Black-and-white characters, happy or sad.

Milwaukee Shakespeare opened its 2005-2006 season with a production of “The Winter’s Tale,” directed by New York City’s Gia Forakis. One of Shakespeare’s later plays, it mixes comedic elements with dark, jealousy-driven tragedy, experimenting with drastic changes of time and place.

Leontes, king of Sicily, imprisons his pregnant wife Hermione and shortly thereafter abandons his newborn daughter early on, accusing the queen of being unfaithful with his good friend Polixenes, king of Bohemia.

While Polixenes, wrongfully charged, returns to Bohemia, Hermione dies of heartache and the king’s daughter is brought to Bohemia, where she grows up as Perdita, the shepard’s daughter.

Leontes realizes his mistakes and remains lonely and heartbroken in Sicily until he is rejoined with his daughter and old friend Polixenes. As the former friends and children tearfully rejoin, Paulina, lady of Sicily, reveals what is thought to be a statue of Hermione, who then resurrects and joins the crowd for an unexpected happy ending.

The production of this multi-layered tale is sharply divided into gloomy, dark Sicily and happy, bright, almost cartoonish Bohemia, where everyone can’t help but sing, dance and joke around.

Accompanying the heavily fate-driven characters in changes of location is time, represented by magical projections of planets and lights, whose all-knowing voice guides the audience and explains the complicated plot.

The visuals of the production create the fairytale effects necessary to enjoy the slightly overdramatic happenings on stage — which, although perfectly acted out, are little more than that: acting.

Leontes’ pain and anger are very vibrant and brutal, but seem disconnected and awkwardly sudden. Hermione is brave, accepting, yet rather lecturing before her death sentence.

The characters seem flawless but unreal, acting and reacting exactly as the audience might expect — black-and-white characters, happy or sad. Hermione’s resurrection, therefore, does not evoke relief and joy in the audience, but merely the return of an actor, giving continuity to his performance.

“The Winter’s Tale” is a different kind of play; a little crazy, a little experimental and very much driven by the typical elements of conflict: jealousy, fate, honor, forbidden love and tyranny.

This production, although entertaining, well-performed and beautifully equipped, leaves one wanting a deeper, more meaningful approach to these oh-so-relevant themes.

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