“A Shakespearean romance comes to New York,” by Robert Steven Mack

“A Shakespearean romance comes to New York,” by Robert Steven Mack

William Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, published in the First Folio in 1623, is known by scholars as a “problem play” because it cannot be categorized easily. A surprisingly dark first act gives way to a happy ending, and almost-realistic human drama is paired with surprising bits of fantasy. For generations, scholars placed the play in the “comedy” category. Now, scholars call it a “romance,” enjoying the company of the Bard’s elegiacal The T…