Review: The Merry Wives of Windsor (Chicago Shakespeare)

  
  
The Merry Wives of Windsor

Written by William Shakespeare 
Directed by Barbara Gaines 
Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Navy Pier (map)
thru Jan 19  |  tickets: $48-$78   |  more info
  
Check for half-price tickets 
  
  
   Read review
  

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A glorious Chicago Shakes holiday party

Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents

The Merry Wives of Windsor

Review by John Olson

Legend has it that Shakespeare wrote this comedy at the command of Queen Elizabeth I, who allowed him just 14 days to write it. Well, far (and irrelevant) be it for me to criticize the Bard of Avon, but the haste shows to the extent that this play is slight in comparison to Shakespeare’s other comedies. Even so, it is by the standards of either the 16th – 17th Centuries when it was written, the 20th Century (in which this production is set) or the 21st – a silly and goofy good time. Director Barbara Gaines has transferred the action from Shakespeare’s era, around the late 1500’s or early 1600’s, to Britain just after the Second World War. It’s a time of prosperity and good feelings – with heroic soldiers back from the war and American GI’s hanging around just to fall in love with the local girls.

The Merry Wives is broad comedy – filled with references both subtle and not-so-subtle to things like penis size, amorous abilities, farts and belches. The story concerns the efforts of Sir John Falstaff (Scott Jaeck), newly returned from the war (and anachronistically appearing in an era far removed from that of Henry IV, in which Shakespeare first introduced the character). To improve his financial situation, Falstaff plans to romance two wealthy married women of Windsor (Heidi Kettenring and Kelli Fox), but his efforts are transparent to the wives and revealed by two of his cohorts to the husbands (Ross Lehman and Kevin Gudahl). Understandably, Falstaff doesn’t get far in his pursuits. The women’s virtue is never seriously in jeopardy and Falstaff gets repeatedly humiliated. There’s also a subplot in which the daughter (Tiffany Yvonne Cox) of one the wives is wooed by two suitors – the gawky and insecure but well-connected Slender (Steven Sutcliffe) and the pompous French veterinarian Dr. Caius (Greg Vinkler) – both of whom are favored over the American flyboy Fenton (Matt Mueller) she loves. While there are lots of opportunities to smile and chuckle, there’s little of the comic suspense found in the best farces, so Ms. Gaines has wisely developed a modern-dress concept that adds much entertainment value to the proceedings.

The post-war setting gives Gaines the chance to interpolate American pop songs of the 1940s and earlier, performed in swinging style under the musical direction of Doug Peck. The cast moves snappily to the dance moves of choreographer Harrison McEldowney in songs like Harold Arlen’s “Hooray for Love” and Kettenring as Mistress Ford has fun with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “The Gentleman is a Dope.” There’s even a place for Arthur Godfrey’s “Too Fat Polka.” The cast looks great decked in the postwar fashions of Susan E. Mickey’s costumes and James Noone has created sets establishing a charming wintry rural English village. The town is populated with a village-sized cast of 20, and three beautiful and well-trained dogs (Cricket, Lego and Gunther).

With snow falling on the Courtyard Theater stage and a cast that includes many of Chicago Shakes’ best-loved and most talented regulars, The Merry Wives of Windsor comes off as more than a juicily and quite capably performed staging of Shakespeare, but also a holiday party for the company and its fans. Though the text might have been edited down to make room for the songs – the plot is not really enough to sustain a show of 2 hours and 40 minutes – Merry Wives is a glorious and sumptuous celebration of this company and its muse.

Rating: ★★★½

The Merry Wives of Windsor continues through January 19th at Chicago Shakespeare at Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand (map). Check calendar for performance times during the holidays; starting January 2nd: Tuesdays at 7:30pm, Wednesdays 1pm/7:30pm, Thursdays-Fridays 7:30pm, Saturdays 3pm/8pm, Sundays 2pm.  Tickets are $48-$78, and are available by phone (312-595-5600) or online through their website (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at ChicagoShakes.com.  (Running time: 2 hours 40 minutes, includes an intermission)

Photos by Liz Lauren

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artists

cast

William Dick (Sir Hugh Evans), James Harms (Justice Robert Shallow), Steven Sutcliffe (Slender), Kevin Gudahl (Master Page), Scott Jaeck (Sir John Falstaff), Matt DeCaro (Bardolph), Joe Bianco (Pistol), Tim Gittings (Nym), Tiffany Yvonne Cox (Anne Page), Christopher Chmelik (Simple), Don Forston (Host of the Garter Inn), Angela Ingersoll (Mistress Quickly), Pavi Proczko (John Rugby), Greg Vinkler (Dr. Caius), Matt Mueller (Fenton), Kelli Fox (Mistress Page), Heidi Kettenring (Mistress Ford), Ross Lehman (Master Ford), Michael Semanic (Robin), Amy Montgomery (Delores), Jonathon Reichart (John), Michael Ermel (Robert), Cricket, Lego, Gunther (themselves).

behind the scenes

Barbara Gaines (director). James Noone (scenic design), Susan E. Mickey (costume design), John Culbert (lighting design), Lindsay Jones (original music, sound design), Melissa Veal (wig and make-up design), Harrison McEldowney (choreography), Doug Peck (music director, vocal arranger), Eva Breneman (dialect coach), Bob Mason (casting), Deborah Acker (production stage manager), Call of the Wild (animal trainers), Liz Lauren (photos).

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