Three scenes and 60 minutes later, Freehold Theatre’s take on select scenes from The Winter’s Tale, directed by Robin Lynn Smith, left me awestruck. Boasting the best cast and production value of the Seattle summer Shakespeare season, Freehold’s decision to greatly reduce the content of Shakespeare’s play is a frustrating decision, but what’s there is wonderful.
The production describes three scenes from the play: Polixines and Leontes’ falling out over Leontes’ wife Hermione, the casting out of Leontes’ child Perdita, and her interrupted marriage to Florizel by his father Polixines. Each scene represents a dramatic turning point in the action, and the cast fully embodies characters who often appear only for a few minutes within Freehold’s structured adaptation. Polixines, played by Avery Clark, and Leontes, played by Sylvester Kamara, are particularly fantastic, although this is at least in part due to their comparatively lengthy time on stage.
The first excellent decision on the choice of the company is their inclusion of live music, produced by Annie Ford and Valerie Holt from compositions by Composer Gino Yevdjevich. This immediacy removes the need for tinny music cues and enhances the fluidity of the scenes. This fluidity is further aided by three choreographers: Fight Choreographer Kerry Skalsky, Dance Choreographer Hannah Morin, and, critically, the Movement Director Vanessa Skantze. The fight between Polixines and Florizel is viscerally thrilling, while the dancing and carefully specific blocking further the production as a perfectly calibrated machine, without a note out of place.
Again, the abbreviation is the production’s major fault, especially as it is accompanied by a workshop that drew little interest from the audience, taking up the last 30 of the show’s 90 minutes. It would be amazing to see what this company could do with a fuller adaptation, but what’s there is a fantastic bit of theater in its own right.
Freehold Theatre’s productions are free; for more information on their summer tour schedule, go to https://www.freeholdtheatre.org/events/2018/07/18/engaged-theatre-summer-tour.