While the title of the show belies the fact that this Shakespeare script was intended to be a star turn for the immensely popular character of Sir John Falstaff, Southwest Shakespeare Company's current production of The Merry Wives of Windsor is stolen by it's two female leads, whose comedic timing and connection makes the theft an enjoyable experience. Maren Maclean and Andi Watson pick Gene Ganssle's pocket and make off with the evening, but that doesn't hinder the audience's enjoyment. An unusually subdued Ganssle, perhaps struggling under his hefty fat bags and baggy costume, is still quite entertaining. Their various enjoyable interactions highlight a good true-to-period presentation of this Shakespearean sitcom.
The main plot of Merry Wives finds Falstaff attempting to woo Meg and Alice, the propertied wives of Masters Ford and Page while hanging about Windsor. The women, discovering his simultaneous seductions, work together to exact their own hilarious revenge. A subplot chronicles the attempt of three suitors to marry the Page's daughter Anne, one an oafish fop, one a pretentious French doctor, and the third a former ne'er-do-well gentleman who is trying to amend his wanton ways.
Director Jared Sakren is usually known for making bold choices, but in this production, his messages and desires seem mixed. Is this a straight Tudor presentation or a piece of Commedia Dell Arté? Should the farce be played up or down? Are characters broad or believable? The production seems to waver from scene to scene and from character to character. This indecisiveness is more evident in the subplot than the main, which is why it doesn't affect the show too adversely. The jokes still flow, and the pacing is appropriate, but the evening seems a bit muddier for its lack of consistency.
The inconsistency flows to the actors, where vocal problems plague the men of the ensemble. A running joke through the show is the proper use of English, and while Michael Sherwin does a great Monty Python-like interpretation of French physician Doctor Caius, Don Kruszka's Welsh parson never quite crosses the border. Falstaff's three men, John Sipple, Jim Landua, and Scott Dillon, in an attempt at comedic vocalizations, wind up being unintelligible.
The leads do not suffer from this problem. Jason Barth and Bruce Laks are consistent and funny in their roles of Master's Page and Ford. Eric Holmes is hilarious in the role of the foppish Slender, playing up his physique and overplaying the character's idiocy. Even with his subdued ways, Ganssle is an enjoyable Shakespearean clown.
The strength of the evening, though, comes from the camaraderie evident between Maclean and Watson. These two balance each other professionally. Their physical bits are perfectly timed, and their banter seems natural. Each complement the others performance, as Maclean's crisp diction and turn of phrase is counterbalanced by Watson's broadly expressive face and eyes. When they are onstage, the show grows brighter.
I was completely befuddled by another inconsistency, Sakie Onozawa's random makeup choices. Ranging from Commedia to natural, the use of clown white defied explanation. Better are Jeff Thomson and Sakren's set and Claude Pensis' lighting, which are basic until a pleasant surprise in the last big scene. Lois K. Myers and Shana Targosz' costumes are generally well presented, and David Temby should be given a kiss in the style of Sherwin's Caius for his impressive sound design.
Despite the consistency problems in this production, this is still a funny presentation of one of Shakespeare's most accessible and jokey scripts featuring a few can't-miss performances.
Production Details:
The Merry Wives of Windsor by
William Shakespeare
Southwest Shakespeare
Company
The Mesa City Amphitheatre, Mesa (For a
map to this location, click this
link)
(480) 641-7039
April 11th - 20th, 2002
