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The Smith Center Adds Third Week of Performances of William Shakespeare’s THE TEMPEST

The Smith Center for the Performing Arts has now added a third and final week of performances for the world premiere of THE TEMPEST, which will now play April 6-27, with special preview performances April 1-4 (Pictured: Tom Nelis). 

The opening night celebration will take place on Saturday, April 5. Produced in association with the American Reparatory Theater (A.R.T.), THE TEMPEST is adapted and directed by Aaron Posner and Teller from the play by William Shakespeare, with magic by Teller, music by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan and movement by Matt Kent of Pilobolus. THE TEMPEST will perform at The Smith Center’s Donald W. Reynolds Symphony Park in a 500-seat climate-controlled tent. Tickets start at $35 for regular performances and $25 for preview performances. Tickets for the opening night celebration are $150 and include an exclusive post-show reception. All tickets are on sale now at The Smith Center box office, online at www.TheSmithCenter.com or by phone at (702) 749-2000.

Experience Prospero’s wizardry in this thrilling new production of THE TEMPEST featuring magic by illusionist Teller (of the legendary duo Penn & Teller). When shipwrecked aristocrats wash up on the shores of Prospero’s strange island, they find themselves immersed in a world of trickery and amazement, where music by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan and Pilobolus’ athletic movement animate the spirits and monsters. But the revels come to an end when the master magician realizes he has neglected his life in service of his art, and must now relinquish his conjuring in order to reclaim his life and provide for the future of his only child.

THE TEMPEST at The Smith Center will serve as the production’s world premiere. Following the world premiere in Las Vegas, the show will move to Cambridge, MA to begin performances at A.R.T.

The cast will be led by Tom Nelis as Prospero, with Louis Butelli as Antonio, Nate Dendy as Ariel, Dawn Didawick as Gonzala, Christopher Donohue as Alonso, Joby Earle as Ferdinand, Zach Eisenstat and Manelich Minniefee as Caliban, Charlotte Graham as Miranda, Eric Hissom as Stephano, Jonathan Kim as Trinculo, and Edmund Lewis as Sebastian. They are joined by musicians Shaina Taub, Miche Braden, Michael Brun, and Nate Tucker.

The creative team also includes scenic designer Daniel Conway, costume designer Paloma Young, lighting designer Christopher Akerlind, sound designer Darron L. West, music direction by Shaina Taub, magic consultant Johnny Thompson, magical prop designer Thom Rubino, and instrument designer Kenny Wollesen.

About the principal cast members:

Tom Nelis (Prospero) was previously seen at the A.R.T. in The Blue Flower and bobrauschenbergamerica and appeared recently at the Huntington Theatre in Now or Later. His Broadway roles include Enron, The Caine Mutiny Court Martial, and Aida; and off-Broadway credits include Road Show, Richard III, the title role in Henry VI, and ‘Tis Pity She’s A Whore (The Public Theater), Doris to Darlene (Playwrights Horizons), Ipheginia 2.0 and Hot ‘n’ Throbbing (Signature Theatre), Passion and Orlando (Classic Stage Company), Septimus and Clarissa (Ripe Time), The Merchant of Venice (Theatre for a New Audience and The Royal Shakespeare Company), Ahab in Laurie Anderson’s Songs and Stories from Moby Dick (BAM/world tour), Oscar Wilde in Gross Indecency (Mineta Lane Theatre), Hot Mouth (Manhattan Theatre Club), Pearls for Pigs (Richard Foreman/world tour); as well as 20 years with SITI Company, including last season’s Cafe Variations at ArtsEmerson. He is the recipient of an Obie (The Medium) and San Diego Critics Ensemble (Wintertime)Awards, and Drama League (Score) and Barrymore Award (Candide) nominations. Mr. Nelis received his MFA from UC San Diego.

Louis Butelli (Antonio) appeared in CYCLOPS: A Rock Opera (47th St, NYMF Award Outstanding Individual Performer, Pulitzer Prize Jury Nomination); and regionally in Henry VIII (Folger Theatre, Helen Hayes Award, Outstanding Supporting Actor), Twelfth Night (Folger Theatre, Helen Hayes Nomination, Outstanding Supporting Actor), Shakespeare Theatre DC, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, among others.

Nate Dendy (Ariel) was seen in The Fantasticks (The Mute; L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award and Helen Hayes Award nominations) at Arena Stage, South Coast Rep, Trinity Repertory Company; in Angels In America (Prior Walter) at Risk Theatre Initiative; Twelfth Night at Dallas Shakespeare Festival; and A Christmas Carol at Trinity Repertory Company. He appeared in the film “Turtle Hill: Brooklyn.” He has an M.F.A. from Brown University/Trinity Rep.

Christopher Donahue (Alonso) appeared in Metamorphoses at Circle in the Square and Monsters (Obie Award) at Classic Stage Company. He was seen in numerous off-Broadway productions and regional theaters, including The Hungtington Theatre, Hartford Stage, BLO, Chicago Opera Theatre and The Goodman Theatre.

Dawn Didawick (Gonzala) was seen on Broadway in All My Sons (Tony Award for Best Revival); and in regional theater productions including Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, The Globe Theater, Longwharf Theatre, Hartford Stage Company, Seattle and Saint Louis Repertory Theaters. Her films include Erin Brokovich, Breakfast of Champions, and on television in “Almost a Woman” (Peabody Award), “Pretty Little Liars” and “Heart of Dixie.”

Joby Earle (Ferdinand) was seen on Broadway in War Horse; off-Broadway in Julius Caesar and Romeo and Juliet. His regional credits include Owners (Yale Rep), The Puppetmaster of Lodz (Berkshire Theatre Group), and The Pitmen Painters (Palm Beach Dramaworks).

Zachary Eisenstat (Caliban) was previously seen at the A.R.T. as Will Scathlock in The Heart of Robin Hood, and in The Donkey Show. Other credits include On The Town and The Chosen at Lyric Stage Company, Coriolanus at Commonwealth Shakespeare Company and The Play About the Baby at Exquisite Corps. Other theater includes Matchmaker, Matchmaker I’m Willing To Settle at the 2011 NY Musical Festival and a staged reading of A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the Boston Landmarks Orchestra. He has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT.

Charlotte Graham (Miranda) was seen in Three Sisters, Buil, and Love’s Labour’s Lost at Chautauqua Theater Company, Camelot at Trinity Repertory Company and Beast at New York Stage & Film. Her television credits include “Gossip Girl,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Hart of Dixie” and “Joe, Joe & Jane” (NBC pilot). She is a graduate of the Brown/Trinity Rep MFA Program in Acting.

Eric Hissom (Stephano) performed the title role in Cyrano at the Folger Shakespeare Theatre, appeared in Twelfh Night at Actors Theatre of Louisville, The Thirty-nine Steps at La Jolla Playhouse, Seattle Rep and the Broadway National Tour, and Eurydice at Milwaukee Repertory Theatre among others.

Jonathan Kim (Trinculo) was seen in New York in In Masks Outrageous and Austere (originated the role of the Interpreter) and The Radio City Christmas Spectacular (Principal/Soloist). He appeared in the movie “Second Hand Lions,, and television credits include ”Boardwalk Empire” and “ Barney and Friends.”

Edmund Lewis (Sebastian) appeared in Hamlet and Saint Joan at the Lynn Redgrave Theater and Access Theatre in New York; and regionally at the Olney Theater Center, The Orphan at The Tank Theater, Five by Ives at Arclight Theater, Waiting For Godot and The Misanthrope at Pilot House Theater and Like Larvae at the NY Fringe Festival.

Manelich Minniefee (Caliban) is a principal dancer with Pilobolus Dance Theater and has performed in The Magic Flute at the Verdi Opera House, Parma Italy; appeared on television as a dancer in “Sesame Street,” the “2007 Academy Awards Telecast,“ “Ellen,” “Live with Regis and Kelly” and on the NFL Network. He has a B.F.A. in Dance from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.

The hallmark of downtown Las Vegas’ 61-acre urban development known as Symphony Park, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts is a public-private partnership that opened in March 2012. For more information about The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, please visit www.TheSmithCenter.com. Keep up with news and events on Facebook and follow The Smith Center on Twitter at @SmithCenterLV.