Shakespeare’s comedy “The Winter’s Tale” concludes a season of classics at Kelsey Theater. Shakespeare ‘70 presents the comedy on weekends from Friday, June 12, to Sunday, June 21. A comedic favorite, the play features love, jealousy, hidden identities, new beginnings, and a hungry bear. A reception with the cast and crew follows the opening night show on June 12.
King Leontes is not above petty jealousies and has the power to exact punishment on those he believes have wronged him. Along with elements of psychological drama, there are songs, dances, a shipwreck, a living statue, romance, and lovers torn apart. Shakespeare fans will find everything they could ask for in this five-act comedy that is ultimately a story of redemption and forgiveness.
Directed by Frank Erath and Janet Quartarone, the show’s cast includes Kyla Marie Mostello Donnelly of Newtown, Pennsylvania, as Paulina. Raised in West Windsor, Mostello Donnelly graduated from West Windsor-Plainsboro High School in 1993. She received a bachelor’s degree in English and theater from Vanderbilt University, and completed her MBA at Holy Family University. She is a vice president at BlackRock.
Mostello Donnelly has appeared at Kelsey as Cinderella’s Stepmother in “Into the Woods,” Mrs. Medlock in “The Secret Garden,” Kate Monster in “Avenue Q,” Sister Mary Amnesia in “Nunsense,” and Nancy in “Oliver.” Mostello Donnelly has also appeared on stage at Actors’ Net of Bucks County, Off Broadstreet Theater, Washington Crossing’s Open Air Theater, and Langhorne Players.
A highlight of the show features Nick James Andrejco, who has been on the Kelsey stage many times this season. He is playing several ensemble roles in the production. “One is the Second Lord, or Lord Bernardo for rehearsal sake,” he says. “The Second Lord is an informant for King Leontes King of Sicilia and a staunch supporter of Hermione the Queen of Sicilia. The other role I’m playing is the Mariner, a gruff scurvy mate who just wants to get the heck out of the wilds of Bohemia.”
He graduated from Mercer Community College in 2014 with an associate degree of fine arts in theater. Some of his favorite roles at Kelsey include portraying Nurse in “Romeo and Juliet,” Ned and Ben Weeks in “The Normal Heart,” Paul in “Hair,” Lady Bracknell in “The Importance of Being Ernest,” and Prospero in “The Tempest.”
The Winter’s Tale, Kelsey Theater, Mercer Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor. Comedy presented by Shakespeare ’70. Weekends Friday, June 12, through Sunday, June 21. $18. 609-570-3333. www.kelseytheatre.net.
