THEATRE REVIEW:
KPBS AIRDATE: August 05, 2005
Shakespeare believed that summer was for lighter
comedies and winter for darker concerns. He even says so in “The Winter’s
Tale”: “A sad tale’s best for winter,” young Mamilius tells his mother, the
Queen. But the Bard’s penultimate creation really defies description. The
tragic first half, set in Sicilia, is dark and brooding. A wildly jealous King
falsely accuses his pregnant wife of infidelity with his best friend, and in
his rage, imprisons his mate, banishes his new baby daughter, and punished by
the gods, watches his young son die of grief. The second, comic half of the
play takes place 16 years later, on the rustic Bohemian coast. Balance is
restored, sanity is regained. Happiness reigns, couples unite, and the queen
even comes back from the dead -- just as winter turns to spring.
At the Old Globe’s Shakespeare Festival, visionary
director Darko Tresnjak has made a glorious summer gift of this “Winter’s
Tale,” highlighting the humanity and solving the various problems of tone and
staging with ingenuity, wit and panache. Since time is such an important aspect
of the action, a white-clad woman, guarding an hourglass, sits on a throne
upstage throughout. Tresnjak makes it clear that this play is all about the
cycle of life -- and the magic of theater. The language and plotlines are
crystalline, too, both grounded and ethereal, to match the chiaroscuro of the
play. There’s a defined point at which the current changes from tragedy to
comedy, in that oft-quoted line, “Exit, pursued by a bear.” A slightly silly
but imaginative solution to that problem – a giant two-dimensional head with an
ominous, red-streamer mouth, catapults us into an act where anything can happen
– and does.
The look, feel and sound of this production are
consistently beautiful, thanks to the flexible scenic design of Ralph
Funicello, and inspired costumer Lindo Cho, lighting virtuoso York Kennedy and
creative composer Christopher Walker. The precise and meticulous direction
creates so many breathtaking and heart-rending moments. And the performances
are the very best of the summer’s Festival ensemble -- from young Michael
Drummond as the precocious, inquisitive prince, to real-life partners Bruce
Turk and Katie MacNichol as the hotheaded king and his majestic queen. Charles
Janasz and Kandis Chappell are marvelous as the selfless adviser Camillo and
the merciless, magical Paulina. Matt Biedel is engaging as princely son to Tom
Hammond’s affable Bohemian King; Eve Danzeisen plays the lost princess as a
sometimes shrill and lusty country girl, and Evan Zes is amusing as the wily
thief, Autolycus, though he’d be better if he weren’t asked to sing.
Tresjnak reveals so many delights in this
rarely-seen play. There’s a great deal of pleasure to be had watching an
up-and-coming master at work on a lesser-known masterwork.
©2005 Patté Productions
Inc.