Fun and humor reign in 'Winter's Tale'

PROVO — With the snow and cold creeping up on Utah these days, now seems the ideal time for a production of Shakespeare's tragicomedy "The Winter's Tale." As a twist, though, in this Brigham Young University production it seems someone thought the phrase "Yukon, Ho!" sounded Shakespearean and decided to stage the play in the Yukon territory of the 19th century.

The story begins with King Leontes (Reese Purser) of Sicilia (the Yukon in this production) trying to persuade his friend King Polixenes (Moronai Kanekoa) of Bohemia (sunny northern California) to extend his visit a little longer. Polixenes finally relents when Leontes' wife, Hermione (Bryn Fairclough), persuades him to stay. Leontes immediately becomes suspicious that his wife and Polixenes are making a "cuckold" of him, as it were, and that possibly the child Hermione is carrying isn't his at all.

Leontes so thoroughly convinces himself of this perceived adultery that he tries to have Polixenes killed and throws Hermione in jail. Hermione gives birth to a baby girl in jail, but Leontes commands the child be taken to a desert and abandoned.

Word comes back from the Oracle at Delphi (which might seem strange referencing Greek mythology in the Yukon, but having the oracle in 17th century Sicilia isn't exactly normal either) that exonerates Hermione and Polixenes. The Oracle also predicts the death of Leontes and Hermione's son. After Leontes does die, Hermione dies, too, (although this point is up for debate). Far away in Bohemia a shepherd takes in the abandoned baby girl, Perdita.

As the first half is tragic, the second half is light-hearted. It is 16 years later, and the young Perdita (Jennifer Leigh) has caught the eye of Polixenes' son, Florizel (Matthew Haws). Many jokes are made, disguises are worn and love is thwarted for a short time As with any good comedy, everything comes together in the end, and Leontes is given a chance for redemption.

Purser is something to behold in the first three acts as he drives himself mad. Billy Gunn also is great as the conflicted Camillo. The women are given ample chance to dig at Leontes, and Fairclough and Lisa Allen as Paulina rise to the occasion.

The fun and humor of the final two acts ride on the able shoulders of Peter Biggs, Benjamin Sansom and Celeste Barrand. They each have some laugh-out-loud moments, and all play off of each other nicely. Barrand especially milks the most out of her character, the roguish pickpocket Autolycus (a role usually played by a man).