Students infuse Shakespeare with pop rock in spring musical

“The Winter’s Tale: A Musical Adaptation” runs April 9-12 at EMU’s Lee Eshleman Studio Theater, with tickets on sale now!

EMU Theatre brings Shakespeare’s heartwarming tale of mystery and magic to life in an original musical, featuring hit songs from the ’80s and ’90s and dynamic choreographed dance numbers. “The Winter’s Tale: A Musical Adaptation” comes to the Lee Eshleman Studio Theater, with nightly shows at 7:30 p.m. from April 9-12.

Tickets for the show are on sale at emu.edu/theatre and will be available at the door, though seating inside the theater is limited and tickets have been known to sell out quickly. Tickets range from $6 for EMU and JMU students, $10 for children and other students, $18 for seniors (65+), and $20 for adults.

Content Warning: “The Winter’s Tale” contains adult content and mentions of violence. Recommended for ages 16 and up.

“The Winter’s Tale” follows two kingdoms torn apart by jealousy, a lost queen, and the love that may bring them back together. When Leontes, the tyrannical king of Sicilia (Elie Hoover), suspects his wife Hermione (Jubilee Soper) of unfaithfulness with Polixenes, king of Bohemia (Samuel Castaneda), he becomes so enraged that he orders her jailed and their infant daughter abandoned.

Sixteen years later, as the seasons shift from winter to spring, the story moves to Bohemia, where Leontes’ daughter, Perdita (Emilee White), is now grown and has captured the heart of Florizel (Kayden Beidler), the brash and dramatic son of Polixenes. Will their love be enough to reunite the two kingdoms?

Perhaps best known for the stage direction, “Exit, pursued by a bear,” this sweet and complex romance is written in Shakespeare’s signature iambic pentameter. But this adaptation adds a “nice little twist,” said guest director Haley Davis: a mix of 1980s and ’90s chart-toppers, personally selected by EMU’s talented student cast, woven throughout the play. It’s sure to have the whole audience singing along.

Frequent EMU Theatre collaborator Jim Clemens returns as music director, performing iconic rock ballads and pop rock songs on piano, while student Bryan Joya-Estrada, who also portrays the Shepherd, plays various instruments.

The costumes, designed by Rebecca Bailey, blend early modern and Renaissance elements with an ’80s and ’90s punk rock aesthetic, Davis said.

Rounding out the crew are Shannon Dove as technical director, Sierra Priest as choreographer, and Sarah Peak as stage manager.

The play will be performed in the round, with audience members seated on all sides of the raised stage and in the upper balcony.

“It’s more fun when you have the audience right there at your toes,” said Davis, an administrative-professional faculty member of James Madison University’s School of Theatre and Dance. “You can look up at the heavens or down at the earth, and you have people there to share the moment with.”

It was only after the audition process that it became clear to the production team which play to perform. “In a special way, this play was chosen based on the people rather than the other way around,” she said. “I found that this approach, coupled with the students musically adapting the play, gave the team unique agency in the story they wanted to tell.”

Beidler, who plays the roles of Florizel and Antigonus, said they love how collaborative the show has felt. “It was so fun helping pick the music, and it really feels like we’ve made this show ours,” they said.

Hoover, who portrays Leontes and Autolycus, said, “It’s fun getting to play characters who are both so different from each other and from me.”

One of the play’s most striking moments is when it travels over 16 years, transporting the characters from Sicilia to Bohemia, from a harsh winter to a forgiving spring. The shift has also felt meaningful for the students, who began rehearsals in winter and are gradually emerging into spring themselves.

“I want audiences to walk away with a sense of hope,” Davis said. “Things can look bleak and cold and scary, but there’s something better around the corner if we hold on and let time do what it needs to do.”

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Cast
Leontes/Autolycus — Elie Hoover
Hermione — Jubilee Soper
Mamillius/Perdita — Emilee White
Camillo — Erin Batten
Polixenes — Samuel Casteneda
Paulina — Elena Middlebrook
Florizel/Antigonus — Kayden Beidler
Shepherd/Officer — Bryan Joya-Estrada
Lord/Messenger — Kyah Young

Crew
Director — Haley Davis
Music Director — Jim Clemens
Technical Director — Shannon Dove
Costumer — Rebecca Bailey
Choreographer — Sierra Priest
Stage Manager — Sarah Peak