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Cast
in order of appearance
Paulina, counselor to the throne of Sicilia,
and prologue: Carol Dapogny
Leontes, King of Sicilia: Bill Hammack
Hermione, Queen to Leontes: Liz Steele
Mamillius Prince of Sicilia: Dan Suarez
Polixenes, King of Bohemia: Joseph Petrolis
Camillo, a lord of Sicilia: Clark Schirle
Antigonus, a lord of Sicilia, husband to Paulina:
Bob Oliver
Lord of Sicilia: Joe Delaloye
Lord of Sicilia: Tom Palumbo
Servant to Mamillius: Gregg Valek
Emilia, a lady in waiting to Hermione:
Stephanie Robey
Lady in waiting: Stephanie Williams
Cleomones, a lord of Sicilia: John Mueller
Dion, a lord of Sicilia: Tim Feeney
Jailer: Mike Mallon
Juror: William FitzGerald
Juror: Marion J. Reis
Juror: George Petros
Juror: Rob Nardini
Mariner: Mike Mallon
Old Shepherd, reputed father of Perdita:
Joe Delaloye
Clown, his son: Gregg Valek
Time, a chorus: Carol Dapogny
Bear, a wild animal of Bohemia: Carol Dapogny
Perdita, daughter of Hermione:
Stephanie Abramowitz
Florizel, Prince of Bohemia: Rob Nardini
Autolycus, a rogue: William FitzGerald
Mopsa, a shepherdess: Stephanie Robey
Dorcas, a shepherdess: Stephanie Williams
Shepherd: John Mueller
Shepherd: Tim Feeney
Shepherd: Tom Palumbo
Dramaturg Notes
A Living Poetry by Betty Nelson
William Shakespeare is the creator of some of the richest and most
dense poetry in literature, leading some to claim he should be
preferably read (rather than performed or viewed). This assumption
forgets a critical aspect of his plays—that he was an actor writing
for other actors. Unlike the sonnets (which were published with his
guidance), most of Shakespeare’s plays existed for years only while
being performed. The stage is their natural home. They came of age as
words flowing from living characters not lines resting on the printed
page. Shakespeare depicted people in complicated detail. While
his contemporaries often populated plays with shallow, stock character
types, Shakespeare’s work teems with people of recognizable humanity—heroes
with tragic flaws, villains who provoke sympathy. The Winter’s Tale
is filled with them. Since it is one of Shakespeare’s last plays
(the only later play of which he was sole author is The Tempest), it
is logical to presume that the characters are purposely complex, much
as the juxtaposition of comedy and tragedy seems expressly designed to
permit a broad emotional range. Interestingly, many of the character
traits most important to the plot are distributed along gender lines.
In The Winter’s Tale, women display idealized characteristics, while
men struggle to overcome the flaws of court society—jealousy, pride,
social hierarchy. The men must learn to appreciate what they first
dismiss as weak—grace, honesty, loyalty, and truth—qualities
embodied by the women. Hermione embodies honesty and grace in the
tale. She is repeatedly described as the “good queen” by all in
the court (save her husband). Faced with false accusations, she
defends herself with purity, never directly blaming another. She
leaves Leontes with remarkable understatement instead of wrath:
“I never wished to see you sorry; now I trust I shall.” In fact,
Hermione’s goodness is so complete that Shakespeare literally places
her on a pedestal. Paulina, court counselor, is one of Shakespeare’s
strongest women. Like Hermione, she represents noble virtues,
particularly loyalty and truth. She defends her Queen not only to
courtiers, but to the King, even at risk of her own life. She stands
by the King, even though he has done wrong. She serves as his
conscience, even against his will. Conversely, Leontes is caught in a
web of self-deception. He compounds his jealousy (based on little more
than suspicion) by refusing to admit his error. In his rage, he
believes not only that his wife and friend are adulterous, but that
they are plotting his death. He refuses to give credence to the
testimony of those around him. He is trapped by his kingly authority.
It is Paulina’s work to soften him up, and it takes years. As
the other person injured by Leontes’ fury, Polixenes could defend
himself and Hermione. Instead, he flees the
conflict, leaving Hermione to her fate. Years later, his royal
pride throws him into a rage that threatens his son and Perdita. Like
Leontes, he is diminished by his anger, and it leads to a separation
from those he loves. When the men of The
Winter’s Tale learn to behave more like its women, the play’s
darkness begins to brighten. The glow of virtue lights the way for the
flawed men, granting them the chance to cast off their misbehavior. No
one is entirely perfect (indeed, the women practice their own
deceptions), but all discover the redemptive power of grace, honesty,
loyalty, truth. That is a poetry that
lives not on the page, but in life itself.
About the Play
Setting:
The kingdoms of Sicilia and Bohemia.
Synopsis:
Leontes, King of Sicilia, imagines that his wife, Hermione, is
committing adultery with his childhood friend Polixenes, King of
Bohemia. Leontes imprisons Hermione, who gives birth to a daughter.
Leontes has the baby abandoned in the wild. Thus Perdita is left in
Bohemia where she is discovered by a shepherd who raises her.
Meanwhile, the oracle at Delphi declares Hermione innocent and warns
Leontes that he is in danger of dying without an heir. His son’s
death follows, causing Hermione to collapse. Word is brought that
she, too, has died. Overcome by grief, Leontes becomes a recluse.
Sixteen years later, Perdita falls in love with Florizel, son of
Polixenes. When Polixenes forbids his son to marry a mere shepherd
girl, the lovers escape to Leontes’ court in Sicilia. A miraculous
reunion follows.
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The Winter’s Tale is based on a popular Elizabethan
prose romance—Pandosto: The Triumph of Time, written by Robert Greene
in 1592. Interestingly, Greene had earlier accused Shakespeare of
plagiarism and pomposity, writing that “this upstart crow, beautified
by our feathers,...supposes he is as well able to bombast out a
blank verse as the best of you.” The play’s first recorded performance
took place on May 15, 1611. It was restaged that November as The
Winter’s Night’s Tale. An instant success, it played at the courts
of Kings James I and Charles I, and at Queen Elizabeth II’s wedding.
There is no edition of The Winter’s Tale (or any of Shakespeare’s
plays) in the author’s hand. The initial printing was in the First
Folio, seven years after the playwright’s death. Though the folio
has very few stage directions, The Winter’s Tale is known for one
of Shakespeare’s most famous, “Exit, pursued by a bear.” The
play fell out of favor during the Restoration. In 1741, a production
was billed as the first in a century. David Garrick starred in his
own 1755 adaptation, Florizel and Perdita; the show cut Shakespeare’s
first three acts and imported the Sicilian court (and statue) to
Bohemia. In 1859, Ellen Terry played Mamillius in Charles Kean’s
production; 50 years later, she played Hermione. The
play has been adapted for at least six movies (three of them silent).
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Production Credits
Director, Tony Vezner
Stage Manager: Joel Nikoleit
Assistant Stage Manager: Stephanie Rychlowski
Costume Designer: Margaret Nikoleit
Costume Crew: Linda Auer, Sandra Buboltz,Amy Coons, Lori D’Asta,
Marcia Grohne, Terry Harrold, Martha Niles, Mary O’Dowd, Paulette
Sarussi, Julie Suarez, Jackie Weiher, Marilyn Weiher
Dramaturg: Betty Nelson
Lighting Designer: Scott Pillsbury
Lighting Crew: Tom Frohnapfel, Dick Jacoby, Peggy Jacoby,
Rick Pavia, Paul Roach, Mary Ellen Schutt, Rob Snyder
Makeup Designers: Catherine Bloomer, Laura Leonardo-Ownby
Makeup Crew: Peg Callaghan, Eileen Duban,
Charlie Egan, Ann Marie Hultgren, Pat Huth,
Julie Knoch, Betty Nelson, Christy Oberg
Properties Designer: Sue Turner
Properties Crew: Susan Kosiarek, Craig Mahlstedt, Julie Suarez
Set Designer: Tom Squillo
Set Construction Chair: Tom Squillo
Set Construction Crew: Mike Dekovic, Kirby Harris, Mike Huth,
Mike Janke, John Otto, Rick Pavia, Jane Stacy
Set Painting Chairs: Archie Benfield, Bill Rotz
Set Painting Crew: John Allen, Laura Michicich,
Elaine Pagels, Patricia Rafferty
Sound Designer: Martha Hogenboom
Sound Crew: Hedy Bosch
Production Box Office Chair: Sandy Squillo
Production Box Office Crew: Ruth Cekal, Barbara Lupo,
Jill Neely, Betty Nelson, Joan Roeder, Mary Ellen
Schutt, Mary Smith, Carol Suda, Virginia
Swinnen, Marilyn Wilson
Production Hospitality Chair: Megan Wells
Production Hospitality Bakers: Bonnie Hilton, Karen Holbert,
Kathleen Kusper
Production Hospitality Crew: Eileen Duban, Mike Huth,
Pat Huth, Bobby Otto, Claire Amy Shunk, Janette
Taft
Production House Manager Crew: Jack Calvert, Susan Cardamone,
George Dempsey, Jim Dutton, Peter Hilton,
Karen Holbert, Kevin McGrath, Jon Mills, Bill Wilson, Denny Wise
Production Lobby Photo Display: Marjorie Mason Heffernan,
Jane Stacy
Production Posters: Kathleen Kusper
Production Program Chairs: Marion J. Reis, Mary Ellen Schutt
Production Program Design: John Vilhauer
Production Publicity Chair: Ginny Richardson Production Technical
Director: Scott Pillsbury
Marketing and Managing Director: Jeffrey P. Arena
Director’s Note
My college mentor, Dr. Steve Schultz, often told the following story about
directing The Winter’s Tale for the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival in
Louisville. The festival offers free performances in an urban
amphitheater, attracting a diverse audience. One night at intermission,
Steve was on his way backstage when he was stopped by a homeless man. The
man knew that Steve was the director, and wanted to tell him that he found
the show “the most beautiful and sad play” he had ever seen. After
speaking with Steve, the homeless man ambled away from the amphitheater.
Steve called out to him that the play wasn’t finished, and that, in
fact, there was a very different type of ending waiting at the end of the
second half. The homeless man said he knew it was only intermission, but
that a local resident always handed out sandwiches from his back porch at
about this time and he couldn’t miss the chance to eat. Off he went.
Later, as Steve made his way to his seat in the audience, he saw the
homeless man sitting again in the front row. The man had passed up his
dinner to see how this magical play would work out. Later,
I worked on a production Steve directed for the University of
Louisville, and, oddly enough, for a production at the Kentucky
Shakespeare Festival. The play continues to hold the same level of
interest for me as it did for that homeless man Steve met years
ago. What is so appealing about The Winter’s Tale? Perhaps
it’s the play’s smorgasbord approach to entertainment. There
aren’t too many plays that have a singing pickpocket, dancing
shepherds, intervening Greek gods, a magic statue, a character whose
name is Clown, a prince and princess in love, a storm that sinks a
ship, and a bear. There’s enough magic and coincidence — both
happy and unhappy — to fill a child’s fairytale book. Maybe the
appeal lies in the play’s adept mixture of comedy and tragedy.
If The Winter’s Tale were a human being, it would
need to undergo treatment for multiple personality disorder. It is
probably best described not as a full-length play, but as two
Shakespearean one-act plays — the first tragedy and the second
comedy — tied together in a remarkable final scene. Or maybe it’s
the play’s message of faith, forgiveness and renewal. We all can
relate to that need for a second chance. In the end, working
on this show has been better than any sandwich. I would like to
thank the cast and crew for giving me the chance to work on this
magical piece of art, and Steve Schultz for first helping me see the
magic in theatre and particularly this play.
About the Author
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564, a year of
great plagues. The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he was
christened on April 26th. He was the eldest son of John Shakespeare, a
glover and bailiff, and Mary Arden, the daughter of a wealthy farmer. At
the age of eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway, who was eight years his
senior. They had three children, Susanna and the twins, Judith and Hamnet
(who died in childhood). Around 1587, Shakespeare left his family and
moved to London where he began an acting career with the Lord Chamberlain’s
Men. His earliest play, Henry VI, part one, was first performed in 1592.
The success of that play was followed by The Comedy of Errors, Richard
III, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Romeo and Juliet, a string of
crowd-pleasers that made him one of London’s most popular playwrights.
Though he bought a house in Stratford in 1597, he spent most of his time
in London. The next decade proved to be his most prolific; he created As
You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar,
Macbeth, and King Lear. In 1599, he became a shareholder in the Globe
Theatre. From that time on, the Globe served as the home for his acting
company, and they made the most of the playwright’s talents. In 1603,
the Lord Chamberlain’s Men were awarded a royal patent (a sign of
acceptance and prestige) becoming known as the King’s Men. Shakespeare’s
final plays, The Winter’s Tale, The Tempest, and Henry VIII were
produced between 1611 and 1613. At some point during 1610 (about the same
time that he wrote The Winter’s Tale), Shakespeare made Stratford his
permanent home, though he maintained business interests in London. He died
on April 23, 1616 at the age of 52. He is buried in Stratford Holy Trinity
Parish Church, where his grave is marked with a poem cursing anyone that
disturbs his bones, thus assuring his uninterrupted rest.
Acknowledgments:
Special thanks to Jan Mahlstedt for vocal coaching. We are
grateful to Dan Dowd, produce manager at Dominick’s of
Westchester, for donating the fresh herbs used in this production.
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