Lily Rabe Brings Summer Magic to Shakespeare’s ‘Winter’s Tale’

In the darkest scene in “The Winter’s Tale,” a queen falsely accused of infidelity by her king is tried for treason. Having been stripped not only of her freedom but of their newborn child, Hermione stands her ground. “Tell me what blessings I have here alive,” she charges Leontes, “that I should fear to die?”The question is contained in a monologue that’s at once desperate and defiant, illustrating a regal dignity along with the despair of a wife and mother who has been wronged to an unimaginable extent. Happily, in the Public Theater’s new production of “Tale,” now being presented at the Delacorte Theater as part of its Shakespeare in the Park series, Hermione is played, superbly, by Lily Rabe, one of the Bard’s greatest living interpreters.Better still, this staging is directed by Daniel Sullivan, whose many triumphs with the Public and on Broadway include several that have teamed him with Ms. Rabe. Perhaps most famously, the two collaborated on a glorious “The Merchant of Venice” that transferred from the Delacorte to the Broadhurst Theatre back in 2010, starring Al Pacino as Shylock and Ms. Rabe as Portia.For his new take on Shakespeare’s late romance, Mr. Sullivan has surrounded his leading lady with an assembly of top-notch actors, starting with Raúl Esparza, whom the director previously guided alongside Ms. Rabe in a production of the similarly genre-blurring “Cymbeline” at this outdoor venue. As “Tale” progresses on its own course from jealous betrayal and tragedy to comedy and redemption, Mr. Esparza’s Leontes and Ms. Rabe’s Hermione anchor a production that remains enchanting and exhilarating throughout its three hours (excluding an intermission).Lily Rabe and Raúl Esparza in ‘The Winter’s Tale.’ Joan MarcusHermione, while not the most physically prominent of heroines — she appears to die in the second scene of Act Three and isn’t seen again until late in the fifth and final act — is a fine showcase for the robust intelligence, grace, and wit that have made Ms. Rabe as supple a stage actor as any in her generation. Leontes, who reigns over Sicilia, gets both more time on stage and lines that can invite more comedic punch, and the slightly older Mr. Esparza takes full advantage of both, sustaining a charismatic presence and bringing increasing poignance to the role as it’s demanded.There’s not a single dud in the company, but standouts include Chuck Cooper, exuberant and touching as an old shepherd who rescues Leontes and Hermione’s exiled baby daughter, Perdita, after a shipwreck leaves her abandoned on the coast of Bohemia; and another highly regarded veteran, Steven Skybell, who brings a witty gravitas to Antigonus, a Sicilian lord who is killed by a bear while trying to protect Perdita, and is then spryly funny as Autolycus, a trickster and rogue.Among the younger players, Michael Khalid Karadsheh lends a winning, deadpan drollness to the shepherd’s patsy of a son, who becomes easy prey for Autolycus, while Isabela Ferrer and Daniel Kyri make a lovely, charming couple as, respectively, the teenaged Perdita and the Bohemian prince, Florizel, whose father, Polixenes — played by a vigorous, elegant Gilbert Owuor — was Leontes’s dear friend before the Sicilian king came to suspect him of fathering Perdita.Mr. Sullivan’s design team proves as adroit as his cast, and as capable of mining the magic that infuses “Tale.” For Sicilia, Maruti Evans has fashioned a stark, icily forbidding landscape, against which Linda Cho’s costumes, many in bright or otherwise striking shades of purple and blue, offer a sharp contrast without detracting from the chilliness. There are softer, warmer hues for the scenes that unfold in Bohemia, and the characters based there, and Mr. Evans provides a garden setting that’s as lush as the other is bleak.Tom Kitt’s incidental music, played by an excellent quartet consisting of a keyboardist and strings, is by turns plaintive, suspenseful, and frantic, while also capturing the sheer sense of wonder that makes “The Winter’s Tale,” when well told, a delight in any season. This version only runs through August 23, so get your free tickets while you can.

Lily Rabe Brings Summer Magic to Shakespeare’s ‘Winter’s Tale’

Lily Rabe Brings Summer Magic to Shakespeare’s ‘Winter’s Tale’

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