MSU English professor offers a modern twist on a Shakespearean classic

“Exit, pursued by a bear”is widely regarded by both scholars and casual readers as one of Shakespeare's most famous stage directions. This line comes from the play “A Winter’s Tale,” a comedic tragedy that was originally published in 1623.

Gretchen Minton, English professor and Shakespearean scholar, recently wrote a modern retelling of this play. Her rendition, titled “No Winter’s Tale,” focuses on the impact of climate change.

“I wanted to talk about warming winters, the disappearance of snowpack and its impact — losing snowpack, having floods, rain on snow and all that,” Minton said. “What [it] does to everything from the animals, to the trees, to the ski industry, [to] the human side and then its eventual downstream effect on food security.”

Minton said she chose “A Winter’s Tale” not only because of its name, but because of how the play is structured.

“[My retelling is] divided pretty radically into two parts — as is Shakespeare's [original] play — and I took that model of the first half [being], really, about tragedy, and the second half is about renewal and regrowth, reconciliation and the coming back together of families,” Minton said.

In “No Winter’s Tale,” the first act follows a couple that owns a ski resort. The husband is focused on counteracting the shrinking snowpack by making artificial snow, while the wife — a snow scientist — tries to convince him it won’t work.

“The husband becomes really jealous of another climate scientist who is a friend of theirs, and he accuses [his wife] of terrible stuff,” Minton said. “They have a teenage son, but she is also pregnant with their unborn daughter and bad things happen at the end of the first half.”

Minton said she did not want to spoil parts of the play, but offered a bit of insight into what happens in the second half.

“In Shakespeare’s play, the main character denies an oracle from Apollo, and in my play, bad things happen when you deny scientific research,” she said.

Additionally, Minton said a bear — based on bear 399 from Grand Teton National Park —- plays a major role in the second half.

According to the Grand Teton National Park Foundation, bear 399 was a grizzly bear that became well known for being the most photographed bear in the world and for giving birth to 18 cubs, with eight cubs successfully reaching adulthood. 399 died in October 2024 after being struck by a car.

“[Bear 399 is] a mama bear,” Minton said. I thought of that before she died; she was already my bear. When she died a year ago, I was particularly crushed.”

Minton said that the bear and a character named Time have conversations throughout the play.

“In my world, the bear is not a dangerous predator, but instead a real animal who provides ecological wisdom,” she said.

Minton said she chose to adapt the play in an effort to help solve the climate crisis.

“I think we need some stories that give us avenues for community, strength, rebuilding, towards a more hopeful future,” she said. “If there’s one thing I want us all to think about, especially young people, is that there is no reason to give up or to think that we are out of options.”

“No Winter’s Tale” will be shown in the Black Box Theater on Nov. 7 at 7:30 p.m. To learn more, visit https://www.gretchenminton.com/.