Stage Review - The Winter’s Tale (Key City Public Theatre)

Stage Review - The Winter’s Tale
Presented By: Key City Public Theatre - Port Townsend, WA
Show Run: February 20 - March 16, 2025
Date Reviewed: Friday, February 21, 2025 (Opening Night)
Run Time: 2 Hours, 30 minutes (including 15 minute intermission)
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman

There’s an Italian word that describes the art of making complex tasks look simple. It depicts a level of skill applied by someone to an undertaking with such grace and naturalness that it appears simple to the observer. A person who exhibits this skill is called a sprezzatura, and it’s a rare thing to come across someone who can take something often considered difficult and make people question why it was ever described as such in the first place. Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale is one such work. Whether it’s the inconsistencies throughout time in how the play has been categorized, originally it was strictly considered a comedy but as years went by scholars re-examined the play and moved it into the romance space, or the fact that the first part of the play is heavy with psychological drama while the second is aligned with the comedy monicker and provides a happy ending. Prior to the opening night performance of The Winter’s Tale at Key City Public Theatre in Port Townsend this past Friday evening, I knew very little about the play, other than some pre-show research I did about its history, in which that word “difficult” or “problem” kept popping up. But when I walked out of the theatre that night, I wondered why anyone could call it either of those. Denise Winter’s adaptation of the play, which was first published in 1623, runs on stage through March 16 and is seamless, passionate, funny, and well-paced. It’s an adaptation that doesn’t just bring Shakespeare’s play into the 21st Century, it makes it accessible and yes, even fun. So, yes, in preparation for this review, I dug into why, exactly, The Winter’s Tale is considered a “problem play”, but the fact that Key City’s Executive Artistic Director was able to take it and make it feel anything but surely has to be precisely the definition of a sprezzatura.

Denise takes Shakespeare’s play, which he set in Sicily, and moves it to modern day Sonoma, in California wine country. Her kingdom is a winery in Napa Valley, and her characters are largely hedonistic, more likely to relax in a hot tub with their wine, or vape with their feet kicked up than do anything constructive. This modern adaptation doesn’t just take Shakespeare’s original text and place it in a modern setting, that’s something that’s been done, frankly, ad nauseum. No, Denise has taken it a step further, and added modern references and prop devices, keeping the poetic nature of the Bard’s writing, but making it feel new and fresh, and also relatable to younger audiences, by having the characters talk about emails and texts and other such modernities. She’s also made sure that anything to do with the locale in the text pinpoints the setting as wine country. It’s very craftily done, changes to the text fit in the rhythm of the original work, and none of the modernization that Denise has done takes away from the heart of the story. The story itself centers on two old friends, Leontes and Polixenes. Polixenes has come to Leontes’ winery to spend some time, which is where we see the party atmosphere of sorts, and after he’s stayed a bit, and is preparing to head home to his own vineyard, Leontes tries, but to no avail, to convince his friend to stay. Frustrated, Leontes asks his pregnant wife Hermione to try and convince Polixenes to stay, which she is able to do, but the ease at which she does is vexing to the host. Struck by a bit of paranoia, which soon turns delusional, Leontes is convinced that his friend is having an affair with his wife, so much so that he starts to question whether the child his wife is carrying is actually his. The sequence of events that this initiates includes an attempted murder, more than one banishment, and a descent into lunacy that could compete with Macbeth’s, just less bloody. And that’s all before intermission. After intermission, time moves ahead 19 years, as opposed to Shakespeare’s 16, and it’s in this part of the play that Denise takes the most liberties, and where the tension and drama of her Act 1 is balanced by the humor and fun of Act 2. Those that have been exiled return to Leontes’ vineyard at the beginning of Act 2, but it looks different. There’s a Renaissance Faire going on, complete with a Karaoke dance party. The addition of this probably makes the play run longer than it normally would, it clocks in at about two and a half hours, including its intermission, but this scene is so enjoyable, and it fits right in with the thematic elements of the play, even with the drama in Act 1, it seems to follow that the generally hedonistic behavior of the “citizens” of the vineyard would include a fun Karaoke dance party. From start to finish, this adaptation of The Winter’s Tale flows very well, it’s engaging, and it’s the most fun I’ve had with Shakespeare in a long time.

The thematic elements aren’t just described in the text, but they’re physically displayed on stage as well. Denise is also the director of the play, and the vision she has is weaved into all of the design aspects of this production. Katie Oman’s set design looks a lot like a winery, at first glance it seems like where tastings happen, or where wineries place areas to sit and relax, that is until the play begins and some of the characters hop into the hot tub or kick back on a settee with a glass of wine. Between Katie’s work and that of scenic artist Michelle Cesmat, the landscape of the set, for the small space that is Key City, really does resemble the rolling hills of Napa Valley, and the murals that are designed to look like tiles are a very nice touch. Adding to the outdoorsy feel to the scenic design is Karen Anderson’s lighting, which subtly changes from day to night and then to day again, while also providing key emotional substance to the Act 1 climax. On the sound side, there’s standout work here from Dalin Costello. At the beginning of the play, light and sound help set the mood for the debauchery that is happening at the winery, while it’s up to Dalin to make sure that the Karaoke scene sounds like a nightclub inside the Key City theatre space. The Winter’s Tale production quality is at least equal to the level I’ve become accustomed to at Key City, in the way that the creative elements feel like an extension of the storytelling, and that along with that actors make the stories truly three dimensional. It’s a superb level of consistency.

The last component of Denise’s adaptation is around the cast, specifically the size of the group. Most casts in more standard productions of The Winter’s Tale feature over 20 actors. Denise has whittled down the group to just eight actors, with only one playing two characters. But again, while the cast size in this production is smaller, in no way does it take away from the story, in fact it focuses the storytelling, and further draws the audience’s attention to the actors’ performances. Denise has cast a number of Key City regulars in the show, actors she had in mind when writing the adaptation, which makes sense because, to a person, each actor is perfectly cast for their parts. Geoffery Simmons and Brendan Chambers are Leontes and Polixenes, while Rosaletta Curry is Leontes’ pregnant wife Hermione. Andrew Yabroff, the one actor making his Key City debut, plays Camillo, one of Leontes’ employees, who is ordered by his boss to “take care” of his old friend, who he suspects is having an affair with his wife. Meanwhile, Kat Agudo plays Paulina, loyal friend to Hermione, who plays an important part in the story after the baby is born, Bry Kifolo plays Florizell, who comes into Act 2 with Perdito, played by Gabs Nathanson, who also plays Mamillius in Act 1, son of Leontes and Hermione. Finally, D.D. Wigley plays Time, an interesting character whose only responsibility is to announce at the beginning of Act 2 that 19 years has passed since the concluding events of Act 1. It’s a small part, but humorous and poetically delivered, D.D. certainly makes the most of her short time on stage.

There are excellent performances across the board in this group, but none better than Geoffery’s as Leontes. His delivery is big and bold, friendly and welcoming at first, but when he begins his descent into paranoia after he suspects his wife and his friend are having an affair, his demeanor most certainly changes, it’s like a crescendo building in emotion and intensity until its climax at the end of Act 1, when Leontes’ paranoia is met with the reality of heartbreak. There’s a low, steady roar to Geoffrey’s voice, layered with a whisper, but when he cracks, boy does he, and nothing is held back. His is one of the most impassioned and intense performances of the season, and the way it builds in ferocity is a display of his excellence as an actor. Rosaletta has the opportunity to show her ability in delivering an emotional and passionate scene as well with Geoffrey’s Leontes, defending Hermione’s faithfulness and devotion to her husband. It’s a nice scene, fantastic in its raw emotion from both actors, but one that at the same time shows the extent of Leontes’ madness and the frustration Hermione, and it seems everyone else around her husband has, at dealing with his paranoia. A quick note here on Corinne Elysse Adams' costume work, which is so good here. I love the casual look of all of the costumes, a cross-polination between casual Napa Valley and Island wear. Specifically, I like Leontes’ casual white, but more than anything I appreciate the realistic post pregnancy wear that Hermione wears, mostly loose fitting sweats. It all fits the mood of the piece and the rest of the thematic elements, very nice work.

While Hermione can’t do much about Leontes’ paranoia, Camillo can. He can turn around and tell Polixenes what his old friend has planned, so that he’s ready for it. Andrew Yabroff portrays one of the most fun characters in the play, his Camillo is extremely fun, and Andrew is wonderful as the nervous and jittery employee turned Sonoma escapee. He and Brendan Chambers’ Polixenes work very well together, too, especially in the play’s second act and their happening upon the Sonora Renaissance Faire. Upon arriving at the Ren Faire, they come across a familiar face from 19 years previous, Paulina, the strong-willed advocate and good friend of Hermione. Paulina’s character in Act 1 has more of a serious turn, though some of her inclinations are foreshadowed in the early scenes where she seems like she’d be the first one into the hot tub with her wine and the last one out. In Act 2, she’s the host of the Ren Faire, and as such the master of ceremonies of the karaoke party. And it is quite the party she leads. Kat Agudo as Paulina plays both sides of the Paulina coin wonderfully, the serious side in Act 1 and the sexy, overly outgoing party host in Act 2. In a second act that really makes this adaptation work, it’s Kat that drives this bridge between the dramatic and comedic. It’s probably not a version of Paulina that Shakespeare would have imagined, but it’s the kind that has helped keep his plays fresh for generations. The stars of the Ren Faire, though, are unlikely couple Florizell and Perdito. Bry Kifolo plays Florizell, daughter of Polixenes, and the reason that he shows up back in Sonoma in disguise in Act 2, while Perdito is of unknown origin, at least at first. Perdito is played by Gabs Nathanson, who also plays Mamillius in Act 1, two completely different characters, the latter rather rebellious and the former more stoic and kind. Like Kat and her two versions of Paulina, Gabs does very well with these two polar opposite characterizations, while Bry, who the audience only sees in Act 2, is a fun Florizell, and a little rebellious in her own right. I like the way that Denise has created a version of The Winter’s Tale that focuses on individual characters, allowing for some stellar performances, while at the same time allowing this ensemble to shine,

The Winter’s Tale has been called many things, a romance, a comedy, and a psychological drama to name a few, and it’s also been considered a difficult, or problem play. At Key City Public Theatre, what others see as a risky play worth avoiding, Executive Artistic Director Denise Winter views as a challenge. By taking this classic play and combining all of the romance, comedy, and dramatic aspects of the original, then modernizing and simplifying it, what Denise has done has seemingly made the difficult look simple. This is an expertly constructed adaptation, it’s emotional, dramatic, funny, and fun, and features an outstanding cast led by an absolutely stellar performance from Geoffery Simmons. If you think you know The Winter’s Tale and feel that it is chaotic and without a clear identity, or have stayed away from it for any reason, this is an adaptation that you’ll want to see, it’ll most definitely change your mind, a clear example of making the difficult look easy, an adaptation from a genuine sprezzatura.

Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, adapted and directed by Denise Winter, runs on stage at Key City Public Theatre in Port Townsend through March 16. For more information, including ticket availability and sales, visit https://keycitypublictheatre.org/.

Photo credit: Mel Carter