Meadowdale Players are producing the magical and mysterious “The Tempest” by William Shakespeare Nov. 17-19 at 7 p.m. at Meadowdale High’s Black Box Theatre.

The play, regarded as Shakespeare’s most mature work, includes sorcery, revenge and young love. A sorcerer and his beautiful daughter are stranded on a deserted island. When a ship carrying his enemies passes nearby, he creates a devastating storm that crashes the ship. His enemies are now at his mercy, while his daughter meets the man of her dreams.

“I’m really enjoying this play because Shakespeare is so different from everything else we’ve done and we can experiment so much with costumes and lighting,” said Kate Tussing, who plays the heroine.

According to a publicity release sent by the Meadowdale Players, the performances conclude several weeks of intense preparation by many students, “almost all of whom are having their first encounter with Shakespeare.”

“Shakespeare has such a unique language. I love the way he describes situations. This is the language of thespians,” said student Lizy Serrano.

After facing elimination due to budget cuts, the Meadowdale Players have experienced a phoenix-like revival this last year under the artistic direction of Pacific Northwest dramatist and playwright Jeff Stilwell, who is also an Edmonds business owner and co-founder of the Edmonds Art Walk.  Stilwell recently wrote a story for My Edmonds News about his work with the Players here: How a high school director convinced his students that Shakespeare is cool.

The company has mounted three well-regarded shows, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Anna In The Tropics,” and it also earned an Excellent Award at this year’s Washington State Thespian Festival.

Tickets ($5 with an ASB card, $6 general) are available at the door.  Doors open at 6:30 pm. You can learn more at Facebook.com/MeadowdalePlayers.