show in middle school when my director thought it would be a great idea and honestly, I did not comprehend what happened on the stage ninety percent of the time. I really do not like this show because I think it is boring, as are a lot of Shakespeare shows. I am not saying that he was not an amazing writer, because he was, but some of his shows are not as good. I really enjoy his histories because although they cannot really be made modern (although OSF did a really good job with this) the stories are based on historical facts and make those parts of history more interesting to me. I like relating to characters and understanding their choices, especially historical figures. It may not be an accurate retelling of the events, but I enjoy watching and reading those plays. I would actually like to see this production of "The Tempest" and see if it can change my mind about this show.