I’m not exactly the biggest fan of Shakespeare so for me to go out of my way to review a Shakespeare play absolutely requires that it has a meaningful diverse cast with global majority actors in significant parts (with the director preferably being global majority as well).
It JUST happens to be that this is two for two that I’ve seen the Antaeus Theatre Company deliver another winner with their current production of The Winter’s Tale, which has been superbly directed by Elizabeth Swain.
The other was their fantastic Hamlet that I reviewed here, which was also directed by Swain. I’ve also realized that I apparently have never read or seen a comedic Shakespeare play because the events that happen in this play are so random, absurd, and chaotic that I was equally laughing my butt off while being utterly bewildered by what was occurring on stage.
When Leontes, King of Sicilia, falsely accuses his wife of an affair with his best friend he sets into motion a series of events that catapult two kingdoms into disarray in William Shakespeare’s sweeping romance of passion and forgiveness.
Brian Kim McCormick, Kaci Hamilton, JD Cullum,
Claire Simba, Shannon Lee Clair, Adam J. Smith
I must say this from the get-go that the first half before intermission was a slog to get through. This is by no fault of the director or the incredible ensemble cast but solely due to the lengthy amount of exposition the play plows through and thus I blame Shakespeare. I was informed that the production actually cut some scenes that were even more unnecessary and trivial so what remained was essential to the story and turn of events (thank goodness). That being said, there are some truly remarkable gems during this part.
Despite the very slow burn of the first half, Kaci Hamilton is absolutely riveting and heartbreaking as Hermione when great injustice falls upon her due to her husband’s ridiculous beliefs that she is cheating on him. By the end of Act III, things take a rather more heightened turn where a giant bear kills a character on-stage and giant sea creatures wreck a ship (told off-stage). I was told by a friend that this play is quite unstageable in what it depicts on text and I could see the beginning of that from this scene alone. (Don’t take my word too seriously though, I am no expert on Shakespeare).
Despite these difficulties of what the play presents and the limitations of a 99-seat black box theatre, this Antaeus production was able to make an imaginative usage of shadow puppetry with the bear and actually made him terrifying, that is, until the actor in costume got too close to the sheet and made him look like a giant Ewok running around on-stage. Ann Noble (shown in the left) did however deliver one hell of a monologue as Paulina, rightfully spitting fire (and more than likely saliva) on Adam J. Smith’s Leontes.
Once we get into Act IV after the show’s intermission, the pace picks up immensely after a random fantastical start to the scene where Time (shown in the right with Sabrina J. Liu) literally explains to the audience that years have passed. This is also where the comedy starts flying quite ferociously at such a chaotic pace and EVERYONE in the cast was up for the challenge to an enormous degree. There was not a single weak link in the cast and all were able to have their moments to shine. With the exception of four actors who play one main part, the other ten actors play multiple parts through the production that made their mark after Act III.
This play has many exposition scenes where things are explained rather than shown, which yes, was the norm for Shakespeare plays as the more fantastical scenes were told in this manner to make up for what little there was on stage to visibly present. But there is one particular scene that didn’t need such wordy exposition (it really didn’t) but Claire Simba, Brian Kim McCormick, and Catia Ojeda turned what would have been a rather boring scene into possibly one of the best scenes in the entire play. These three actors synced quite well together in turning exposition into an essential and absurd delight with their humor and gift of gab.
We need to talk about JD Cullum (shown on the right) and his Autolycus as it was like watching Mr. Mxyzptlk on stage in all his chaotic glory. For those who don’t know that Superman reference because you’re not a cool nerd like me, the character in this play is a mischievous and volatile rascal that has so many layers to him and Cullum tackles this extraordinarily challenging role with incredible wit, comedic timing, and depth. It’s a role I can see so many actors wishing to do but few who can succeed doing so. Cullum utterly and wholly demolished this part.
There’s usually an obligatory love story with a comedy and it is here that we have the romantic tale of Perdita and Florizel, performed beautifully by Shannon Lee Clair and Peter Mendoza respectively. They’re probably one of the more straight-forward characters in this madness of a play, which is greatly appreciated as not everything should be living in chaos.
If you love Shakespeare, comedies, and appreciate meaningful diversity on stage, then this fantastic production at Antaeus Theatre Company is for you. It must also be mentioned that there are no significant set pieces so like the olden times, the actors carry an enormous weight of making you believe the setting, which is helped greatly by the wonderful costume design of Carolyn Mazuca and the simple yet elegant scenic design done by Frederica Nascimento. It is also great to see Sabrina J. Liu, Catia Ojeda, and Brian Kim McCormick doing their very first professional Shakespeare production and to director Elizabeth Swain in giving global majority actors a chance to show the world what they are capable of.
The Winter’s Tale will be running till March 11 with performances on Saturdays 8pm, Sundays 2pm, and Mondays 8pm on February 26, March 4, and March 11. You can buy tickets here or by phone for their box office at 818.506.1983.
