Photo By Rich Sofranko

Bruce Cromer is Prospero in CSC's The Tempest.

The Tempest is a box of wonders -- full of magic, sprites, monsters, young love at first sight, noble nobles and blithering idiots, lust and the lust for power, slavery and the hunger for freedom, attempted rape, the rage of revenge and, ultimately, the stillness of forgiveness. Virtually plot-free but stuffed with a hundred life-and-death considerations, Shakespeare's last solo script (1611) will accommodate, for good or ill, almost any director's visionary yen to interpret it, whether the interpretation is mild or wild.

For Cincinnati Shakespeare Company's (CSC) current production, director Drew Fracher has elected a muscular, straightforward simplicity, as focused as it is exuberant. He has illuminated it with inventive, sometimes choreographic staging, with a flat-footed belief in practical magic and a sense of wonder worthy of a Harry Potter fan; then he's laced it all together with dollops of semi-lewd, knockabout burlesque.

With high intellect and low fun cheerfully entwined, it's a vision that's likely to irritate some Shakespearean purists while it generously entertains the rest of us. And this makes it two in a row for Fracher, coming hard on the heels of his wowser production of Opus at Ensemble Theater of Cincinnati.

Most of The Tempest's plot occurs before the curtain rises. Prospero (Bruce Cromer), who possesses magical powers, has been deposed as Duke of Milan by his brother Antonio (Josh Stamoolis), then marooned on an island with his daughter Miranda (Hayley Clark) for human company along with a flame-quick sprite named Ariel (Corinne Mohlenhoff) and half-man, half-lizard Caliban (Giles Davies).

In the CSC production's first powerful image, Fracher reveals the clarity of his intent and Cromer demonstrates past-mastery of the central character. Prospero sets a model ship onto a shallow pond. As lightning and thunder crash, he cackles and deluges the ship with water from a pitcher. This isn't symbolism; it's voodoo. Prospero has raised an avenging tempest. It shipwrecks evil Antonio into his power, with secondary villain Sebastian (Justin McCombs); Antonio's liege lord, the King of Naples (Matt Johnson); the King's son, Ferdinand (Rob Jansen); a kind of court advisor cum comic relief, Gonzalo (Bill Hartnett); and a nefarious pair of hard-drinking sailors (Chris Guthrie and Jeremy Dubin).

Shards and snippets of dramatic action follow, all under Prospero's magical control. Miranda and Ferdinand meet. Apart from her father, he's the first human she's ever seen. Guess what happens? She's not the first girl Ferdinand has seen, but it happens to him anyway. Antonio and Sebastian plot to murder the King, who mourns, thinking his son is lost. The sailors bumble schemes of mayhem and liberation with Caliban. Ariel does Prospero's bidding but longs for release from his thrall. Ultimately, Prospero binds Antonio with the ultimate bond -- unalloyed forgiveness.

This Tempest is crowned with Cromer's insightful performance as magus-in-charge Prospero. He delicately balances flights of intelligence, empathy and pure affection with the lowest, most visceral yearnings after bloody vengeance, reveling in this last full flowering of Shakespeare's magical language. Cromer is so in charge of things that he can celebrate such memorable lines as "We are such stuff as dreams are made on" and "This rough magic I here adjure" without posterizing them.

A welcome aspect of Fracher's vision is his decision not to politicize Ariel and Caliban. Yes, they're enslaved to Prospero's service. No, they are not made emblematic of the world's downtrodden. Also welcome is casting longtime veteran Hartnett in his first-ever Shakespearean role, then helping him find the character's merry heart. There are expectedly excellent performances from Guthrie, Dubin, Clark, Jansen and Davies and an especially compelling reading by McCombs.

Will Turbyne's setting and Sean Savoie's lighting are good. Chris Guthrie's sound design lends powerful support. Heidi Jo Schiemer's costuming sumptuously blends a dozen eras from Pirates of the Caribbean to prom night. Giving Prospero a light-up stole and turning Miranda into Sailor Moon are particularly deft touches. Grade: A

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THE TEMPEST, presented by Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, continues through May 27.