Chicago Shakespeare's production of Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor has a stellar cast in modern environs. This has been a year of Sir John Falstaff getting his comeuppance, as the hunter captured by its prey. Lyric Opera staged Mozart's Così Fan Tutte, with Don Alfonso standing in for the vainglorious Falstaff. Meanwhile, over on Michigan Avenue, the Chicago Opera Theater presented Salieri's Falstaff in a fancy resort setting.
The Merry Wives of Windsor at CST features Shakespeare's lilting, musical dialogue. The dialogue flows, and the comic timing is perfect, filling the theater with laughter. I am happy to say that some of it made me laugh until my sides hurt, and it was more fun than an hour of pilates. Director Phillip Breen has directed a variety of productions, from Sam Shepard's True West to Vivienne Westwood's fashion shows. No doubt his time at the Royal Shakespeare Theater in Stratford-upon-Avon and numerous comedies on other stages gives him an edge with the fast-paced dialogue and physical comedy.
It is one thing to be an ace director and writer, but a top-shelf cast seals the deal for The Merry Wives of Windsor. Jason Simon makes his CST debut as Falstaff. Simon has been featured in musicals, off-Broadway productions, television, and operas at the Met in New York. His stage presence and expressions are perfect for this uniquely English comedy. Each entrance, after being humiliated by Mistress Ford (Issy Van Randwyck) and Mistress Page (Ora Jones), is a fabulous sight gag. Falstaff's drag is a sequined blue dress with a veil and a couple of pumpkins stuffed in the top. It had a Milton Berle edge that I loved. His suave jacquard smoking jacket and tasseled emperor's hat are dissolved after being pitched into the Thames, so he stumbles into the Garter Inn, missing a shoe and covered in whatever was in the Thames. I suspect that it's similar to the gravy-like appearance of the Chicago River before its cleanup.
Simon's Falstaff is surrounded by a hilarious crew of scallywags. Teddy Gales is a hilarious standout as Bardolph. The name has 'bar' in it for a reason. His makeup has the ruddy tone of a genuine sot, and his gestures reminded me of Foster Brooks, who perfected the genteel drunkard back in the '70s. Understudy Tyler Ravelson stood in for Zach Bloomfield, and did a wonderful job playing Nym, the pal in droopy clothes who talks "gangster" but hides when things get real. Colin Huerta is fun to watch and has a double role as Pistol, Falstaff's third flunky, and as the servant to the Fords.
Shakespeare wrote great roles for women, usually more as partners than humble trad wives. His work spanned the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Women are integral to the plots and written as powerful, analytical, and, in the Merry Wives of Windsor, the brains of the household. The meddling maid is Doctor Caius's (Nate Burger) receptionist, named Mistress Quickly, played with gleeful mischief by Nancy Voights. Burger's Caius is hysterically funny, performed with wonderful haughtiness and great verbal gags. Ora Jones is a CST regular who deftly handles the tongue-tying dialogue and whipsmart delivery of punchlines and reactions. I think that only Jones could carry off that deer costume, and she has terrific chemistry with Issy Van Randwyck.
Randwyck relishes the role of pseudo-seductress, Mistress Ford, who draws Falstaff to his karma as a serial womanizer and all-around schmuck with a title. Other highlights are Nick Sandys as the parson Sir Hugh Evans. Sandys has just the right amount of persnickety energy and a great Welsh accent. Alex Weisman as Slender is the perfect nebbish counterpart sent to pursue the hand of the lovely Anne Page (Olivia Pryor). He is brought to the Page manor by his flashy cousin Shallow (Paul Oakley Stovall) and pulls off the non-enthused suitor with his dialogue, facial expressions, and physical presence. Slender wants to crawl into himself and hide, like a scared rabbit.
The not-so-merry husbands are played with flair and great comic timing. Chiké Johnson is fun as Master Page. He does some great and subtle double-takes, and what the heck just happened faces. Timothy Edward Kane plays a great Master Ford, and does a sight gag with hair that has to be seen. Brett Tuomi is great as the keeper of the Garter Inn. His character cannot seem to catch a break with his schemes of horse trading and his welcoming of unsavory customers to make a buck.
The children in the cast pull off great performances. I see a future for them all in the theater for those who pursue it. Carmelo Kelly plays the smart but not too precious son, William Page. Rohan Rhys Degalla is fun as Robin Page, a lad who could go far, but he is already hanging out with less than aspirational men at the Garter Inn. The other children play faeries in the cemetery, led by Sir Hugh in an awesomely creepy Grim Reaper costume complete with scythe. The entire cast is great under Breen's lively direction. Shakespeare's plays are timeless and adapt well to any era with the right cast and company. CST is the right company.
Costume and scenic designer Max Jones does an exemplary job from schlubby Nym to majestic Falstaff to deer and other woodland entities. The set is beautiful, embodying the feel of a manor, a courtyard, and the local dive bar. The cemetery has a fun Halloween feel. Marcus Doshi's lighting design completes the ambiance for the cast and scenery. Sound designer and composer Lindsay Jones pied in some lovely Elizabethan-sounding music sung by the Young Naperville Singers, conducted by Angie Johnson, and The Sing for Hope HandaHarmony Youth Chorus, conducted by Emily Preston. I loved this and needed the hearty good laughs.
The Merry Wives of Windsor runs for 2.5 hours, including a 15-minute intermission. It runs through May 3 at the Courtyard in the Chicago Shakespeare Theater at Navy Pier. For more information, please visit www.chicagoshakes.com/merrywives or on social media @chicagoshakes.
For more information on this and other productions, see theatreinchicago.com.
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