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California, The Tempest

Reviewed by Martin Hernandez

Cornerstone Theatre Company at Various Locales

Through June 20

Imagine a new California, playwright Alison Carey suggests in her adaptation to William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Cornerstone Theater Company’s latest touring production utilizing professional and community performers. Will it be the kind of California rendered uninhabitable and beyond salvation, demolished by the eponymous storm – and an earthquake? Or will it be one where its diverse populations join together to confront the myriad challenges the Golden State faces?

Banding together the residents of 10 California communities, from Eureka to Downtown L.A., Cornerstone’s bridge show is an inspiring though at times rambling discourse on finding common ground among various competing enclaves, as well as among family and friends ripped apart by jealousy and greed.

Former California governor Prosper (Bahni Turpin), usurped of her position by her sister Antonia (Maria Cano) and escaping her scheming sibling’s murder plot, found refuge with her infant daughter Minerva on a lonely Northern California mountain top.

Eighteen years later, a plane carrying Antonia and other Californians is forced to crash on the mountain by a squall conjured up by Prosper’s magic and need for revenge (Geoff Korf’s lighting and Veronika Vorel’s sound design had me searching for an airsickness bag.) With the passengers strewn about in sundry groupings on what is now an island, thanks to Prosper adding a temblor to her ferocious gale, they try to reassemble while reminiscing on their lost California and contemplating the future one.

Director Michael John Garcés’ creative staging, from Lynn Jeffrie’s shadow puppets to Garry Lennon’s costumes, offers an engaging complement to the enchanted tale. Turpin’s Prosper and Peter Howard’s Caliban present a credible conflict during their verbal jousting while Karen Covarrubias’ grown up Minerva and Brent Grihalva’s Ferdinand make a cute and coy couple. While Carey’s script gets redundant as its characters debate the virtues of their respective hometowns, the sight of local kids and adults (in this performance from Pacoima) breaking the fourth wall and revealing their hopes and desires for their community is touching and makes up for some bumps in the road, especially when accompanied by Tupac Shakur’s “California Love.” Next stop Salinas!

Cornerstone Theater Company at various localse; through June 20. F dates and venues contact (800) 578-1335, www.cornerstonetheater.org