Lantern Theater Company presents William Shakespeare's 'The Tempest'

Lantern's stripped-down version is directed by company artistic director Charles McMahon. Played by just eight actors, the action takes place on Lance Kniskern's busy, sometimes cramped multilevel set.

Creatures high and low

On a rugged island, Prospero (Peter DeLaurier), the exiled Duke of Milan, and his daughter Miranda (Ruby Wolf) have survived for 12 years. Two island creatures serve him: magical sprite Ariel (Bi Jean Ngo) and crudely primitive Caliban (J Hernandez).

Both nonhumans are Prospero's prisoners. Hernandez's Caliban, costumed in rags, fur, and feathers by Natalia de la Torre, growls in rebellion but remains cowed by the power Prospero wields through his staff and his "magic garment," a full-length white coat covered in writing and drawings. Their uneasy truce is juxtaposed by the obvious affection Ariel and Prospero feel for each other.

Ngo, in a textured gray bodysuit with capelike wings, creates the storm that shipwrecks Prospero's enemies on the island. She’s fascinating to watch, spying on them, leaping and running like a superhero, then blending into the scenery with lizard-like stillness. Her moments alone with Prospero suggest a unique intimacy between species, an understanding deeper than romance.

Prospero lures his enemies to a final showdown, hoping to return Miranda to the world of people. The storm's survivors, magically unharmed, are manipulated by Ariel to reveal their worst impulses. The King of Naples (John Lopes) and his advisor Gonzalo (Frank X) are threatened by Prospero's usurping brother Antonio (Hernandez) and Sebastian (Dave Johnson). In comical scenes, Johnson and X play drunken seamen Trinculo and Stephano, who Caliban believes will help him overthrow Prospero.

The most important newcomer, though, is Prince Ferdinand (Chris Anthony), the first man Miranda has ever seen, besides her father. They fall in love, of course, but Prospero makes Ferdinand earn his trust.

Low-tech magic

Shakespeare calls for Prospero's guests to be cowed by conjuring, which here means sail-like cloths descend from the Lantern's ceiling to transform Ariel and others into shadow puppets, backlit colorfully by Shon Causer. It's more than the Globe Theater could muster in 1610, and the fun simplicity keeps us focused on character, not spectacle.

This Tempest is played with a gentleness that softens the story's suspense, but makes its words clearly heard and sincerely felt. Each character's transformation is profound, particularly Caliban and Ariel's newfound dignity.

Hernandez, Johnson, and X do double duty skillfully; Lopes makes a compassionate king; and Wolf reveals teenage Miranda's precocious mix of innocence and curiosity.

DeLaurier, who's been wielding his special powers on area stages for half a century, makes a superb Prospero, believably possessed of magic powers yet humble and gentle, a twinkle in his eye as he sees his plans succeed.

Lantern's The Tempest most excels by showing that we, even nonhumans, can change and grow; that we deserve forgiveness; and that our better selves can prevail. Let's hope that's not just a fantasy.