Shakespeare’s The Tempest is a fragile work, a wisp of a dream. It is more ethereal than much of his canon. There is never a fear of tragedy, because the tragic has already occurred, and Prospero (Ken Ruta in Southwest Shakespeare’s current production) is a strong wizard with firm control of the entire situation. As director Jared Sakren has crafted it, the drama is in the act of the dramatic itself, the righting of past wrongs and resetting of correct magisterial balance. The characters within Prospero’s charms, his slightly or greatly incensed servants, and his daughter Miranda (Heather Harper) are heavily manipulated, but when the heavens are not right because of an imbalance in governance, Prospero has every right to use a heavy hand. Therefore, we as an audience enjoy the machinations, aware in a similar way to Midsummer Night’s Dream of the strings being pulled, though here this is all predestined, not haphazard. It is when his faithful-though-impatient sprite Ariel (Leah Bosworth) points out the danger of depending too much on craft that this production sweeps away the artifice and becomes heavy with silence. It’s a mesmerizing moment.

Sakren’s vision and his casting are the two strongest points of a superb evening. The play is very judiciously trimmed and the action is paced faster or slower as the moment requires. The intensity of the opening shipboard maelstrom is balanced by the tentative half-steps as Harper’s sweetly innocent Miranda is allowed to fall in love with the son of Prospero’s enemy, Ferdinand, Prince of Naples (Eric Schoen). Sakren is as in control of the proceedings as Prospero, and his sure hand makes this Tempest a lovely trip.

The players are all impressive, from Ruta’s commanding presence to Bosworth’s chafing smile. Ruta’s benevolence is marked by an ever-increasing sense of meddling and heavy-handedness that works perfectly in Sakren’s vision. Bosworth, given to flying by Hall Associate’s Flying Effects, is graceful, limber, and cheerful. Harper makes her wide-eyed innocence sweet without become annoying, and has a few moments of humor played well. She and Schoen make a cute couple and their scenes together are endearing. Damon Dering’s traitorous Caliban is a loping, slothful beast filled with malice and a voice from our basest ancestry. His work with the clowns Trinculo (Tim Shawver) and Stephano (Rick Shipman) is fun, and the three make a likeable trio of terrorists. Ben Tyler, coming off of a comic gem in their last London Assurance, here shows his menacing side as Prospero’s usurping brother Antonio. When he and Ferdinand’s evil brother Sebastian (James Landua) begin counterplotting against Larry Soller’s mourning Alsonso, King of Naples, it is one of the rare moments of potential danger and well handled by all.

The design element, beyond the flying, is more implication, but well-done for the choice. Paul Black’s simple scenic design is complimented by his several lighting flourishes, including an opening that creates a ship and storm from the same sort of magical air that Prospero uses. Lois K. Myers’ costumes are good indications of character, especially the ever-increasing layers for the quickly learning Miranda. A nice added touch is the live music provided by the talented group Bartholomew Faire.

If there’s a problem with this production, it is the fact that it ultimately draws attention to a lack of drama I’d never noticed before about this script. However, Sakren and the Bard’s artifice are still good at holding the attention of the audience, while the designers and the ensemble do justice to Shakespeare’s final flourish before retirement.