The Baltimore Sun from Baltimore, Maryland • Page 61

Today The Sun Friday, September 19, 1997 Page7E Theater renew make The Tempest' a sight to behold By J. Wynn Roubuck SUN THEATER CRITIC Sets and cast IT 6 i i if "FT -ft I bues Miranda's love interest, Ferdinand, with refreshing humor as well as Prince Charming-style grace. But in the end, the spectacle of this production is apt to stay with you longer than the larger thematic significance of a reclusive genius returning to society or, as this late play is often interpreted, of a master playwright bidding farewell to his art. "Let me live here ever!" Ferdinand delightedly exclaims during the masque. And, though this "Tempest" demonstrates the necessity of forsaking paradise for reality, the beauty of that scene makes it easy to agree with him.

'The Tempest Where: Shakespeare Theatre, 450 7th St. N.W., Washington When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and most Sundays; 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays; matinees at 2 p.m. Sundays and most Saturdays, and noon Oct.

1,15 and 22. Through Oct. 26 Tickets: Call: 202-393-2700 Ted van Griethuysen conveys as the mighty conjurer. Indeed, when Ana Reeder's gentle Miranda comments on her father's sudden fury, he replies by delivering the famous speech that includes the lines, "We are such stuffas dreams are made on," in chillingly angry, cynical tones. Van Griethuysen appears to have more invested in the role than he did in the Shakespeare Theatre's 1989 production.

But interesting though it may be to portray Prospero as a man who has put a damper on his humanity, it is hardly a gripping approach. Nor does it help that while van Grie-thuysen's Prospero learns compassion from the benevolent spirit Ariel (nimbly played by Wallace Acton), he does not seem to learn anything from Ariel's malevolent counterpart, the savage slave Caliban (who, as portrayed by Chad Coleman, evokes more sympathy than master Prospero). Standouts in the accomplished supporting cast include David Sa-bin as the jolly, inebriated butler, Stephano, and Floyd King as his nervous, bumbling sidekick, Trin-culo; Jack Ryland as Prospero's scheming, evil brother, Antonio; and a Shakespeare Theatre newcomer William Hulings, who im- i I sets, Howell Binkley's stormy lighting, Adam Wernick's period-influenced music and Susan Hil-ferty's costumes, which range from spartan to elegant are its most stunning attributes. (It is also a far more visually integrated production than the one Wright and Arnone collaborated on at Washington's Arena Stage 13 years ago.) For the opening storm and shipwreck that Prospero conjures up to force his enemies to his shore, the magician raises his wooden staff, causing lightning to flash and a huge curtain of a sail to descend, in front of which the men on the foundering ship struggle to save their lives. Visually, the scene is echoed much later, when Prospero suddenly calls a halt to the gorgeous betrothal masque, ripping down the masque's theater curtain and sending the performers screaming into the wings.

Both times, Prospero, whose brother, Antonio, usurped his dukedom, is driven by revenge the chief emotion, besides tenderness for daughter Miranda, that Am The most magnificent scene in the Shakespeare Theatre's production of "The Tempest" is the masque that Prospero conjures up to celebrate his daughter's betrothal. Part puppet show, part live-action, it glows with the colorful, jewel-like brilliance of stained glass. And, like stained glass, it is artificial, which is precisely the point. Living in exile on a desert island, Prospero has honed his mind and his magic, but he has also become increasingly distanced mentally as well as physically from the rest of humanity. Director Garland Wright's interpretation is not just a tale of Prospero's vengeance and eventual forgiveness, it is also the tale of his return to the human race, his "journey towards wholeness," as psychotherapist Noel Cobb put it in his 1984 book, "Prospero's Island." That said, the technical aspects of this Washington production John Arnone's lavish break-away recovered memory even the beleaguered aquifer are all introduced with an earnest, artless regularity.

(The film's movie-of-the-week feel isn't helped much by a syrupy score or such implausible scenes as a farmer's outburst at a church supper.) For all of its soapy elements, "A Thousand Acres" occasionally makes a family in pain come into vivid focus, especially during confrontations between Rose and Ginny, who have dealt with their Father and daughter: Ted van Griethuysen is Prospero and Ana Reeder is Miranda in "The Tempest at the Shakespeare Theatre. Acres' suffers in screen adaptation troubled legacy in diametrically opposite ways. Rose survives by spewing out pent-up resentments; Ginny smiles and brings nervous fingers to her mouth rather than give voice to the unspeakable. Both beg the question of whether rage or forgiveness is the correct moral response to immoral acts. It's a good question, but one that's probably better contemplated by reading a good book rather than watching a pale 'A Thousand Acresjrom Page 1e his life.

The Cooks have been living in tense, dysfunctional stasis for years when Larry impulsively decides to divide the farm among his daughters, hurtling the family into emotional chaos with life-changing consequences. Unlike "The English Patient," a filmed adaptation of another award-winning novel that was its own equally powerful work of art, "A Thousand Acres" hews closely to" Smiley's book for its plotting, saving the novelist's lucent prose for Lange's self-consciously throaty narration. -'Is it misguided reverence for the book or a subtle sign of Hollywood's contempt for the Midwest that lead the filmmakers to depict Iowa farm life in such tedious terms? It's an uninspired trade-off. Almanac Pharmacist's Discovery Gives Your Spirits And Is 'A Tliousand Acres' Starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Jessica Lange, Jason Robards, Jennifer Jason Leigh Directed by Jocelyn Moorehouse Released by Touchstone Rated (some strong sexual language) Sun score: Rather than make Smiley's story their own, Moorehouse and screenwriter Laura Jones settle for a tepid, visually static re-hash, wherein the social issues the author wove into her book are pressed with hot-button force. Extra-marital affairs, breast cancer, the United States, James A.

Garfield, died of wounds inflicted by an assassin. In 1957, the United States conducted its first underground nuclear test, in Nevada. In 1959, Soviet leader Niklta Khrushchev reacted angrily during a visit to Los Angeles upon being told that, for security reasons, he wouldn't be allowed to visit Disneyland. Associated Press Face a Lift Dana hmeman THE KING Nothing is more depressing to women of all ages than to look in the mirror and see the dreaded signs of looking older wrinkles, crow's feet, crepey neck and throat, "feather dry, slack, sensitive aging skin. Millions of women have found the answer, they use and love Pharmacist Heldfond's exciting discovery jH EBS Wrinkle Cream which works like five creams in one jar a Wrinkle Cream, Throat Cream, Firming Cream, 24 Hour Moisturizing Cream, and Makeup Base all in one.

Co into any of the stores below and buy ajar of EBS Wrinkle Cream today and give your spirits and your face a You will see and feel an amazing improvement with the first application and for years to come, EBS is sold on a money back guarantee of satisfaction. Christopher Walken has been called many things, but ordinary isn't one of them. An Oscar winner, he has made a career of playing sinister characters. But off-screen, he says he's just an "ordinary, predictable and very conservative" guy. This week, see what's really lurking behind those creepy eyes.

Today in history: Sept. 19 In 1777, during the Revolutionary War, American soldiers won the first Battle of Saratoga. In 1796, President Washington's farewell address was published. In it, America's first chief executive advised, "Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all." In 1881, the 20th president of JCPENNF.Y SEARS BEALLS OF FLORIDA BOSCOV'S J.F.

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