Through Sun 4/7
William Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, now at the Hanna Theatre, featured Sir John Falstaff, an oft-drunk, always clownish, would-be womanizer. His scenes provided comic relief in Shakespeare’s Serious (and grim) dramas about the Tudor family’s rise to power. (See Henry IV, Parts I and 2, as well as Henry V.) Elizabethan-era audiences adored Falstaff. They clamored for more.
As a result, Falstaff got his own show. And why not? History — like the news — can be depressing. And, as The Merry Wives of Windsor demonstrates, marriage, love, sex and politics can be funny.
And so, it seems, Shakespeare obliged with more fat Falstaff jokes, although, as Director Terri McMahon notes, The Merry Wives of Windsor is set in an era contemporary with Shakespeare’s own.
In that light, much of the Great Lakes Theater’s production shows promise. There is plenty of physical comedy, but alas, not near enough. Opening night, the first act felt weighted down by words, but the pace picked up in the second act (as did the story). It is likely that after a few more performances all will feel more comfortable being silly.
Falstaff, a bumbling Daniel T. Parker, is bested by two housewives who make a fool of him. It is a fairly easy task as his vanity leaves him helpless before flattery. Brava to the wives: Mrs. Ford (the outrageously over-the-top Jessie Cope Miller) and Mrs. Page (a nimble Jodi Dominick). Their interactions with Falstaff, a hideout and a laundry basket enliven every scene they share.
Jeffrey C. Hawkins’ Mr. Ford also inspired laughs as he stumbled across the stage, narrowly avoiding (or not) a pratfall or two. Jason Eno showed proper dignity as Mr. Page, a gentleman looking out for his daughter Anne Page (Kechanté).
True to tradition, the comedy ended with a dance, music and a wedding. All happily survived — even Falstaff.
Other members of the ensemble included Teri Brown (as the wise Widow Quickly), Nick Steen (Sir Hugh Evans), M.A. Taylor (as Shallow), Calvin Carvagnaro (as Robin), Malik Bilbrew (as Nym), Trevor Gill-Snow (as Simple and John), Josh Houghton (as Slender), as well as Jerrell Williams. Grayson Heyl, Anthony Michael Martinez, and James Alexander Rankin.
Thanks to costume designer Daniele Tyler Mathews’ clever designs it is easier to tell who is who in the large cast. For example, the Page husband and wife dressed in red, and the Ford couple wore blue, so there was no danger of forgetting which husband/wife pair was which.
(Side note: I would love to see the show updated with 2024 costumes, hair styles and Instagram. Operas do it all the time.)
Props to scenic designer Jeff Herrmann, along with lighting designer Rick Martin, for the special haunted tree in the forest scene. The green framework used in earlier acts proved a flexible way to reset the stage, but they looked more like Japanese gates (torii) than Tudor-era structures.
Music Director Matthew Webb and movement director Jaclyn Miller ensured the play ended with festive dance.
Bottom Line: The brawling, egotistical clown that is Falstaff gets a play of his own. He may not have deserved one. Despite valiant efforts and the talented Great Lakes Theater cast, opening night seemed too slow-paced for farce. It is highly likely in later shows (last performance is April 7), the pace will pick up and all will revel in this classic comedy.
[Written by Laura Kennelly]
One Response to “THEATER REVIEW: “The Merry Wives of Windsor” @ Great Lakes Theater by Laura Kennelly”
EDWARD MYCUE
The three photos of the actors displaying vibrant colorful kinetic style attracts my attention. They must have spent a fortune on costumes. I was never hot for the Merry Wives yet am tickled with attraction for the likes of this with such fetching moist and foolishly smiling youthful actors. Might I live near Cleveland I would gaily go because I do so love the language of Shakespeare’s plays.
(I worked in the early 1970’s for the New Shakespeare Company-San Francisco — directed by Margrit Roma, produced by Clarence Ricklefs as did, before me, my sister Margo Mycue in the early 1970’s booking the company travels across the USA when I’d returned from Wester Europe. Margo Mycue had taught 2 years at Santa Clara University, then for the first year of the ACT — American Conservatory Theater –that’s still going — & that followed her employment with the San Francisco Mime troupe, then the Edgar Casey Virginia Beach Institute, and with more big etceras for decades. Margo Mycue died two years ago in her eighties through such an exciting life acting, teaching, writing and directing, producing plays, and raising her two astounding children now in their 50’s. She would have loved to join the company and cast from the looks of it of this show.)