Opening on Friday, February 20, The Merced Multicultural Center in downtown presented a spectacular rendition of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale.
With a very tragic beginning to the play, beginning to the play, the actors displayed a mix of sorrow, frustration and stress as they represented the traits of their given characters. As the play transitioned from one detrimental scene to another, the scenery changed as well. The alterations in lighting, decorations, sound effects and music were presented on cue, paralleling the circumstances of every scene.
In addition to the diversity in the scenery of the play, the cast itself consisted of a very diverse group of individuals.
Director and Professor at the University of California, Merced, Katherine Brokaw, delightfully comments, “The Winter’s Tale is my favorite play, and it’s been a thrill to bring it to life with a talented group of people, including many UCM faculty and students.”
Commenting on the actors’ vast diversity, Brokaw adds, “I also love watching the many generations in our cast. We have 6 year olds, college students, and adults up to their 70s, and that’s a wonderful thing to see in a play that’s so much about generational difference.”
Although the first half of the play had the characters expressing much sorrow, anger and grief, the second half, after intermission, was introduced with uplifting, live music. From an acoustic guitar, to a flute, saxophone and drums, the room was filled with cheery tunes.
Brokaw said, “The most beautiful thing to me has been watching the cast fall in love with this powerful story of forgiveness and redemption…It’s a terrifically compelling story, but also our production is filled with live renditions of fun 1960s music and dancing.”
Jessica V. Garcia
Staff Writer
jgarcia64@ucmerced.edu
Image credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Winter’s_Tale