Prospero, played by Matt Fraza, scolds the spirit servant Ariel, played by Sarah Pierce, during a dress rehearsal Tuesday of Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ at Veterans Memorial Amphitheatre in Pawtucket. Butch Adams/The Times

By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET  — What’s better on a hot summer night than to take in some “Bard on the Blackstone?”

That’s how the Mixed Magic Theatre is billing their upcoming production of William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” which will be staged outside at the Veterans Memorial Amphitheatre downtown.
“The Tempest” will run from Friday, July 25, through Sunday, Aug. 3, at the Amphitheatre, on the corner of Roosevelt Avenue and Exchange Street. Shows begin at 8 p.m. All tickets are $5.
Some seating is available, but it is recommended that attendees bring a lawn chair.
This year’s production of “The Tempest” is directed by Jonathan Pitts-Wiley, a Yale graduate who is following in the footsteps of his parents as part of the Mixed Magic Theatre that they founded.
The cast features Matt Fraza as Prospero, Nicole Conlon as Miranda, Sarah Pierce as Ariel, Cedric Lilly in the role of Caliban and Rudy Cabrera as Ferdinand.
Other cast members include Jason Quinn as Sebastian, Jo-an Peratta as Antonio, Jim Webster as the Boatswain and Karina Cruz as the Shipmaster.
Additionally, Jeannie Carson plays Alonso, Mary E. Paolino is Gonzalo, Carlos Campbell appears as Trinculo and Yosa Yon plays Stephano.
According to a press release from Mixed Magic Theatre, “The Tempest” is one of Shakespeare’s last and best-loved plays. While it is considered a comedy, the play addresses issues of love, loyalty, betrayal, revenge and forgiveness.
It is also regarded as a precursor to the exploitation and destruction of the New World.
In “The Tempest,” the sorcerer Prospero and his young daughter Miranda have been marooned on a remote island. Prospero enslaves its only inhabitants, the resourceful Caliban and the spirit Ariel, until he creates the storm that forces the ships bearing those who banished him to the island to face his judgment.
Three subplots are interwoven throughout. In one, Caliban falls in with Stephano and Trinculo, two drunken crew members, who he believes to have come from the moon. The drunken trio attempt to raise a rebellion against Prospero.
In another storyline, Prospero works to establish a romantic relationship between Ferdinand and Miranda.
In the third subplot, Antonio and Sebastian conspire to kill Alonso and his advisor Gonzalo, so Sebastian, the king’s brother, can take the crown.
According to Bernadet Pitts-Wiley, this is the eighth year that Mixed Magic Theatre has presented an outdoor production of a Shakespeare play. The tradition began in 2001 with the theater company’s performance of “The Tempest” at the Town Beach in North Kingstown.
For the next seven years, Mixed Magic has staged productions of “Othello,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “From the Bard to the Bounce: A Hip-Hop and Shakespeare Experience” and “The Taming of the Shrew.”
Pitts-Wiley said “The Tempest” is one of two outdoor productions planned for Veterans Memorial Amphitheatre this summer season. “The Greatness of Gospel — Down by the Riverside” will be performed on Sept. 6 and 7 as part of the Pawtucket Arts Festival.
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