Merry Wives of Windsor
The main plot centers around the exploits of Sir John Falstaff. Falstaff is a popular bully and womanizer. Finding himself short on funds, he decides to make love to two rich women (Mistress Ford and Mistress Page) in hopes they will provide him with cash. To this end, he sends each an identical love letter. However, unbeknownst to Falstaff, the two women are best friends and also virtuous. They decide to teach him a lesson by employing Mistress Quickly, an equal-opportunity mercenary, as a go-between to lure him to the Ford house with the promise of a tryst, and there they play a trick on him - twice. Mistress Ford’s husband is a very jealous man and learns of Falstaff’s plan from two of his “discarded” women, Nym and Pistol. In order to test his wife’s faithfulness, he disguises himself and introduces himself to Falstaff as “Brook,” another ardent suitor of his wife. Brook (Ford) promises to pay a large sum of money to Falstaff if he successfully seduces Mistress Ford (his wife). Her ruined reputation will then enable Brook (Ford) to blackmail her into having an affair of his own. After the two wives foil Falstaff twice in his seduction attempts, they reveal all to their husbands; and the two couples, along with the help of the vicar, Sir Hugh Evans, hatch a plot to play one last joke on Falstaff to publicly shame him and cure him of his lecherous behavior once and for all. There is also a subplot woven through this play that revolves around Mistress Anne, the well-dowered daughter of the Pages. George Page, Sir Hugh, and Mistress Shallow want her to marry Master Slender, a slow thinking, rich young man. Her mother wants her to marry Dr. Caius, a wealthy, volatile Texas physician. But Anne loves Master Fenton, a titled young man who has squandered his inheritance and lived wildly, but now truly loves her. This subplot is comically resolved during the hoax staged at Herne’s Oak in Windsor Wood. |
Cast Sir John Falstaff - David Easton Master George Page - Vincent Chow Mistress Shallow - Haley Mailender Sir Hugh Evans - Ben Halsted Master Abraham Slender - Harry Powers Nym -Sarah Lowe Pistol - Ellie Donnelly Mistress Anne Page - Zoe Elliot Mistress Ford - Kelsey Jobalia Mistress Page - Rachel Notestine Simple - Aiden Holubeck Host of the Garter Inn - Carly Shepherd Robin - Aria Schottelkotte Mistress Quickly - Quinn Stiefbold John Rugby - Elliot Heldman Dr. Caius - Alex Easton Master Ford - Sam Haward Mistress Ford’s Maids - Annie Elliot, Caroline Zackerman Master Fenton - Jacob Berry Ensemble: Shelby Anderson, Suzanne Barnes, Tori Brown, Brandt Bunger, Katie Lewis, Kaitlyn Palermo, Casey Peeno, Cecelia Rathbone ***Seniors in Bold |