Digital Program

Welcome to Chicago Shakespeare Theater!

As CST celebrates our 40th Anniversary all season long, there is no more fitting way to mark the occasion than with two Shakespeare plays performed in repertory. Fourteen of Chicago’s finest actors take on multiple roles across the productions, showcasing the remarkable depth of talent and artistry in our city. We hope you’ll experience both productions, perhaps even in a single day.

One of Shakespeare’s final works, The Winter’s Tale was classified as a comedy in the First Folio, yet its moving exploration of love, jealousy, and forgiveness defies easy categorization. With an intricate story that leaps forward 16 years in its second act, the play invites us into a world transformed by time, loss, and the enduring possibility of renewal. A Midsummer Night’s Dream, written in the earlier part of Shakespeare’s career, also deals with jealousy, magic, angry fathers, and young love—but is written in a very different style. It has been a fascinating and joyful experience rehearsing these two masterpieces side by side. Listening to Shakespeare explore similar themes in such different ways, the plays have felt so different and yet so connected.

We hope that you will take the opportunity of exploring both plays with us whilst celebrating our Chicago Shakespeare Company in all their glory.

Thank you for your support and for being part of the joy that is live theater—

The performance runs 2 hours, 45 minutes (including intermission)

Audience Notice: As a courtesy to the artists and your fellow theatergoers, please turn off your cell phones and all other electronic devices. Photography, video, and audio recording are strictly prohibited during the show.

For your safety, we ask that you keep aisles and doorways clear. Please take a moment to check the nearest exit in case of an emergency. If you need to step out while the show is in progress, theater staff may ask you to wait in the lobby before re-entering, and it may not be to your original seat. If we can help accommodate you during your visit, please speak with our House Manager.

Synopsis

King Leontes of Sicilia is visited by his childhood friend, King Polixenes of Bohemia. Leontes suspects that his pregnant wife, Queen Hermione, has been unfaithful with Polixenes. Believing there is a plot against him, Leontes orders his advisor Camillo to poison Polixenes. Camillo warns Polixenes and they flee back to Bohemia. In a jealous rage, Leontes imprisons Hermione for treason and orders Antigonus to cast out her newborn daughter into the wilderness. After Hermione collapses at her trial, Paulina attacks a suddenly penitent Leontes and reports the Queen’s death. The ghost of Hermione visits Antigonus in a dream and tells him to name her baby Perdita and to leave her in Bohemia. Antigonus reluctantly obeys, only to meet a grisly end. A shepherd and his son discover the baby Perdita and raise her as their own.

Sixteen years later in Bohemia, Perdita has fallen in love with Polixenes’ son Florizel, who has disguised himself as a shepherd. Angry at his son’s desire to marry a lowly shepherdess, Polixenes cuts off Florizel from succession. Yearning to return home to Sicilia, Camillo helps Perdita and Florizel escape to Leontes’ court for a magical ending of reunion, reconciliation, and hope.

ARTISTS

Dan Haller

Lord / Young Shepherd

Esteban Ortiz-Villacorta

Florizel

Patty Roache

Lady / Mopsa