Recover from Thanksgiving at Oklahoma City Community College’s Cinema Sunday with a high-definition production of William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.â€
The classic play, performed during the Stratford Festival in Ontario, Canada, is the latest in a series of critically acclaimed performances recorded live and distributed worldwide by National Theatre Live. It will be presented on a full-size cinema screen at OCCC’s 1,000-seat Visual and Performing Arts Center, 7777 S. May Ave.
This latest interpretation of “The Tempest†by director Antoni Cimolina puts a new twist into the tale with the return of actress Martha Henry. Henry’s first played at Stratford in 1962 as Miranda, opposite William Hutt as Prospero. This time, Henry is playing Prospero herself, opposite Mamie Zwettler, as her daughter Miranda.
Even people unfamiliar with Shakespeare’s works will find “The Tempest†to be a good fit in modern pop culture with magic, thrones, ghosts and revenge. It is a drama of loss and reconciliation, with Henry playing a long-deposed ruler who uses magical arts to bring under her power enemies who stole her throne and marooned her on an island. Prospero has spent her exile establishing dominion over the other inhabitants, including the monstrous creature Caliban and the spirit Ariel. A sign from the heavens promises a fateful confrontation and new destiny for Miranda.
The event is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. Dec. 1. Doors and concessions will open one hour before the show starts. OCCC students receive two (2) FREE tickets to this event, which are available at the door the day of the event. Public tickets for this event are $15 and may be purchased at the door, online at tickets.occc.edu or by calling the OCCC Box Office at (405) 682-7579. Thanksgiving Hours for the OCCC Box Office are open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Wednesday.
The Visual and Performing Arts Center is enjoying its fifth anniversary since an inaugural performance in 2014. Since then, the center’s visitor and subscriber base continue to grow as OCCC provides the community with the finest in performing arts.
