Tempestuous
Written by Mark Sage
UNDER St. Marks | 94 St Marks Pl, New York, NY 10009
Sun Aug 3 at 8pm, Sat Aug 9 at 9pm & Sun Aug 17 at 4pm
As a lover of Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ since I first read it in high school, I would have never guessed it could be retold in a secluded lake-side cabin in Appalachia. Even more than that, I would have never expected it to be a musical.
This was the first of many surprises when I went to see Mark Sage’s Tempestuous at UNDER St. Marks this weekend, as part of the venue’s Little Shakespeare Festival. As the show began, we were told that all of these plays were ‘not your English teacher’s Shakespeare’ - and that could not have been more accurate.
The moment we entered the theatre, we were greeted by two brothers, strumming their guitars and singing with an energy and confidence that was the mark of true performers. These actors were Luke Sage and Blane Sage, the playwright’s children, hailing from Appalachian Virginia. While Luke took on the role of Prospero, Blane portrayed a haunting rendition of Ariel, following the characters around throughout the show, softly playing guitar, always lingering. These were bolstered by Katie Smith’s performance as Miranda, creating a tense, volatile environment in which a daughter is trying to take care of her aging father, while attempting to pursue her own dreams.
As far as Shakespeare adaptations go (and we all know those are among the most difficult undertakings in theatre), Tempestuous lived up to its name; a painful, tender and turbulent ride which examined what it means to hold on to whatever is left of a life you used to have, and still looking to the future.
It’s been rare for me to find an adaptation of ‘The Tempest’ in which Prospero’s pain and grief is made the central theme, in opposition to Miranda’s hopes for herself. By placing these characters in an environment in which greed, power and loss seep into a loving father-daughter relationship, Sage manages to evoke the most heartbreaking question of all : what do we do when those we love refuse to remember the past, let alone accept it? Is there any possibility of moving forward?
These are all questions that ran through my mind as the play continued. The music added an almost disturbing layer into the story, as the magic and mysticism in the source material were converted into a device that pierced through the fabric of reality constructed in the play. Utilizing Ariel’s character as a spectre of Prospero’s younger self was harrowing - it still has me considering the effects the art we’ve made in the past have on us. What becomes of us as artists if we no longer remember what we made, or even how we felt in the process of making it? How does the very act of ‘forgetting’ impact ourselves and future generations?
Tempestuous presents these questions in a story that could only be described as an emotional rollercoaster. I left the theatre with more questions about myself, my artistic practice and the impact a story as old as Shakespeare’s still has on me. For better or for worse, that’s exactly how I like to feel leaving a theatre.
Click HERE for tickets.
Review by Niranjani Reddi.
Published by Theatre Beyond Broadway on August 5, 2025. All rights reserved.