No one could ever accuse Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale of ever being short on plot—or characters, or bizarre elements, or tears, or laughter. This late tragicomedy-romance by the Bard is a kitchen-sink play that includes jealousy, betrayal, a trial, an abandoned baby, a time jump, a sheep-shearing festival, young lovers in disguise, a bear attack, and a statue that comes to life. That’s a lot of play for one night.
Thankfully, director Daniel Sullivan’s lush, starry production at the Delacorte wrestles this glorious beast into submission.
Star turns abound at the Delacorte
The Public’s production packages Shakespeare’s five acts into two with several distinct chapters. First, a toxic family drama. Then, a pastoral comedy set 16 years later. Finally, a redemption arc that involves a talking statue that forgives everyone. Somehow, Sullivan makes these jarring tonal shifts feel like a cohesive, breathless journey rather than theatrical whiplash.
Make no bones about it, for all its lush poetry, raucous comedy, and tearjerking moments, The Winter’s Tale is a strange play. Luckily, as presented, the only thing more absurd than the play’s plot is how absurdly talented the cast is.
Doing a yeoman’s job making the paranoid Leontes sympathetic, Raúl Esparza is gripping. Lily Rabe brings radiant grace to tragic heroine Hermione. As the play’s moral compass, Paulina, Marsha Stephanie Blake is fierce, funny, and the evening’s true standout. And Steven Skybell, Chuck Cooper, and Michael Khalid Karadsheh each deliver masterfully wonderful comic turns.
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At three and a half hours, The Winter’s Tale is a lot of work where willing suspension of disbelief and bladders will be pushed to the limit. Some stretches may test your patience (and bug repellent). But in a summer when dystopian AI dramas and gay soccer romps are dominating stages, it’s only fitting that Free Shakespeare in the Park offers something weirder, messier, and infinitely more human.
Under the stars, with the city humming beyond the trees, this absurd, sprawling, spectacular mess somehow feels exactly right and worth every minute.
Michael Khalid Karadsheh and Chuck Cooper in the 2026 Free Shakespeare in the Park production of ‘The Winter’s Tale.’ Photo by Joan Marcus.
Is ‘The Winter’s Tale’ worth seeing?
Daniel Sullivan’s production doesn’t so much solve Shakespeare’s strangest play as embrace its chaos, and the result is the most purely enjoyable three and a half hours you’ll spend in Central Park this summer.
- Delacorte Theatre, Central Park, New York City
- Notable performers: Raúl Esparza, Lily Rabe, Marsha Stephanie Blake
- Running time: Three hours and 30 minutes with one intermission
- Performances through August 23, 2026
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