Shakespeare Festival St. Louis Announces Spring Show

Written in approximately 1610, The Winter's Tale is considered to be one of a group of Shakespeare's plays that are vaguely defined by their tragic undertones and simultaneous use of straightforward comic situations. Other plays in this category include Measure for Measure, The Merchant of Venice, Troilus & Cressida, All's Well that Ends Well, and Timon of Athens. While this is the first time the Festival will be featuring this play as its mainstage show in Forest Park, The Winter's Tale was adapted for the 2013 Shakespeare in the Streets production Old Hearts Fresh, written by Festival playwright Nancy Bell and performed in The Grove.

"The Winter's Tale has sometimes been classified as a comedy simply because it has a happy ending, but I like to consider it a romance," said Rick Dildine, artistic and executive director of Shakespeare Festival St. Louis. "The first half of the play is very psychological but the last half is uplifting, transformative and hopeful. Moments of magic and redemption give us a story of love and forgiveness. Our audiences have fallen in love with our approach to storytelling in Forest Park, and for the first time, the Saint Louis Zoo won't be the only place you can see a bear next June."

Award-winning director Bruce Longworth will direct the production. He previously directed Henry V (2014), Othello (2012), and Hamlet (2010). Longworth has been the associate artistic director of Shakespeare Festival St. Louis since 2013.

"The Winter's Tale is, hands down, one of my favorite plays, and I'm so happy to have the opportunity to direct it for the Festival," Longworth said. "By turns frightening and funny, tragic and touching, it is a testimony to the transformative power of redemption, faith and forgiveness. It is human to the core, and thank heaven for that."

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