You remember Ariel from Disney’s underwater cartoon, but think back to high school English and Shakespeare’s classic The Tempest, and recall that slave-sprite fellow bound to the magician Prospero, Duke of Milan, exiled on a mysterious island for twelve years. The Dana Point Theater Company offers not one but two Ariels in this outdoor production, one male and one female, just to mess with everybody’s psyches and further complicate the meaning of this magnificent play about freedom and forgiveness. Enjoy some Shakespeare under the stars, support local theater and help secure the fate of your neighbors by showing up with the thoughtful admission price: a can of food or two to benefit Second Harvest Food Bank. Who knows that you might not need it yourself someday? “What’s past,” after all, “is prologue.” See you on the island, in the park.
Aug. 27-June 29, 6 p.m., 2009
