“The Winter’s Tale”

**** As a young man, getting involved with theater, I remember having a teacher tell me that Shakespeare’s works are meant to be seen, not read. I guess what he was trying to say is that just reading doesn’t allow for the imagination to get you into the different sides of the story, and if you are one who has seen a lot of the Bard’s plays, you know that there are stroies within the stories as well as sub plots all over the place. I am telling you this because the play that I am reviewing here, “The Winter’s Tale” as done by Invictus Theatre Company is one of those unique plays. Is this play a comedy? Is it a romantic story ( sort of like an ancient Hallmark channel film), or it is a combination thereof?

Charles Askenaizer has directed a splendid and somewhat unique version of William Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale” using original music with some choreography (Jen Cupani) and they have modernized the dress ( although there are a few flaws in that ointment) . I will tell you that the play, which I recall was a four act play, has been redone as two acts and has the split where acts 3 and 4 would be/ The total time is 3 hours with that 15 minute intermission, so if the “olde English” language bothers you this may be a little long. However if you appreciate the cleverness of  “The Bard” and are willing to see something different and unique, you might find yourself understanding this work a little better.

The basic story is about King Leontes ( (Michael Stejskal) who suspects that his wife Hermione ( deftly handled by Andrea Uppling) who is with child has cheated on him with his best friend, Pollixenes  (Raul Alonso). When the child is born ( it is a girl), she is banished from the kingdom. A Shepherd (Chuck Munro) takes her to raise as his own and names her Perdita ( played to perfection by Jennifer Agather). The child had been left with items around her to let whomever finds her know that she was from a wealth family. Before she is found by the shepherd, the deliverer, Antigonus (Fred A. Wellisch) is eaten by a bear, so no one knows anything about the baby.

There is a time pass of 16 years and during that  “Time” ( oh yes, there is a character named “Time” who carries an hour glass and kind of lets us know about time passages- don’t let this confuse you, just roll with the story(ies),it turns out that the prince Florizel (Robert Hunter Bry) son of Camillo ( Kim Pereira) falls in love with Perdita and they return to Sicily. During the play, as the stories are unveiled, we also meet a comic character called Autolycus (Sam  Nachison ) who has an amazing amount of energy and truly plays with the audience and cast members. In many ways this is immersive theater as the audience loves being interacted with. In some ways the scenes with this character guarantee the audience not getting bored. Nachison is terrific.

As we enter the last of the scenes, we find pure happiness in a way that is unexpected. The wedding scene, the reuniting of all good freinds and family and a truly happy ending to send you home with. Shakespeare’s THE WINTER’S TALE is a captivating parable of betrayals, renewed hope, and the transformative power of time.