{"id":24190,"date":"2021-09-10T09:23:43","date_gmt":"2021-09-10T16:23:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=24190"},"modified":"2021-10-05T09:53:53","modified_gmt":"2021-10-05T16:53:53","slug":"the-winters-tale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/the-winters-tale\/","title":{"rendered":"The Winter’s Tale: a review by Victor Cordell"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Regina Morones, Cathleen Riddley, Phil Wong, Sharon Shao, dane troy, Victor Talmadge, Dean Linnard, Safiya Fredericks. Photo by Jay Yamada.<\/p><\/div>\n

Shakespeare\u2019s infrequently produced \u201cThe Winter\u2019s Tale\u201d is often characterized as a \u201cproblem play,\u201d meaning that its tone is inconsistent \u2013 sometimes dramatic with psychological overtones, sometimes comic with mystic qualities.\u00a0 But this play has more problems.\u00a0 It lacks the gravitas of the Bard\u2019s greater works; the text is bereft of the many memorable aphorisms and quips that we relish in other plays; pre and post intermission acts radically differ in disposition; and indeed, viewers will differ on whether Acts 4 and 5 are to be comprehended as real or apprehended as imagination.\u00a0 To the great credit of Director Eric Ting; to adapters of the play Ting and Philippa Kelly; and to the company itself, Cal Shakes has solved the problem with a highly rewarding and entertaining production.<\/p>\n

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Safiya Fredericks, Craig Marker, dane troy. Photo by Kevin Berne.<\/p><\/div>\n

After the long Covid-19 related absence, it was a great pleasure to see Cal Shakes return to the wonderful outdoor Bruns Amphitheatre.\u00a0 Yet, as a matter of full disclosure, this critic should note anticipating this production with trepidation and bias.\u00a0 Attending over 100 plays a year, my mantra is never to leave a play at intermission based on an apparently weak storyline, because the plot twists in the second half may fully redeem the first.\u00a0 I\u2019ve never left a play at intermission more than once a year.\u00a0 A performance of \u201cThe Winter\u2019s Tale\u201d in 2016 by the vaunted Oregon Shakes prompted such a departure.<\/p>\n

Like many Shakespeare comedies, which this play was classified as in Shakespeare\u2019s First Folio of 1623, the title tells nothing of the play\u2019s content.\u00a0 Pre-intermission (the original\u2019s first three acts) takes place in Sicilia, whose King Leontes has hosted his childhood friend Polixenes, now King of Bohemia, for some months.\u00a0 Queen Hermione is due to deliver a baby, and with no evidence, Leontes obsesses in the belief that Polixenes is the father.\u00a0 Uniformly, Leontes\u2019 advisors and even the Oracle at Delphos insist that he is wrong in his claim.\u00a0 The king\u2019s self-indulgent obstinance leads to multiple tragedies.\u00a0 It\u2019s been hard to view any play in the last several years without seeing it through a Trumpian lens, and this is no exception.<\/p>\n

Despite an opening couples dance number that connects tenuously with what follows and the on-stage action being somewhat pedestrian, the drama in this realization is quite compelling.\u00a0 The tension created starts with a cast of nine superb veteran actors who are among the Bay Area\u2019s finest and who bring out rich interpretations of their characters.<\/p>\n

Craig Marker is Leontes, who after a touching opening scene with his son, becomes one of the more venomous characters in the Shakespeare catalog.\u00a0 Marker plays Leontes one notch below crazy and with extreme jealousy, irrational distrust, and insatiable vindictiveness.\u00a0 Fearful of the king\u2019s station and rancor, his counselors ultimately kowtow to his pettiness. Sadly, does this seem real-life familiar?<\/p>\n

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Cathleen Riddley, Phil Wong, Dean Linnard, Craig Marker, Victor Talmadge. Photo by Kevin Berne.<\/p><\/div>\n

A charismatic Safiya Fredericks as the put-upon Hermione is more than equal to her counterpart. \u00a0Her insistence of innocence convinces the audience, but not Leontes.\u00a0 Her turn to rage during her trial is equally believable.\u00a0 All of the actors play multiple roles, and after intermission, Fredericks becomes (get this!) Polixenes, and partly in wacky disguise \u2013 but that\u2019s another story.<\/p>\n

The need for great acting in this version is magnified by the spareness of the staging.\u00a0 Designer Tanya Orellana\u2019s stage for Sicily is virtually vacant except for a number of poles with long lights at the rear.\u00a0 The costumes of the Sicilians by Ulises Alcala are eclectic\/contemporary, but all in black and white, adding to the colorless austerity.<\/p>\n

The great thing about \u201cThe Winter\u2019s Tale\u201d is that if the Sicilia part doesn\u2019t work for you, just wait.\u00a0 Except for many characters carrying over, all played by different actors, the \u201cBohemia\u201d part is practically a different play.\u00a0 In this version, a sign is even displayed saying \u201cA New Play \u2013 by King Leontes,\u201d signifying the adapter\u2019s determination that the segment to follow is a figment of Leontes\u2019 imagination.<\/p>\n

Sixteen years have passed, and as proper and achromatic as Sicilia appears, Bohemia is correspondingly garish.\u00a0 Costumes are bright and fanciful. \u00a0A colorful, old-timey traveling theater stage caravan centers the set.\u00a0 The mood is bright and the plot focus is on the pending nuptials of a shepherd\u2019s son and a foundling girl, who unbeknownst to all is the abandoned daughter of Leontes.\u00a0 Farce replaces realism.<\/p>\n

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Sharon Shao, Cathleen Riddley, dane troy. Photo by Kevin Berne.<\/p><\/div>\n

While holding to the playwright\u2019s story, this adaptation of Acts 4 and 5 intersperses modern songs that add bounce and familiarity for the audience.\u00a0 Shakespeare would probably roll over in his grave if he heard rock\/pop songs like \u201cThe Time of the Season\u201d and \u201cLove Shack\u201d in his play, but they certainly please the crowd.\u00a0 The whole segment is full of fun, but it is also discombobulated by gaps in delivering the story and elongated by inclusion of the gratuitous musical numbers.<\/p>\n

Which brings us back to the problem.\u00a0 Is this great Shakespeare the way it was intended?\u00a0 No.\u00a0 Is this finely crafted entertainment that depicts a different treatment of a classic that is instructive and enjoyable in its own right?\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 And on that basis, this is absolutely the right way to see this play that otherwise might disappoint.<\/p>\n

As a final point, the director provides the cast with a mix of roles that he assigns to each actor.\u00a0 Not only do the varied roles give each performer breadth in their individual performances, but the spotlight shines on all with remarkable equality, and they deserve it.\u00a0 The actors not previously mentioned are Dean Linnard, Regina Morones, Cathleen Riddley, Sharon Shao, Victor Talmadge, dane troy [sic], and Phil Wong, who also serves as music director and factotum.<\/p>\n

“The Winter’s Tale” by William Shakespeare is adapted by Eric Ting and Philippa Kelly, produced by California Shakespeare Theater, and plays at Bruns Amphitheater, 100 California Shakespeare Theater Way, Orinda, CA through September 26, 2021.<\/p>\n

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Shakespeare\u2019s infrequently produced \u201cThe Winter\u2019s Tale\u201d is often characterized as a \u201cproblem play,\u201d meaning that its tone is inconsistent \u2013 sometimes dramatic with psychological overtones, sometimes comic with mystic qualities.\u00a0…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[664],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-24190","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-victor-cordell"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"