SATE presents the world premiere of Shualee Cook’s 'Tempest in a Teapot'

Director Rachel Tibbetts takes 20-year-old Alice back down the rabbit hole in Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble’s (SATE) world premiere of Shualee Cook’s “Tempest in a Teapot.”Tibbetts has created a magical world of make-believe for Alice to revisit her past while confronting her future. Everything about the exaggerated whimsical world is fantasy come to life at the eternal tea party.

Tibbets has given her gifted actors license to throw themselves into their roles with unencumbered freedom. Chrissie Watkins (Alice), John Wolbers (Lewis Carroll), Kay Ailee Bush (The Chesire Cat), Adam Flores (The Mad Hatter), Keating (The March Hare), and Sumer Baer (The Dormouse) inhabit multiple roles with zany delight.

"Tempest in a Teapot” finds Alice Liddell, the young girl who was Lewis Carroll’s inspiration for “Alice in Wonderland,” perplexed with how she can live outside the expectations of her demanding father and the fictional girl from the novel. Attempt to escape her youth, Alice decides to read all of Shakespeare’s works in alphabetical order, until Carroll suggests that she skip forward to his favorite of Shakespeare’s plays, “The Tempest.”

Alice’s subconscious, The Cheshire Cat, is voiced with perplexing aplomb by Kay Ailee Bush. The cat drags Alice back to wonderland where she is instructed to read “The Tempest” during her visit. Carroll, The Cheshire Cat, The Mad Hatter, The March Hare, and The Dormouse all help Alice by acting out the many characters in Shakespeare's play.

Alice is both narrator and protagonist. She keeps her easily distracted imaginary friends focused on reading “The Tempest” fueled by her desire to find her authentic self. Chrissie Watkins convincingly portrays the young woman wedged between adolescence and adulthood. Her emotion is genuine and her connection with her castmates is discernible.

Bush is phenomenal both as the cat and as Prospero’s the ill spirited servant Caliban from “The Tempest.” Bush’s physical acting choices and distinct articulation of Cook’s script and Shakespeare’s prose creates the most memorable of the characters. Her chemistry with Watkins (Alice) is undeniable. She drives the story with puzzling questions to provide the protagonist with the clarity she wants.

The entire company adopts multiple of Shakespeare’s characters while Alice is telling the story in Wonderland. Wolbers, Flores, Keating, and Baer nimbly switch from their Wonderland characters to their Tempest characters through affect, intonation, physicality, and quick costume changes (mostly wigs, hats, and other headpieces.) The company’s lively energy and spirited portrayals create many funny moments. They execute flawlessly on Tibbetts’ athletic blocking with precision and dexterity.

There are occasions where the spoken word is lost in the frenzied pacing and the wacky physicality. Some of the line reading choices and physical gymnastics make the dialogue hard to understand, especially the Shakespearean prose. It may not pose an issue for those familiar with “The Tempest,” but those less familiar with the story may find difficulty in following the narrative.

Cook’s intelligent script draws parallels between Alice’s bewilderment and the character arcs of Miranda and Ariel in “The Tempest.” Miranda and Ariel’s need to be released from their servitude to Prospero mirrors Alice’s longing to be free from the expectations of her father, Carroll, and the character on which she was based. Alice, like Miranda and Ariel, is trapped and yearning for her independence.

The production ensemble has created a magical imaginary world. Bess Moynihan and Ellie Schwetye’s thrust set design gave Tibbetts and the actors a runway-like table for the tea party. Liz Henning and Kayla Lindsay’s animated costume design added to the whimsy and provided effortless transitions between the stories. Schwetye’s playful sound design created spry mood with a wonderful tongue-in-cheek moment using Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” during the spirits’ visit. Moynihan’s funky lighting design enhanced the illusion of storybook world.

As is often the case with recontextualized works of the classics, the play-within-a-play convention of “Tempest in a Teapot” can become a bit convoluted in its complicatedness. Tibbetts’ vision and the cast’s execution of the material is highly entertaining, however those with limited or no exposure to The Tempest could be left behind in the storytelling.

SATE’s world premiere production of "Tempest in a Teapot” continues at The Chapel through September 28, 2024.