Washington Post - Highly Recommended
"...With music, magic, movement and sideshow ambiance, there’s a lot going on in this production, produced in association with Folger Theatre (where Posner and Teller’s “Macbeth” was seen in 2008). But the proceedings don’t feel overpacked or busy. Indeed, the air of profuse activity helps conjure an island that, as Shakespeare made clear, seethes with spirits and mysterious music. “The isle is full of noises,/ Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not,” Caliban observes. Like his stomping grounds, this “Tempest” is full of sensory richness and delight."
DC Theater Arts - Highly Recommended
"...What is truly special about a production like this is that it is even more than the sum of its exceptional parts. Shakespeare and stage magic can pull a crowd on their own, but together they make a Tempest that gives life to illusions and power to an old magician’s quest for justice."
MetroWeekly - Highly Recommended
"...Like stepping into a Victorian sailor's ornate tattoo, Aaron Posner and Teller's co-directed production of The Tempest creates a world so rich, sensical, and cleverly fun, you will rue the final cutting of the lights. It is a joyful, defiant answer to everything that steals wonder - from our life on screens, to the Internet, to the mainstreaming all that once lived in life's dark and interesting corners. It's enough to make you weep with gratitude."
Talkin Broadway - Highly Recommended
"...The most important element of this Tempest is that the pace never slows and the visual excesses never end, from uncanny human figures with animal masks for faces to sudden disappearances and violations of the law of gravity.'
Washington City Paper - Highly Recommended
"...Finally, there’s Caliban, the monster in Prospero’s service. The choreography Pilobolus has created to give the beast its savage and otherworldly gait demands that two actors perform the character in tandem, one with his thighs clasped around the other’s chest to create an end-over-end walk. Hassiem Muhammad and Ryan Sellers jointly occupy the role, and if they don’t exactly hide how physically taxing their performance is, that only makes their creation more fearsome. The pair should win a special Helen Hayes Award for outstanding achievement in athleticism."
MD Theatre Guide - Highly Recommended
"...“The Tempest” at Round House Theatre, produced in collaboration with Folger Theatre, is a diverting new adaptation of a Shakespearian classic. Half-story and half-spectacle, onstage magic enriches the sorcery of Prospero and the band of singer-musicians gives voice to the mystic, spirit-possessed island. This accessible comedy offers an ideal opportunity for anyone hoping to dip their toes in or swim deeper into the works of Shakespeare."
BroadwayWorld - Highly Recommended
"...One thing I've always found to be fascinating is how a good adaptation of Shakespeare not only makes the piece feel relevant and fresh, but can make one feel as though the new interpretation is how the play was always meant to be performed. The ability to so wholly own a known, classic work shows remarkable skill and creativity, and that - and so much more - is clearly on display in Aaron Posner and famed magician Teller's riveting collaboration, The Tempest."
