Julie Taymor’s “The Tempest,” featuring Academy Award winner Helen Mirren as Prospera, will open in New York and Los Angeles Dec. 10 prior to expanding to other cities Dec. 17.
In addition to Mirren, the starry company also features Russell Brand, Alfred Molina, Djimon Hounsou, David Strathairn, Chris Cooper, Alan Cumming, Ben Whishaw, Reeve Carney, Felicity Jones and Tom Conti.
Taymor, who will be represented on Broadway later this season with Spider-Man, Turn off the Dark, penned the screenplay based on the original William Shakespeare classic.
“In her big-screen adaptation of Shakespeare’s mystical thriller ‘The Tempest,’” press notes state, “Academy Award–nominated Julie Taymor (‘Across the Universe,’ ‘Frida,’ ‘Titus’) brings an original dynamic to the story by changing the gender of the sorcerer Prospero into the sorceress Prospera, portrayed by Oscar winner Helen Mirren (‘The Queen’). Prospera’s journey spirals through vengeance to forgiveness as she reigns over a magical island, cares for her young daughter, Miranda, and unleashes her powers against shipwrecked enemies in this exciting, masterly mix of romance, tragicomedy and the supernatural.”