Magic, Mayhem, and Love Rock the Tri-Cities in ‘The Tempest’

You don't have to go to Seattle or Portland to get amazing live theater. We have amazing theater companies right here in the Tri-Cities! This weekend our Shakespeare company, The Rude Mechanicals, open their production of 'The Tempest'. I was fortunate enough to sit down with director Cameron Milton before a preview of the show last night, and I was blown away! Not only is the caliber of acting incredible as always with the Rude Mechanicals, but the costumes and makeup take you away to a magical island that is visually incredible. Though the set is minimal the artistry of the costume and makeup will blow you away. Along with taiko drumming the lights, music, and movement of the actors will transport you out of Richland to a desert island where Prospero, a former Duke, reigns over magical creatures. His daughter, a mortal, has never seen other humans, but when a ship full of sailors, and the Duke's old rival, crashes on to the island due to a huge storm all bets are off!

I talked to Director Milton about his vision for this show. If you've ever seen a Rude Mechanicals show, you know they find creative ways to bring classic texts to a modern audience with different themes and settings. He was inspired by a trash fashion show where they used garbage to create art. He took that idea along with his time as a Blue Man in the Blue Man Group in New York to ad sound, lights, incredible makeup and costumes to the show to make it a full sensory masterpiece.

The show opens tonight (June 7th) and runs this weekend and next. Click here to get your tickets you DO NOT want to miss this show. Check out some photos i grabbed at a preview last night. They're amazing and not even in full makeup so you can imagine that it's only going to be even more incredible!