NEW YORK—It’s been said that revenge is a dish best served cold, and indeed literature is full of tales of the unjustly wronged exacting vengeance against those responsible. “The Count of Monte Cristo” is perhaps the best example. However, just as important as the need for revenge is finding the ability within oneself to move beyond it. William Shakespeare forcefully makes this point in “The Tempest,” currently playing under the stars at the Delacorte Theater in New York City’s Central Park.
Miraculously surviving a gigantic storm that swept down upon their fleet, the King of Milan, Alonso (Charles Parnell); the Duke of Milan, Antonio (Cotter Smith); and most of their party find themselves washed ashore on a mysterious island. Coming ashore elsewhere on the island is the king’s son, Ferdinand (Rodney Richardson).
The storm is the doing of Ariel (Chris Perfetti), a mysterious spirit under the command of Prospero (Sam Waterston), Antonio’s brother and the true duke of Milan. Twelve years earlier, Prospero, far more interested in the studies of the magical arts than the responsibilities of his office, basically turned over the running of his dukedom to Antonio.
