Merry Falstaff of Windsor

Next up on my cultural calendar is Merry Wives of Windsor at Shakespeare Theatre Company's beautiful Sidney Harman Hall. I also scheduled a Meet-Up for an upcoming performance and hope to meet some of my fellow D.C.-area Shakespeare Explorers.

Because the Shakespeare Readers' season has ended, I haven't had the opportunity to read this play in advance. So I did a quick search for plot summaries and came away frustrated and confused by pedestrian descriptions of Shakespeare's plot-twisted humor.

What you need to know: Falstaff is in it. Everyone wants to marry Anne, Falstaff needs money, tricks are attempted, tables are turned, and Anne marries the one she wants. STC calls MWOW "A bawdy and riotous romp," a genre at which this venue excels.

And scrolling through the cast list, I see a couple of names I recognize as actors who will ensure this riotously rompy outcome: Tom Story (of whom I have written previously in Hosaa's Blog) portraying Doctor Caius, and Hugh Nees, a DC-theater veteran from way back, portraying Nym. (I once dated a friend of Hugh's, and he almost performed in a reading of one of my plays. Almost. His friend and I stopped dating before the reading was to occur. I don't hold that against Hugh.)

L-R: Kurt Rhoads (as "Page") and Hugh Nees ("Nym") in rehearsal for the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s 'The Merry Wives of Windsor,' directed by Stephen Rayne. Photo by Nicole Geldart.

Well, now, this preview is becoming a bit Shakespearean in its plot twists. Till next week ...

In Bard We Trust -
Cindy