Albuquerque Little Theatre brings Shakespeare's 'The Tempest' to stage

Albuquerque Little Theatre is ready to whip up a storm.

From Thursday, July 10, through Aug. 7, the theater company is bringing the William Shakespeare classic “The Tempest” to stage.

“The Tempest” follows the story of Prospero, a sorcerer, and his daughter Miranda, while conjuring magic, shipwrecks and transformations.

“There’s a famous theater critic, Harold Bloom, and he called it something like an experimental comedy,” Bobbi Masters, the show’s director, said. “Which always kind of stuck out to me, because we don’t often think about Shakespeare as being experimental.”

Masters and choreographer Jessica Wilson found that the show explores change and crafts a beautiful theme.

“One of the most famous lines from the show that, ‘we are such stuff as dreams are made on,’ which I think is just really beautiful,” Wilson said. “I think it also speaks to this hope and this desire for change that he then kind of embraces.”

While “The Tempest” is a classical Shakespearean play, stage manager Zachary Fisher hopes that by coming to see it, people can see that they do enjoy the Bard.

“I always find it fun whenever people say, ‘Oh, I don’t really like Shakespeare. It’s not quite my cup of tea,’” Fisher said. “(Then) reminding them that a lot of the classics that are loved today are actually typically retellings of lots of Shakespeare’s works.”

Shakespearean retellings include “The Lion King” (“Hamlet”) and “10 Things I Hate About You” (“The Taming of the Shrew”), according to Fisher. Masters finds that even with “The Tempest,” everyone can enjoy it.

“I really think that, you know, Shakespeare is very smart in that he has something for all of the different audiences that come to see the show,” Masters said.

Fisher wants both the audience and actors to immerse themselves in this “vibrant storytelling piece,” and take a break from the everyday world.

“Coming to the theater, it causes us to have to tap into a different part of our imagination,” Fisher said. “Being able to see something that’s brought to life in front of you through the creativity of doing things with people’s hands, with their bodies, in real time.”

Albuquerque Little Theatre brings Shakespeare's 'The Tempest' to stage