MERCED
SHAKESPEAREFEST

The Tempest, by William Shakespeare, directed by Erin Day and presented free in Applegate Park, is a spellbinding outdoor staging of one of Shakespeare’s final and most magical plays. The story follows Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, who uses powerful magic to conjure a storm that shipwrecks his enemies on a mysterious island where he and his daughter Miranda have lived in isolation for years. As spirits like Ariel and the conflicted Caliban move through the island’s enchantments and human betrayals, the play explores themes of revenge, forgiveness, freedom, and the thin line between illusion and reality. With romance, comedy, and supernatural spectacle woven together, The Tempest ultimately becomes a story about letting go of power and choosing reconciliation over vengeance, making it a fitting, atmospheric experience under the open sky.