Sun warms ‘The Winter’s Tale’

The heavens continue their love of the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, as “The Winter’s Tale” opens the venue’s 31st season with sun-dappled assurance. Ellen Geer’s fluid, uncluttered revival of William Shakespeare’s enigmatic tragicomedy is engaging and representative.

Shakespeare culled his 1611 narrative from Robert Greene’s 1588 “Pandosto,” in which a king’s unfounded jealousy results in the death of his queen and son, the banishment of his daughter, near-incest and suicide. Thankfully, Shakespeare was ingenious at transforming sources as well as comprehending human nature. “The Winter’s Tale” swirls contradictory elements -- farcical and tragic, pastoral and political, romantic and spiritual -- into a unique masterpiece.

A gong blast from Time (Leslie Nia Lewis) introduces ancient Sicilia. Its ruler, Leontes (Jim LeFave), suspects his pregnant queen, Hermione (Melora Marshall), of infidelity with his lifelong friend, King Polixenes of Bohemia (Michael Sean McGuinness, alternating with Abner Genece).

Leontes’ irrational fears about Hermione’s unborn child encompass their son, Mamillius (Jack Wolcott, rotating with Jasmine Anthony and Leah Guttentag). The king ignores the sage counsel of Camillo (Ted Barton, alternating with William Hunt) and Antigonus and Paulina (David Stifel and Earnestine Phillips).

After the imprisoned Hermione bears a daughter, Perdita, a tribunal assembles. At the chilling pivotal moment, the Delphic oracle informs Leontes that he has profaned more than he knows. What follows is one of Shakespeare’s most devastating sequences.

A sad tale’s best for winter, though. As intermission approaches, the spring peeks through. An ancient Bohemian shepherd (Larry Gelman) and his clownish son (Jeff Wiesen) discover a royal bundle, left at the border by Antigonus before becoming a bear’s dinner.

Time skips 16 years for Act 2. Perdita (Willow Geer) has grown up with the sheep shearers, clueless about her lineage. Nor could she guess that her beloved Florizel (Jamison Driskill) is Polixenes’ runaway son.

Their intentions bring on disguised Bohemian nobles, frisky woolgatherers and the rogue Autolycus (Alan Blumenfeld). It ends with the poetry of forgiveness, in a regenerative finale both elated and moving.

Director Geer outdoes herself here, keeping characters and landscape in constant focus. “The Winter’s Tale” occupies the Sunday afternoon slot, and if daylight prohibits the last degree of grave worry, the open-air ambience is pure Globe Theatre.

This incomparable space needs no set designer. Charlotte Kruse dresses the Sicilians in diaphanous pastels that mix Greco-Roman, African and Asian details. Kim De Shazo puts the rhapsodizing Bohemians in raw-textured Renaissance attire that feels inventively authentic.

So does the entire beguiling cast.

LeFave makes an exemplary Leontes. His calm countenance veils profound fury, ironic humor and palpable remorse. This performance forms a buttress with Marshall’s Hermione, overwhelming at the trial, ethereal at the statuary ending.

McGuinness is superbly articulate as Polixenes, while Phillips’ fervent Paulina carries the moral compass along with Barton and Stifel, both excellent. Willow Geer’s chirping Botticelli appeal is perfect for Perdita, exuding amusing chemistry with Driskill’s reckless but charming fairy-tale prince. Gelman and Wiesen have a fool’s field day, and the capering Blumenfeld absconds with the audience.

In the current uncertain climate, it is wonderful to find the Botanicum’s legacy maintained with such unpretentious expertise. So goes this fleet-footed realization, and the iciest heart would melt in the warmth of its enchanting clarity.

*

‘The Winter’s Tale’

Where: Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga

When: Sundays, 3 p.m.

Ends: Sept. 26

Price: $8-$25

Contact: (310) 455-3723 or www.theatricum.com

Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes