Hilo Community Players announce its 45th annual Shakespeare in the Park festival, opening with “The Tempest” July 8 to 24 in Hilo at the parking lot of the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium Parking Lot and then in Honoka’a from July 29 to 31 at the Honoka’a Sports Complex.
Shakespeare’s final play is a swashbuckling comedy about freedom, redemption, and recovery, set on a remote island full of danger and magic. In the Hilo Community Players’s early-20th-century take, it’s the island prison of the brilliant, arrogant scientist Prospero (Wilfred Gee), who with his daughter and assistant Miranda (Alya-Joy Kanehailua) harnesses the power of the wind and waves– personified by the dangerous spirit Ariel (Miriam Hoenig)– in a quest for vengeance on his own brother, the scheming politician Antonio (Ray Ryan). Meanwhile, the downtrodden Caliban (Yama Radtke), longing for freedom from Prospero’s control, enlists help overthrowing him from an unreliable pair of drunken playboys (Miriam Wilson and Lucky Lemieux).
Painted in gorgeous science-fiction style by Bevin Kilfoyle of Clean Heart Art and stuffed with gadgetry by veteran Hilo Community Players Shakespeare actor/director Theon Weber, “The Tempest” is a spectacle designed to take full advantage of its parking-lot scale.
Like recent years, “The Tempest” will be presented in a live drive-in format. The players will appear live on a raised stage before an audience watching from the distanced safety of their cars — even tuning into the show’s sound via a short-range radio transmission. For those who wish to bring seating, there will also be room in front of the stage for folding chairs and picnic blankets. The audio of the show will be pumped through loudspeakers, as well.
“The Tempest” will run three weekends in Hilo, July 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 17, 21, 22, 23 and 24 beginning at 7:30 p.m. After the Hilo run, the set will be moved to the Honoka’a Sports Complex, where the show will play for outdoor seating on July 29, 30 and 31, also at 7:30 p.m.
Admission is free for all Shakespeare in the Park events, and donations are appreciated. Concessions will be available, including water, soda, popcorn, candy and more.
For more information visit hiloplayers.org or email hilocommunityplayers@gmail.com.
Hilo Community Players provides access to all their activities without regard to race, color, national origin, age, sex, religion, or disability. If you require reasonable modifications due to disability, please contact us at least ten working days prior to the event.