According to the New York Times, Olympia Dukakis will play a female version of the magician Prospero in a production of “The Tempest” this summer at Shakespeare & Company, based in Lenox, Massachussetts. She will be joined on stage by her brother, Apollo Dukakis, who will play Gonzalo, and Rocco Sisto, who will appear as Caliban.
Tony Simotes, who is in his third year as Shakespeare & Company’s artistic director, said in a phone interview that he first met Ms. Dukakis when she taught theater at New York University in the early 70s, and that they have remained friends and colleagues ever since. He said he had wanted to cast and direct Ms. Dukakis for many years, recalling her portrayal of a female King Lear at Shakespeare & Company in 1998.
Mr. Simotes said it was Ms. Dukakis’s wish to play Prospero as a female character, although it has not yet been determined if the character’s name will be feminized. No other character’s gender will change.
“The Tempest” is one of several productions to be presented by Shakespeare & Company for its 35th season, which begins on May 25 and continues through Sept. 2.
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