Shakespeare and jealousy: what went wron w the winter's tale?

Saw two shows yesterday at the Ashland Shakespeare Festival startin w the the terrific new play Vietgone by Qui Nguyen, an autobiographical account of how his parents fled the country at the fall of the government in 1975 leaving behind family and loved ones and how they met in a refugee camp and built a new life - an extraordinarily powerful, funny, entertaining, and moving ensemble piece for 5 multi-talented actors. Many surprises and I won't give any away but it will hold you rapt from prologue thru the final father son interaction. Other show was the winter's tale , a largely competent production that changed the sicilia to bohemian city- country dynamic to Asia - american west. This can work ok but would have been much better if they'd been more consistent about the west w true western costumes, music ,etc instead of the idiotic outfits the rustics wore. This is no doubt one of s's most weird and difficult plays with some terrific moments in first three acts, strange monologues Esp from the nearly insane leontes, high dramatic effect, the powerful trial scene - and then you have the interminable act iv w the insufferable autolycus and so many elements that make no sense dramatic or otherwise: above all Paulina about whom all I can say is nobody likes a told-you-so and her ridiculous statue scheme. The play is in part about tyranny and abuse of power and also about social class and seems to be heading in the right direction as King polixenes seems to recognize the beauty and loveliness of the peasant girl and thru metaphor argues for intermarriage of classes - but then he scorns her and she's not good enough for his son etc until alas! They find she too is of royal blood. Obviously s was working things out here that he would use to much better effect in the tempest. Have others noted btw that WT is like a replay of hamlet? If hamlet senior had the same suspicions as leontes he could have saved his life and there would have been no Hamlet.