| It should come as no surprise that Shakespeare, the most successful dramatic pilferer in history, would not hesitate at a little self-plagiarism -- thus, the reincarnation of the popular character Falstaff in the comedy "The Merry Wives of Windsor." Written at Court request, "Merry Wives bears the imperfections of a hastily constructed script, with more loose plot ends than a David Lynch screenplay. In the current Orlando/ UCF Shakespeare Festival production, director Tony Simotes has superbly pruned the loose ends and brilliantly updated the Elizabethan, middle-class stock characters into a romanticized American West. The main plot line features a carpetbagger Falstaff (John Ahlin) pursuing two married women: Mrs. Page (Jean Tafler), wife of the class bigot banker George, (Michael Carlton) and Mrs. Ford (Jean Tafler), wife to neurotically jealous banker Frank (Eric Hissom). Falstaff sends identical love letters to the wives, who, incensed, plot revenge against the scalawag, while also providing a lesson or two for jealous husband Frank. The tricking of Falstaff and teasing of Frank provide most of the playıs humor. | The performances are all exemplary. That the audience subtly perceives this as a "romanticized" rather than a "real" West is crucial in allowing the actors free reign for over-the-top, farcical performances. This is especially true for some racial stereotyping that, in another context, would have all the sensitivity of Chief Wahoo and the Frito Bandito. Set designer Bob Phillips' Western Windsor colored in dessert ochers and prairie sage violets is stylized without being a cartoon, tapping childhood memories of the region as depicted in movie Westerns. Nancy Leary's costumes are both evocative and precise. Finally, the American folk music featuring the fiddle of Cooper Ladnier provides another link to childhood memories of the West, with a foot-stomping, hand-clapping, and -- in a brilliant intermission Bonanza burlesque -- humorous aural backdrop to the evening's antics. |
