Margo on A Winter's Tale at BAM
Margo on A Winter's Tale at BAM
Margo on A Winter's Tale at BAM#0
Posted: 11/7/05 at 10:46am
It's always a pleasure to welcome Edward Hall and his all-male Propeller Company back to New York. Their production of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM which played at BAM last year was one of the most magical evenings of theatre I've ever experienced and Hall's ROSE RAGE (a reduction of the HENRY VI trilogy) was viscerally thrilling (both made my top ten list last year). I also thoroughly enjoyed Hall's STREETCAR at Roundabout earlier this year, so I was greatly looking forward to seeing what he and Propeller would do with one of the odder entries in the Shakespeare canon, A WINTER'S TALE, in their return to BAM. A so-called "Problem Play" (Hall's text editor Roger Warren refers to it as a "romance") it combines elements of tragedy and farce and mythical elements in a story of irrational jealousy, betrayal, redemption and love.
In the first half, King Leontes suspects that his queen, Hermione, has been unfaithful to him with his best friend Polixenes. Upon his death warrant, Polixenes flees to his own kingdom Bohemia and Hermiones gives birth to a daughter, Perdita whom Leontes refuses to acknowledge and banishes, to hopefully perish in the wilderness. The child is found by sherpards and after intermission, 16 years later, finds herself in Polixenes' kingdom, in love with the king's son and eventually all are reunited.
Hall presents the first half in dark, somber tones as the depths of Leontes' grief and anger which verges on madness are given full sway. Vince Leigh gives a controlled, tighly wound performance as Leontes, managing to create a character both demonstrably unhinged and cruel, yet still sympathetic and human. When he spits in the face of Hermione (a regal and noble Simon Scardifield), there were audible gasps throughout the house. The entrance of Paulina (a dynamic Adam Levy) to beg Leontes for the life of Perdita and the subsequent clash between Leontes and his attendants set off palpable sparks on stage. Hall and his lighting designer create an almost otherworldly air to the proceedings, having moody, shadowy stage pictures match the dark and unpleasant goings-on on stage.
Things brighten considerably, literally and figuratively when we reach the woods of Bohemia where Perdita is found by shepards (after her attendant is killed by a bear -- the most famous line in the play is probably the stage direction that ends the act "He exits, pursued by a bear"). The world of Bohemia that Hall creates after intermission is one of whimsy, mischief and song. There's notably a very energetic musical number greeting the entrance of the rogue and petty thief Autolycus (clad in leather pants and fur vest) in which the ensemble accompanies him on drums, flute, guitar, trombone and other instruments (there are various musical interludes throughout that add greatly to the overall mood of the piece).
Hall does his usual superb job of controlling all of the elements and managing the many shifts in tone in keeping with an ever clear explication of the text. There's something enchanted, almost haunted about the final moments of this production, as if we'd all just been told a riveting ghost story enacted by ethereal spirits. The end, when Leontes is reunited with Perdita and his long presumed dead wife Hermione, it is usually staged as a happy and joyous moment of redemption and reconciliation which sends the audience home happy at the curtain. Here, Hall creates an ambiguity within that moment. All is not happy and well, the sins of the past may have been forgiven, but not forgotten and the future may be fine, but bittersweet. It's a bracing and slightly unsettling sentiment that actually completes the arc of the play in a more satisfying way than I've ever seen before.
In the hands of Hall and his sublime Propeller Company, in this WINTER'S TALE, there's melancholy in the air, along with a hint of magic. I anxiously await their return.
http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/a_winters_tale.htm
re: Margo on A Winter's Tale at BAM#1
Posted: 11/7/05 at 11:36amWas there a real bear, Margo? And by real, I mean a man in a bear suit. I've seen this twice--once at Utah Shakespeare Festival and once here in the city, and I just don't find it terribly compelling, but this sounds like an interesting production at least.
re: Margo on A Winter's Tale at BAM#2
Posted: 11/7/05 at 11:44am
Well, just as Antigonus flees the stage, a young actor downstage pulls out a teddy bear, which is then spotlighted -- a pretty funny joke that the audience appreciated.
It's a difficult and usually not very satisfying play, but this production made quite a convincing case for it being far more deep and entertaining than it's usually given credit for being.
re: Margo on A Winter's Tale at BAM#3
Posted: 11/7/05 at 11:58amNice touch, the teddy bear. I enjoyed reading the review, as always.
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