Dear Liza,
Summer is Shakespeare season here in Portland, and last week Laurelhurst Park got a few. First, Original Practice Shakespeare performed The Tempest, Shakespeare’s last play. Grandpa Nelson and I headed over.
In this production, Mikki Lipsey played Prospero the Wizard. Prospero has been stranded on a desert island for twelve years with her daughter Miranda. She has enslaved two magical creatures, the lovely Ariel and the monstrous Caliban, to do her bidding.
Prospero conjures up a tempest which causes a ship carrying her old rivals from Milan, including the Duke’s son, young Ferdinand, to crash on the reef. Of course, Ferdinand falls in love with Miranda !
As the play goes on, two different sets of underlings decide to kill their masters and take over, but drunkenness and foolishness get in the way. By the end of the play all is well, and Prospero casts aside her staff and her magic books. This was Shakespeare’s way of saying farewell to his own magic of playwriting and retiring to Stratford.
Watching plays in the park is always interesting. Since the actors are dealing with airplane noise, dogs and other distractions, the audience has to work harder to suspend our disbelief and get into the story.
But we also enjoy the parade of happy humanity as it passes through the park. Cyclists, dog walkers, families and skateboarders keep things lively!
And as the sun went down and the play came to a close, we packed up our chairs and popcorn and head home. Another summer evening well spent!
Love,
Grandma Judy
Dear Liza 