The Winter's Tale
December 2017, directed by William Wolfgang
“A sad tale’s best for winter. I have one of sprites and goblins.”
The Winter's Tale took audiences on a journey from the icy depths of winter into the beautiful, exciting rebirth of spring.
Written in the twilight of Shakespeare's illustrious career, this romantic masterwork blends the genres of tragedy, comedy, and the early beginnings of musical theatre in a way entirely innovative for the Elizabethan stage. Blurring the boundaries between art, age, love, and redemption, The Winter's Tale was a truly profound and poignant theatre experience.
Polixenes, the King of Bohemia, has been visiting the kingdom of Sicily, ruled by his childhood best friend Leontes, for nearly nine months. As he prepares to return to his own kingdom, a falling out between the two regents endangers the lives of Polixenes himself, Leontes' Queen, Hermione, and her soon-to-be-born infant. The jealousy and wrath of a King still gripped by the weaknesses of youth threaten to destabilize all of Sicily as Hermione seeks to save her child, even if it means her death.
DIRECTOR'S NOTES - THE WINTER'S TALE
As the play opens, King Polixenes has a nostalgic discussion of his youth, fondly remembering his time growing up with his best friend, King Leontes. He says, “And to be boy eternal,” wishing, as countless individuals have since the dawn of time, to be young forever. However, the tale these characters tell composes a story that does not allow time ever to stop; on the contrary, it keeps moving at a fast rate.
When asked to tell his mother a tale, Mamillius replies, “Merry or sad shall’t be?” Mamillius chooses both “merry” and “sad,” and “one of sprites and goblins.” For a play that is hard to summarize and put into a few words, Mamillius does a fine job. The Winter’s Tale is a story that can be intensely sad and yet equally merry. Characters who appear to be goblins occupy this story but then transform over time into the many sprites of spring.
The personification of Time, represented in our production as the “Boy Eternal” referenced by Polixenes above, serves as the chorus or narrator. However, the real storyteller within the play’s confines is the young prince, Mamillius, with both roles played by Brody Verlin. It is easy to argue that the tale (quoted above) he tells his mother the queen is the same story of which they are currently playing a part.
Regardless of interpretation, it is clear that Mamillius achieves Polixenes’ musing of becoming “Boy Eternal.” Allowed to age, the rest of the characters in this play grow in the most magical of ways. Time may not heal all wounds, but it does afford us the opportunity to forgive and be forgiven.
The Winter’s Tale is representative of Shakespeare’s writing late in his career. Throughout his late Romances (others include Cymbeline and The Tempest to name a few), he focused on themes resonating with him at the time in his life: redemption, forgiveness, reunification, loss, aging, love, death, and rebirth. As this play begins, you will believe you are experiencing the world of Hamlet or Macbeth. It is dark and tragic, but as the play progresses, the color changes. Shakespeare begins to paint a different picture. Not a masterpiece of cold and dark winter, but one of the verdant rebirth of spring.
The OrangeMite Shakespeare Company is pleased to present its twenty-second work by Shakespeare. This production marks the first time the organization will perform at DreamWrights Center for Community Arts. We could not be more thrilled to share our work with new audiences. Thank you for being a part of our merry-sad tale of sprites and goblins: William Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale.
William Wolfgang, Director
CHECK OUT CLIPS OF THE PRODUCTION ON ORANGEMITE'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL!
“Music; awake her: strike!
’Tis time: descend: be stone no more.”
“We were
Two lads that thought there was no more behind
But such a day tomorrow as today,
And to be boy eternal.”