The Winter's Tale (review)

2010–11 seems to be a banner year for The Winter's Tale. In addition to the production by the RSC as part of the Stratford season (on tour in New York this summer), my own university theatre department and the nearby Guthrie Theater have both mounted productions this season.

The production at the Guthrie was directed by Jonathan Munby, whose resume includes stints at the RSC, the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, DC, the Donmar Warehouse, and the Globe. For his debut production at the Guthrie, Munby embraced a thoroughly American perspective, setting the Sicilia portion of the play in what he described in the program notes as "Kennedy-era America," a "Camelot that implodes on itself." Set designer Alexander Dodge remarked that his inspiration for his white and silver set of Sicilia was the East Room of the White House; his "elegant and cold" ballroom began the play with a New Year's Eve party held in a formal space with chandeliers, tall white columns, and massive silver gilt doors.

Michelle O'Neill's performance as Hermione was emotionally riveting and underlined the deep sense of tragedy in the first half of the play. Elegantly attired in the opening scenes, O'Neill entered in the trial scene with a slight limp, in a brown sackcloth dress stenciled with her prisoner number, and with obvious physical signs of having just given birth. In stark contrast to Hermione's glamorous appearance in previous scenes—in lush lavender ball gown with jewelry and coiffed hair—here her hair was shorn and lifeless, her skin sallow, her face shockingly sunken in appearance (several audience members audibly gasped when she entered). Throughout the scene O'Neill trembled as if on the verge of collapse, her voice fading in and out of strength. The stage was set with Leontes behind a formal desk, and with Hermione delivering her speeches center stage to a stand-up microphone on which she leaned for support, while a court reporter recorded details on a working stenograph machine.

(From left to right) Devon Solwold as Mamillius, Michael Hayden as Leontes, Bill McCallum as Polixenes, and Michelle O'Neill as Hermione in the Guthrie Theater's 2011 production of The Winter's Tale, directed by Jonathan Munby.

Photo courtesy of T. Charles Erickson.

As with most productions of this play, the Bohemia section was gratefully welcomed. Munby's inspiration for Bohemia was rural Minnesota in the late 1960s, inspired by a trip he made to a local Minnesota fair. This Bohemia thus included native plants and trees—a tall row of birch trees at the back of the stage, and black-eyed Susans adorning the perimeter of the stage. Plaid flannel-clad shepherds (who first entered with a loud duck call) populated the sheep-shearing festival, joined by other cast members in 1960s hippie garb. Live musicians played original jazz and bluegrass music (composed by Adam Wernick) from the back of a 1959 Ford Ranchero truck. In keeping with the period, Autolycus's wares were housed in a shopping cart, where he displayed old LP records as his "ballads" along with lingerie and cheap watches.

The cast of the Guthrie Theater's 2011 production of The Winter's Tale, directed by Jonathan Munby.

Photo courtesy of T. Charles Erickson.

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