Melding tragedy, comedy, and romance into one, “The Winter’s Tale” is the story of a king mad with envy that escalates until the queen’s statue comes to life. The students take center stage, and it is their interpretation of the characters and their mastery of emotions that ultimately reveals the weight and nuance of forgiveness. 

On the weekends of Feb.23 and March 1, the Washington University Performing Arts Department (PAD) put on a production of Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale,” directed by William Whitaker, professor of practice in drama. I went Sunday afternoon on March 3, excited to try something new, but without knowing what to expect — I can’t remember the last time I saw a Shakespeare play in person. The show was in Edison Theater, free for all WashU students.

S From the start, the audience was roped into the story by the ravings of King Leontes of Sicilia, played by sophomore Tristan Dumas. Leontes believes his Queen Hermione, played by junior Ella Sherlock, has had an affair with Polixenes, a childhood friend and king of Bohemia, played by senior John Noonan. With intense dialogue and emotions running high, I could already tell there would be no lack of drama. What I did not see coming was how many different forms this excitement took.

As the play continued, the narrative changed dramatically. Suddenly, the story transitioned from a queen dying of heartbreak to sheep-shearing jigs — I had to smile at how the cast could roll with the punches and lean into the chaos. 

Overall, the plot twists added to the engagement, and any confusion was made up for with hilariously timed line delivery. Even later, when heavy dialogue was required to reveal character motivations, powerful execution by the actors prevented any chance of monotony. 

Junior Hope McKinney recounted her experience of playing Hermione’s loyal and strong-willed lady-in-waiting, Paulina. Specifically, she recounted a memorable scene where she was asked to deliver a piercing scream.

“It felt so good, not just for me, but for the energy I needed to bring into the scene, and when I’d gone backstage to several shocked questions of ‘Was that you?’ it instantly became my favorite part of the show.”

McKinney elaborated on how she wanted the performances to reach the audience. “Honestly, I’m not a big believer in ‘intended experience’ for any medium of art. I think, really, if ‘Winter’s Tale’ as a production is doing its job, then all it has to do is move you,” McKinney said.

With all the hallmarks of a good 17th century tale, there was a well-intentioned advisor, a few loyal noblemen, and a forbidden romance. As freshman Zachary Nowacek, who played the rogue Autolycus, put it, there were also a few “unserious elements.” Remarkably, a rave illuminated by strobe lights at the sheep-shearing and a parody of the Black Eyed Peas’ “My Humps” sung by Nowacek’s character both added a modern twist, lightening the mood and starkly contrasting the darker themes of the play. 

“[It’s] an important piece of interpretive work [when] you can use the story and tell it a little bit differently for an audience who understands the aspects of the story that are outdated,” Nowaceck said.

Song parodies and audience engagement were fitting additions to a play that already “defies categorization,” according to the PAD’s description of the show. Even after shortening the original text by 30%, the production was just around three hours, but these efforts to keep the audience engaged made up for it. At one point, the audience itself was informed to rise for the king, and naturally, members did as told!

Depicting nobility in the somber time of a king’s madness, the stage was first littered with greyscale and gold-lined outfits. Notably, a puppeteered, life-sized bear costume with glowing red eyes meshed the terrifying and the playful, hilariously chasing Lord Antigonus to later tear him apart. In the later acts, an entirely new story full of romance was seamlessly complemented by the colorful, flowery outfits that forbidden lovers Perdita and Florizel matched in, played by seniors Ava Morgan and Peter Michalski.

After so many triumphs near the end, the play concludes with Leontes offering a hand to Hermione, only to get brushed off. At first, the lack of closure was jarring — I completely expected the storybook ending of king and queen reunited. Instead, I was brought back to reality. Hemione’s son is dead, and for a long time, her daughter was estranged. If this was real life, she probably wouldn’t be ready to grant forgiveness.

Dumas explained that this ending was a creative decision made to show that all may not have been forgiven. Although the original script simply ends with the direction [Exeunt], meaning all characters leave the stage, their interpretation aimed for a more contemporary ending.

“I think that what I really want people to get from it is that not everything is black-and-white,” Dumas said. “In a modern telling, not all would be okay.”

Although I am someone less familiar with Shakespeare, it was still easy to appreciate the significant undertaking that was “The Winter’s Tale.” This production shone through its cast and crew’s attention to detail and love of storytelling.