Roaring '20s-era 'Merry Wives' enlivens Prospect Lawn

Be thankful for the weather, and knock on wood for this weekend. Then get out your best lawn chair or blanket and make reservations for a spot on Prospect Lawn for the Shakespeare Company's all-new, all-matinee, all-hilarious production of Shakespeare's most oft-forgotten comedy, "The Merry Wives of Windsor."

After wiggling under those taut green chains that guard the precious grassy areas of our campus and passing by that oh-so-modern-and-angular black sculpture, you'll cross Prospect Lawn and enter a lovely, laid-back lawn party.

Complete with a wonderful jazz quartet playing old standards and a cast of 1920s characters making conversation with the well-prepared and passing out blankets to the negligent, the pre-show down-time captures the exact mood of the play itself — that of a welcome, relaxing, playful, comic escape from schoolwork, just catching the end of the warm weather season and just missing the gazes of stuffy alumni on their way to proper luncheons.

"Merry Wives" is a traditionally structured farce of jealousy and misunderstanding, centered around two couples, the Fords and the Pages. Each husband is jealous of his wife's supposed intrigue with none other than Sir John Falstaff, one of Shakespeare's most famous comic characters. At the same time, the Pages' daughter, Anne, has become the center of attention in Windsor, politely fleeing various inept suitors.

Of course, the husbands' jealousy is only compounded by their wives' mischievous revenge plots against Sir John's advances, while bumbling judges, bawds and foreigners confuse the issue of Anne's nuptial, until finally all is revealed and reconciled in a magical fairy masquerade party in the park.

As the plot description makes clear, the play is pure comedy — don't come looking for high drama here. "Merry Wives" is even more lighthearted than Shakespeare's other comedies, and director Katie Flynn '02 accentuates the sheer entertainment value of the play. Her vision certainly comes through in her choice to set the play in the Roaring 20s.

Though none of the original language is changed, the production is full of the spirit of the times, with concealed liquor and conspicuous pinstripes everywhere — even Falstaff's "knighthood" seems to be from his old Mafia days.

Not to mention my favorite part of the production — the self-dubbed Merry Jazz Band (Phil Blodgett '02 on drums, Julia Comerford '02 on clarinet, Ben Markham '02 on saxophone and band-leader Geoff Gentile '01 on piano), who play old jazz standards intermittently throughout the play. They even include cartoony piano underscoring during the scenes themselves, highlighting the musicality of Shakespeare's language and bringing out the slapstick nature of "Merry Wives."

But in the end, it is the energy of the actors that keeps the production rolling. This is pleasantly surprising, considering the relative lack of Princeton theater experience in the company. Any campus theater connoisseur attending the production will find a few more new faces than usual. But instead of being a discouraging sign for the play, it is a sign of a renaissance in the Princeton theater scene.

In the starring role of Falstaff, F. Dok Harris '01 is bombastic, flagrant and imposing as the play's hero-villain, pursuing his salacious endeavors with gleeful wit.

Tony D'Amico '01, who directs One Hope Drama on campus, makes his ambitious PSC debut as Mr. Ford, the overly jealous husband. D'Amico is fabulous in his overstated anger, especially when disguised as the goofy Master Brook. With perfectly timed takes — revealing to the audience an anxious Mr. Ford under a geeky costume — D'Amico makes plot-heavy scenes not only interesting but uproarious.

A complete newcomer to the Princeton acting scene, Andy Luse '02, often onstage as a featured pianist in many University ensembles, trades the ivories for a fake pot belly as Mr. Ford's gluttonous counterpart, Mr. Page. To complete the comic pairing, Luse and D'Amico partner with stage veterans Erin Gilley '02 and Sasha Kopf '02 for a few truly wonderful scenes of hilarious marital struggle.

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Perhaps most notable in this large cast, however, are Matt Lembo '02 and Emily Mitchell '03, whose supporting characters are the life of many scenes. Mitchell, as the sexy flapper Mistress Quickly, drives much of the action of the play on her careless whims, and is marvelous in her flippancy.

But it is Lembo who holds the audience in the palm of his hand, as his obliviously pompous Frenchman Dr. Caius keeps them rolling in the (grassy) aisles. Ad-libbing remarks under his breath about the other characters, as well as instigating numerous amusing misunderstandings, Lembo's Caius is more than an incidental character, becoming instead the focus of attention.

The great Shakespearean scholar Harold Bloom calls "Merry Wives" one of Shakespeare's worst plays. However, PSC's new production shows that sometimes we shouldn't listen to professors — we should let the carefree spirit and jazz of the '20s come back. Let the alumni go to their luncheons — sometimes you have to go sit out on the grass and have a good time.

The Princeton Shakespeare Company presents "The Merry Wives of Windsor." Friday at 4 p.m. and Saturday - Sunday at 2 p.m. U-CALL SHAKESPEARE for reservations.