Cast That Book: The Tempest by William Shakespeare

A weekly meme that showcases my "cast" of a book if it were to become a movie or TV show. Anyone can join!

Well, well, well. I can't believe we are FINALLY bringing this back weekly post back from the dead!! I've been wanting to do it, but 1) I forget and 2) I really didn't know if it was a good idea. 

But let's give a go! I think I might do this once a month or more if I'm feeling inspired. 

For those that are new and haven't been here since 2012 (yes, this is THAT old). The idea is that, I pick a book I recently read and cast it with my dream cast. Anyone can join in. You can do the same book or pick a different book that you read. 

Rules (aka self-imposed...you don't have to follow them)

- A recent book I read

- Only books that I gave a 4 or 5 stars

- Casting the main cast and maybe some of the side characters

- Sky is the limit

For our first book back, let's do 'The Tempest' by William Shakespeare (mainly because I can remember all the characters and I can easily look up the character list). Future books I'll make notes of the names of characters or something. 

Prospero - Idris Elba

Miranda- Halle Bailey

Ariel- Charithra Chandran

Caliban- John Bell

Ferdinand- David Berry

Alonso- Dermot Mulroney

Antonio- Daniel Francis

Sebastian- Josh Lawson

Gonzalo- David Alan Grier

Stephano- Ben Schwartz

Trinculo- Joe Lo Truglio

Best of February

Spring are you here yet? 

Here are the bests of Feb!

Best Book of the Month:

Blodeuedd - Cocktails & Chloroform by Kelley Armstrong

"Best book was this novella. I really need to start book 3 soon."

Carole -  The Tempest by William Shakespeare

"Def best book. An oldie but a goodie!!"

Best Movie of the Month:

Carole -  Wuthering Heights (2026)

"I actually went to the theater twice to watch this. So yes. Best of Feb for sure."

Blodeuedd - Sisu (2022)

"I watched a Finnish movie(they speak English) where the Finn did not say a word . He just killed nazis. Good, but gore and blood."

Best TV show of the Month:

Blodeuedd - Stargate (s1)

"Stargate is on netflix! So I binged season 1!"

Carole - Bridgerton (s4)

"Season 4 of Bridgerton!! I laughed. I cried. I need more."

Best Cover of the Month:

B's pick: Best cover because it is just so 90s

C's pick: Look at that dress!

Book/Play Review: The Tempest by William Shakespeare

Author: William Shakespeare

Title: The Tempest

Genre: Classic, Play, Drama, Comedy, Fantasy

Format: paperback

Pages: 218

Published: 1611

Where I got It: My shelf (Amazon)

Summary: 

Prospero, the rightful Duke of Milan, uses magic to shipwreck his treacherous brother Antonio and King Alonso on his enchanted island. Over twelve years prior, Prospero was exiled with his daughter, Miranda. On the island, Prospero commands the spirit Ariel and the native Caliban, manipulating the castaways through illusions.

Review:

So I have ascended to a new level of nerd....I have been accepted and joined the Flint Shakespeare Club. Weeee! I literally cried when I found out!!! How cool? What is this cool club? Well, it is a club where a bunch of like-minded folks sit around and read the play out loud and then discuss the Act(s) we just went through. Plus snackies at the end!

This was winter's book to read. Which was exciting for me because I hadn't read this one! I have slowly been going through all the plays. 

This is a tale of revenge and forgiveness. Some love and a lot of comedy mixed in. 

This play feels so different than a lot of Billy S's other plays. It still has his humor and wordplay. However, it felt like a goodbye of sorts. One can debate that the ending epilogue was a final goodbye to his fans and the public. This was his last play. Was it planned? Only guesses can keep us warm at night. 

I found this very charming. The characters and the lore and the story....charming and meaningful.

I kept thinking, though....the poor actors who play Prospero. SOOO many monologues and so many lines. Damn. I wouldn't be able to remember all my lines. 

But yes, this was really good. Honestly, I think it may have found it's way onto my top 3 fave plays by Billy S. I still have a few to get through, but this was a lovely read. 

5 stars from me.