Revenge and redemption swirl through the plot of Shakespeare's "The Tempest," a play that opens with the thunder and lightning of the title. But in the production coming to Pittsburgh Public Theater, there are other storms brewing.

Artistic director Marya Sea Kaminski’s all-female version opens not with a storm -- that comes later -- but in silence, in a patient’s room on the surgical oncology floor of a Pittsburgh hospital. Revealed is the patient Prospero, who is battling late-stage breast cancer and angry over her family's abandonment. Then she begins to dream ...

The play, which opens in previews Jan. 24, morphs from a sorcerer’s fantastical island, conjured by Shakespeare in the 1600s, to modern-day, in-hospital breast cancer treatment. To help the Public’s cast and crew make that leap, a quartet of actors and members of the creative team crossed the bridge on Friday, from the Downtown O'Reilly Theater to Allegheny General Hospital on the North Side. There, they were schooled by Dr. Angela Keleher, director of Allegheny Health Network’s Division of Breast Surgery, about hospital procedures and other topics involving breast-cancer treatment.

Starring as Prospero for the Public is stage and screen actress Tamara Tunie, who grew up in Homestead. Her role as medical examiner Melinda Warner has spanned nearly all 19 years of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” and she and Dr. Keleher joked that they could compare medical notes.

"I'm sure everyone has been touched in some form or another by some form of cancer," Ms. Tunie said. She expressed how meaningful it was to be in a real hospital setting and speak with a doctor, to be "as specific as possible about Prospero's cancer and what she's dealing with, so we can incorporate that into our show."

According to breastcancer.org, about 1 in 8 women in the United States -— or about 12.4 percent of U.S. females — will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime. In 2018, an estimated 266,120 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women in the U.S., along with 63,960 new cases of noninvasive breast cancer.

For Ms. Kaminiski, who has been at work on this world-premiere adaptation "for a long, long time," it was imperative to bring accuracy to the portrayal of a breast cancer patient and her treatment.

"When I was writing, it was mostly anecdotal, from the folks that I knew, collecting experiences and real stories from moms in my life," said Ms. Kaminiski. "But I felt the need for this. We've been in the rehearsal room, and have several resources in terms of treatment, oncology and this trajectory for somebody who is on this journey.But it's great to be here and get a shared vocabulary and a shared experience."

Pittsburgh actress Laurie Klatscher is a breast cancer survivor who was "successfully treated" after being diagnosed 14 years ago, she said. The Pittsburgh actress plays the good Gonzalo, who helps Prospero and her daughter Miranda when they are exiled, She adds "doctor" to the character’s resume in this adaptation, and asked about how doctors are as patients.

Dr. Keleher said it depends. Knowing what they are facing, “They either act as if it’s nothing or they become fearful and assume they are going to die,” she said. In a revelation that might affect how a scene plays out, Ms. Klatscher also learned that a doctor who also is a patient cannot access his or her own records — only the patient's physician may have online access.

Janelle Velasquez, a New York actress with a long list of television credits, plays the sprite Ariel, who is bound to serve Prospero and also serves as an orderly in the hospital scenes.

"I'm on this journey with everyone else," Ms. Velasquez said. "My mom's best friend was just diagnosed last year, and she's going through chemo right now, so its almost therapeutic to be doing this."

In the magical world of "The Tempest," Shammen McCune plays the half-human, half-monster Caliban. The Pittsburgh actress is in remission after facing "a different kind of cancer" than breast cancer.

"For me, it's about seeing how different it is and yet how it is the same, because cancer is cancer is cancer ...,," Ms. McCune said.

Among those accompanying the cast and director Friday was costume designer Nephelie Andonyadis, who examined the materials used to change a patient's dressing -- Prospero's reconstructive surgery is a plot point -- before Dr. Keleher showed the director and actresses how it was done in a private session.

The visitors were scheduled to see Allegheny General's surgical rooms for breast cancer patients, but on busy day, every room was in use. The plan was to come back another time for their next lesson, before “The Tempest” opens with silence, with stormy weather near at hand. 

Sharon Eberson: seberson@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1960. Twitter: @SEberson_pg. 

First Published: January 4, 2019, 9:43 p.m.