THE TEMPEST
By William Shakespeare
Music & Lyrics by Benjamin Velez
Choreography by Tiffany Rea-Fisher
Directed by Laurie Woolery
The Delacorte Theater
August 27 - September 3, 2023
As we continue to rebuild out of the pandemic, Public Works enters its second decade by revisiting the play that launched the program, William Shakespeare’s THE TEMPEST. In The Public’s decade-long tradition of bringing together a diverse ensemble of both professional and community members from across New York, this Public Works production examines what it means to be isolated and how we find our way back to one another. With music and lyrics by Benjamin Velez and directed by Director of Public Works Laurie Woolery, this ambitious work of participatory theater explores the grief of being cut off from community, the desire for retribution, and the healing power of love.
Forced from their home, Prospero and her daughter Miranda have survived for 12 years among the ruins of an abandoned island. As Prospero grows closer to getting the justice she craves, she witnesses her daughter fall in love, listens to the wisdom of spirit ancestors, and discovers that sometimes forgiveness is the only way to break cycles and right the course for the next generation. Hilarious fools, magical spells, and elemental spirits dance through this production as we all come together to celebrate what it means to be human.
I’m working on making an album, but until then, here are a few of my original demos I made when writing the show:
CAST A SPELL: In this opening, Prospero sees the ships of her enemies off shore and realizes the time has come to get vengeance. She uses her magic to create a giant storm that leaves the people on board stranded on the island.
A CROWN UPON YOUR HEAD: Antonio, Prospero’s backstabbing brother, has been washed ashore with Alonso, and Alonso’s brother Sebastian. While Alonso and his servant Gonzalo are resting, Antonio tries to convince Sebastian that he should kill his brother and take the crown of Naples for himself, similar to how Antonio stole the Dukedom from his sister. Ariel wakes up Alonso and Gonzalo at the last minute and the plan is stymied.
THE ISLE IS FULL OF NOISES: Caliban is a man who lived on the island before Prospero and Miranda arrived 12 years ago. At first they befriended him, but when he tried to rape Miranda (who was then still a child), Prospero punished him by making him her slave. Now he does whatever she orders, but hates her and hates that his fate has been decided by one crime he committed. He’s often called a monster by Prospero and others, but it’s his incarceration that has made him so bitter. Here he’s singing about all the spirits and memories he has from the island, and how their beauty reminds him he’s not a monster.
LOG MAN: Here’s a song for Prospero when she’s watching Miranda (her daughter) and Ferdinand from afar and Ferdinand is having to carry logs to a pile in order to prove his love for Miranda. He calls him her log-man, and the two of them declare their love for each other in the scene. So I wrote it from Prospero’s point of view as she’s realizing she’ll have to let go of her daughter.