EXIT, PURSUED BY A BARD
Date: 06-15-2009, Monday
Section: BETTER LIVING
Edtion: All Editions
Romeo and Juliet and As You Like It may be better known than The Winters Tale, making the rounds of Bergen County parks as part of Hudson Shakespeare Companys summer touring season. But the smart money says that this dark, late-period comedy about jealousy and redemption may be the better piece of work.
Tuesday through June 30, Fort Lee and Hackensack
TELL ME MORE: A jealous king who imprisons his wife and tries to kill his friend for a crime of infidelity they didnt commit might not seem like a likely subject for a comedy any more than a play with "winter" in the title might seem to be a likely subject for an outdoor summer theater presentation. But The Winters Tale (1611), with its pastoral setting, is actually great warm-weather fare. As a study in jealousy, it is infinitely superior to Othello, according to playwright and critic George Bernard Shaw, who knew a thing or two. And The Winters Tale is also the source for two great bits of pop trivia: the infamous stage direction "Exit, pursued by a bear" and the character Hermione, inspiration for the "Harry Potter" heroine.
This is one of a summer of "mature comedies" that the 17-year-old touring group will be presenting. Others include "Troilus and Cressida" (July 7-25) and "The Merry Wives of Windsor" (Aug. 3-22).
QUOTE: "Calumny will sear virtue itself." Act 2, Scene 1
DETAILS: 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 23, June 30, Monument Park, Fort Lee; 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 24, Staib Park, Hackensack. See hudsonshakespeare.homestead.com.
