THE WINTER’S TALE
“There is not a gimmick to be found in the WorkShop Theater Company’s smart, engaging, and emotionally rewarding production. Instead, director Ryan Lee and the outstanding company have taken to heart the bard’s own admonition, used in a different context in Hamlet, that “the play’s the thing”… It just goes to show you what can happen when all involved trust the playwright. They imbue their collective work with all eyes on the singular goal of painting pictures through the magic of language rather than filling the stage with visual ruffles and flourishes…Everything about this production is a pleasure, from the intimacy of the performance space, to the clarity of the language, to the strong and committed performances by the entire cast…This production of The Winter’s Tale is truly a standout in this season of Shakespeare and one of the reasons I love Off Off Broadway!”
- Talkin’ Broadway
“Mr. Lee and his fine group of actors succeed in making the experience of watching a 400-year-old play written in verse both intimate and immediate.”
REVIEWS (DIRECTING)
“This production…captures its life-enhancing message of rebirth and redemption. It's not the slickness of this production that will impress you. It's Shakespeare done with utter simplicitythat unlocks the play's magic…Ryan Lee briskly directs and makes many good choices, particularly in his casting…Lee conjures up the sheep-shearing feast scene of Act 4 with much exuberance and vitality. It's not the lavish decor that is mesmerizing but the joie de vivre that Lee generates....Whereas other directors have done this bucolic scene quite winkingly... Lee orchestrates it with no satiric twist--and it comes across right as rain."
- Curtain Up
“Ryan Lee’s direction successfully portrays the Sicilian barrenness that opposes Bohemia’s chaotic innocence...The whole cast does a marvelous job of juggling the two opposites of Sicilia and Bohemia...This production of The Winter’s Tale turns the bleakness of a tragic winter into the vibrant sensuality of spring.”
- Juan Recondo, Off-Off Online
LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST
"Talented cast wrings lots of laughs...
under the agile hand of director
Ryan Lee….sometimes audacious,
sometimes celestial and downright crass…."
- Los Angeles Times (CRITICS CHOICE)
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A COMEDY OF ERRORS
"The best theatrical production of the season."
- Ventura County Star
A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE
“A riveting interpretation….
a dramatic one-two punch.”
Broadway World Awards
Nominated - Best Actor
