The Winter's Tale (review)

Every summer, Shakespeare Santa Cruz designs and builds its outdoor stage from scratch and then dismantles it again at the end of the run, leaving the Festival's redwood glen pristine, but also vulnerable once again to the ravages of unpredictable northern California winters. The devastation of coastal winter storms was summoned back in spirit in the outdoor stage design for the 2005 summer season, during which the stage was shared by both Twelfth Night and The Winter's Tale. The stage took the shape of a massive wrecked galleon, with three masts, tattered sails, and a figurehead run into the earth, the exterior wrought in weathered bluish-green wood, with a split-level upper deck and railings, and a large galley area below, divided into three differently lit stage areas. The center area was an elegant living room, glowing with a paneled teak interior, appointed with empire-period brocaded velvet sofa and chairs. Off to stage left was a bedchamber, and off to stage right was an enclosed galley area with portholes and a door. While there are more than a few nautical references in the language of The Winter's Tale, the set served more aptly to call attention to the wreckage of human lives that is wrought by Leontes's paranoia and jealousy in the play. The looming hulk of the ruined ship, with its hull buried deep in the ground, served as both a foreshadowing of Leontes's downfall and a haunting reminder that the wreckage in the play is as structural, or inherent to Leontes's character, as the very stage upon which his tragedy was being enacted.

Figure 1.

Michael Milligan as Polixenes and Blair Chandler as Hermione in Shakespeare Santa Cruz's 2005 production of The Winter's Tale. Photo by R. R. Jones.

Tim Ocel's production made Leontes' passions the central impetus of the play, representing him as charismatic and possessive, hungry for attention, and intensely physical. Leontes (Cameron Folmar), though costumed in formal evening attire in the opening scene, prowled the stage impulsively, competitively wrestling with Polixenes, and lavishing inappropriately passionate kisses and caresses on his wife Hermione's bare arms and neck. If other characters were not directly engaged with him, Leontes paced the stage, obsessively eating, drinking, smoking, and popping pills, even occasionally hitting walls or servants—a master in rebellion against himself. When Leontes stormed onto center stage with his accusation of Hermione's infidelity (after lurking around the upper decks for a while), the set disintegrated around him as servants abruptly begin removing furniture and stripping the stage, leaving the actors on a barren, harshly lit remnant of their former glory, lost to Leontes's excesses.

Figure 2.

Margaret Schenck as Paulina and Cameron Folmar as Leontes in Shakespeare Santa Cruz's 2005 production of The Winter's Tale. Photo by R. R. Jones.

In contrast to Leontes's irrational immaturity, this production represented Hermione (Blaire Chandler) as warm, centered, serene, and strong—the diplomatic master of her emotions and any situation. Visibly pregnant, proud, and beautiful, Hermione retained her composure throughout all of her trials, appearing first in a gracefully layered lavender silk chiffon evening gown, and then in a plain black dress and traveling cloak when standing on a black pedestal center stage for her actual "trial" scene with Leontes. The production represented Hermione and Leontes as two opposing poles of power in the realm...