The Winter’s Tale is now in performances at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park through August 23. Admission is free!
By Elazar Abrahams
One of the hottest nights of a scaling city summer. Glasses fogged up. But regardless, there’s nowhere I’d rather be than the Delacorte, where the power of great theater can cut through the humidity and pierce the drizzle of rain. The Winter’s Tale, perhaps fittingly, cooled audiences down.
After being underwhelmed by this summer’s Romeo & Juliet at Shakespeare in the Park, I was happy to find The Winter’s Tale to be the stronger of the Public Theater’s two productions this year.
The epic play stars Raúl Esparza as Leontes, Lily Rabe as Hermione, and Steven Skybell as Antigonus and Autolycus. It is director Daniel Sullivan’s 12th production for Free Shakespeare in the Park, now helming one of the Bard’s most mysterious romances: a story of jealousy, exile, lost children, time, repentance, and a final act of almost impossible forgiveness.
Perhaps the most entertaining aspect of this production is that it does not have the built-in familiarity of a Hamlet, Macbeth, or Midsummer Night’s Dream. That works in its favor, as there is pleasure in watching a Shakespearean story unfold without already knowing every major beat and seeing countless adaptations that have come before.
The Winter’s Tale is a structural outlier to the rest of the canon. It has a 16-year time jump, and really switches up its primary genres from dour tragedy in the first half to comedic romance in the second.
We begin with Leontes, the King of Sicilia, convincing himself that his pregnant wife Hermione has been unfaithful with his friend Polixenes, the King of Bohemia. His jealousy turns tyrannical almost immediately, destroying his family and sending the characters into grief and exile. Then boom, the script catapults into the future, focusing on those rulers’ children, as they reconcile the sins of the past.
Unlike many recent Shakespeare in the Park productions, there is no reimagining or gimmick here. In a way, that is refreshing. After a Romeo & Juliet production whose political lens felt awkwardly imposed on the play, there is something nice about watching a production that is played straight as it would have been hundreds of years ago.
On the other hand, the modern dress or fun spins on these sometimes antiquated plays is what makes them so engaging. At three hours, plus a twenty minute intermission, The Winter’s Tale is a long evening, and those not inclined towards Shakespeare will find the first act slow.
Before we discuss the lackluster staging, the performances are the main reason the show works as well as it does. Esparza is excellent as Leontes, bringing sharpness and volatility to a man whose jealousy curdles into madness almost before anyone around him can understand what is happening. His performance has speed, intelligence, and danger.
Rabe is also terrific as Hermione. She has a commanding clarity with Shakespeare’s language, and her trial scene is one of the production’s strongest dramatic moments. She is not in the second act for long, but when she returns in the final scene, she gives the play the emotional weight it needs.
The real standout for me, though, was Marsha Stephanie Blake as Paulina. She brings fire, precision, and moral force to the role, and I found myself connecting most deeply with her performance. Her enunciation is excellent, her passion is palpable, and every time she is onstage, the production gains focus.
That is why the underwhelming staging frustrated me so much. Shakespeare in the Park has set a high bar over the years for productions that make the Delacorte feel like a place of surprise, movement, color, and scale. Not to harp on last month’s Romeo & Juliet, but that show had memorable ensemble movement, bold masquerade visuals, and a striking border-wall set. The Winter’s Tale is far stronger in performance, but visually it is much less exciting.
For much of the first act, the stage is dominated by what is essentially three doors. There are moments where the story seems to call for more imagination, like characters getting on a boat or being swept into the larger dangers of the world, and the production offers very little. While that simplicity lets the text take center stage, the joy of visiting the Delacorte has been a little something extra. There needs to be some sort of flourish to remember why this play is being performed outside in Central Park.
The second act improves on that front. Once the play shifts into its more pastoral world, the stage gets greener and lusher, with flowers, more bodies, and more movement. The early Bohemia scenes, with a larger ensemble filling the space, are automatically more engaging. Suddenly there is color, life, and sense of event.
The finale also works beautifully. A statue of Hermione is portrayed by Rabe, painted gray, perfectly still, surrounded by candles, before slowly coming back to life. It is a simple but moving theatrical image. That is the kind of visual storytelling I wish the production had leaned on more throughout the evening. When The Winter’s Tale finally gives us that sense of wonder, it lands.
This is a good production of a difficult play, with very strong performances and a few truly lovely moments. I saw more walkouts than I usually do, though the weather surely played a part. Still, I understood the restlessness. This is straight Shakespeare, well acted, and sometimes moving, but not always alive in the way the best Delacorte productions are.
If you love Shakespeare, The Winter’s Tale is absolutely worth seeing for the performances. If you are not already sold on Shakespeare, this may not be the production that converts you.
Find tickets and more information HERE.
