Due to the continued effects of COVID-19 on Boston and its community, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company recently postponed its production of ​The Tempest​ on the Boston Common to July 2021 (utilizing the same artistic and design team). Instead of the annual production on the Common, CSC will present an online script-in-hand performance on Thursday, August 6 at 7:00PM, as a benefit to support CSC’s 2021 production on the Boston Common, with the previously announced cast led by John Douglas Thompson* in the role of Prospero. There is a suggested donation of $20 to support the Company. The performance will be free and open to the public on CSC’s YouTube channel and can be accessed via www.commshakes.org.  

Joining the cast as Ariel is Miguel Cervantes* who recently played the title role in Hamilton in the Chicago production, Siobhan Juanita Brown (Gonzala), and Maurice Emmanuel Parent* (Sebastian).

The previously announced cast includes Fred Sullivan, Jr.* as Stephano, Remo Airaldi* as Antonio, Nora Eschenheimer* as Miranda, actor/playwright John Kuntz* as Trinculo, Nael Nacer* as Caliban, Richard Noble as Alonso, and Michael Underhill as Ferdinand. Scenic Design is by Tony Award winner Clint Ramos and Jeffrey Petersen, Costume Design by Nancy Leary, Lighting Design by Eric Southern, and Sound Design by David Reiffel.

Audiences joining the live stream will have access to audio descriptions of the visual components. There will be a separate recording that will include captioning and ASL interpretation of the performance, made available on the CSC website by Saturday, August 8 at 7:00 PM. Both the recording of the live performance and the ASL interpreted performance will be available on the CSC YouTube channel until Monday, August 10 at 7:00 PM.

Directed by Founding Artistic Director Steven Maler and featuring Boston and New York’s finest actors, The Tempest, Shakespeare’s final play, transports the audience to a mysterious and enchanting island inhabited by a host of colorful characters. In this tale of magic, betrayal, revenge, and family, the wise and powerful Prospero struggles to maintain the world he’s created as order is thrown off balance by those around him: his curious daughter, Miranda; a man who’s just washed ashore, Ferdinand; the half human, half monster, Caliban; two fools, Stephano and Trinculo; and the mystical spirit of the air, Ariel, among many others. With elements of tragedy and comedy, this “brave new world” is a charming escape to revel in under the stars for the 25th production of Free Shakespeare on the Common.