The Merry Wives Of Windsor (Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum 2022 Production) Theatre Review

production photo by Ian Flanders

The legend is that Queen Elizabeth requested that William Shakespeare write a play about Falstaff in love. Of course, a royal request is a command. And The Merry Wives Of Windsor was the result of that command. Now, we don’t know if that’s the way it happened or not, but one thing that is interesting about this is that Elizabeth obviously was a woman with a lot of power, but most women had little or no power at that time, and the play, though ostensibly about Falstaff, is really about two women who take some power over their own lives and homes, and do so with a sense of humor. The new production at Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum sets The Merry Wives Of Windsor in the 1950s, another time when women had little power, and moves the location to Windsor, Connecticut. As men returned to the workforce after the war, many women were pushed out of the jobs they’d held. Women were expected to return to their homes and take care of their husbands and children, and be happy with their lot. So the idea of setting the play in the 1950s works, at least in general, and this company has a good deal of fun with it, adding several musical moments throughout the performance.

Music is a key element from the moment the audience is admitted into the theatre, with hits from the 1950s playing over the speakers to set the mood. Songs such as “Be-Bop-A-Lula,” “The Great Pretender,” “Tennessee Waltz” and “You Send Me” play as the audience enters and is seated. Then, as the performance begins, the entire cast enters to the sound of “Rock Around The Clock,” dancing and generally enjoying themselves, a conga line leading most of them off as the play then begins in earnest, with Justice Shallow, Slender and Hugh Evans remaining on stage for the first scene. Justice Shallow (Tim Halligan) uses a cane, which at one point he brandishes like a sword. Ethan Haslam is rather adorable as the goofy, awkward Slender. When Falstaff (on this night played by Gerald C. Rivers) enters, the party enters with him. Even Mr. Page (Bill Haller) is friendly with him, engaging in a little dance with him as several people sing “If I Knew You Were Comin’ I’d’ve Baked A Cake.” So there is the sense that he is a rather harmless and fun-loving guy, at least among the men. He later sings “Enjoy Yourself (It’s Later Than You Think).” Falstaff and his gang are dressed in fatigues. Interestingly, the women enter with a song pleading with us to drink responsibly. It is a humorous song, with lines like “If you’re feeling sick, please take it to the neighbors’ yard.” Falstaff playfully joins them in their song. Music also plays a part at the Garter Inn, where there is an upright piano and a small drum kit. When Falstaff delivers his line that he means to make love to Ford’s wife, the musicians suddenly stop, bringing into greater focus how unwelcome and disquieting his plan is. In this production, there is a Hostess, rather than Host of the Garter, here played by Earnestine Phillips. Modern U.S. references are sprinkled throughout the performance. For example, Falstaff’s line “They shall be my East and West Indies” becomes “They shall be my Boardwalk and Park Place.” And his line about a woman losing “the handle of her fan” becomes instead the keys to her car.

The entire cast is strong, but certain actors stand out. Melora Marshall is particularly delightful as Mistress Quickly, clearly enjoying her own brand of flirtatiousness with Fenton (Charles Lin), while also knowing how to extract money from him. You get the sense that this is a woman with quite a bit of experience, a woman who has learned how to please herself, and likes being in the middle of things. And she is hilarious as she draws a maraca from her purse and goes into a song about Fenton. Another fantastic performance is delivered by Willow Geer as Mrs. Page. Interestingly, when she first begins to read Falstaff’s letter, she is excited by it, only becoming upset when she reads Falstaff’s name. If it had been written by someone else, would she have entertained what it suggested? She is hilarious as she looks at the two letters together, while Mrs. Ford (Emily Bridges) goes off about her own letter. And she gives a great reading of the line about Falstaff knowing something about her that she doesn’t know herself, reminding us of how she at first received the contents of the letter. Every moment she is on stage is a joy. And yet, there is another performance that might in fact be the best of the evening, and that is Jonathan Blandino as Mr. Ford, who, in contrast to Mr. Page, does not trust Falstaff, or even his own wife. We know he will be proved the fool, for we’ve already seen his wife’s reaction to the letter, been witness to her fidelity. It is even more interesting in this production, since Mrs. Page for a moment was excited by the contents of her letter. It is when disguised as Mr. Brook that Ford especially shines in this production. He is great when learning from Falstaff that Falstaff was present when Ford had searched for him. Ford is ready to kill Falstaff, and Falstaff is wonderfully oblivious as he tells his tale of being thrown into the river. Both actors are excellent in that scene.

Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Page are wonderful as they play their parts in the scheme against Falstaff. In this production, rather than a laundry basket, Falstaff gets into a wheelbarrow, which doesn’t make quite as much sense, particularly as dirty laundry is still piled on top of him. I don’t think taking the laundry out in a wheelbarrow was a thing in the 1950s. So wouldn’t that have caught the attention of the already-suspicious Ford? Plus, who keeps a wheelbarrow inside his house? Also, at times it is still referred to as a basket. The William Page lesson scene is included in this production, but with completely different jokes, and Julius Geer-Polin is absolutely adorable as young William. As with all productions at this venue, the actors make great use of the space. The scene where Dr. Caius (Cavin Mohrhardt) is ready for the duel begins in the woods just off stage left. Parson Hugh Evans (Alistair McKenzie) then also enters from the woods. And though a lot of songs have been added to this production, Evans actually has a song in this scene in the text. That song mentions “Melodious birds.” In this production he sings “Bye Bye Blackbird.” Fenton and Anne Page (Alexandra Kunin) enter from behind the audience. Fenton serenades her, and she responds in song as well, which then leads to their dialogue about getting her father’s love. And for the final scene, characters enter from different parts of the woods.

While most of the play works in the 1950s setting, that last plan for Falstaff’s humiliation doesn’t have quite the same power as it does in its original setting. At the time when the play was first produced, people tended to still believe in fairies and witches and so on. In the 1950s, it is less believable that Falstaff would fall for such tricks. In the text he is terrified. And the more frightened Falstaff is, the more the scene works. So when he goes back to his usual bluster, in this case claiming that at times he didn’t believe they were fairies, we are actually pleased, even relieved, that his humor is intact. Because we should feel for him at this point, as should the other characters, which then makes the moment when he is invited to dine and drink with the others all the stronger. But that hinges on Falstaff first being genuinely frightened by their trick and then feeling somewhat defeated. The costumes for this scene are playful rather than scary, and include an alien outfit and a Winnie The Pooh outfit. It is kind of wonderful that the parson is dressed as a devil, of course. The performance then concludes with a song by the company.

This production of The Merry Wives Of Windsor was directed by Ellen Geer. It runs in repertory through October 2nd. Visit the theatre’s web site for the full schedule. There is one intermission, coming at the end of Act III Scene i. Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum is located at 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd. in Topanga, California.