If you enjoyed Tennessee Stage Company’s recent production of Henry IV Part II, you’re in for a treat—and more Falstaff. They have brought back the beloved boorish knight in Merry Wives of Windsor, co-directed here by Allison Evers and Tom Parkhill as one of Tennessee Stage Company’s two summer Knoxville Shakespeare productions at the beautiful Ijams Nature Center. Audiences can set up a camp chair or a comfy blanket on the gently sloping hill just beyond the Ijams Visitor Center for a lighthearted, playful encounter with one of Shakespeare’s lesser-known but nonetheless wildly fun comedies.
In Merry Wives, Sir John Falstaff, short on money and at his machinations again, attempts to woo and sleep with not just one, but two wealthy married women: Mistress Page and Mistress Ford, the titular Merry Wives. When the two women, both disgusted by Falstaff’s advances, realize they were sent the exact same love letter from the boastful knight, they conspire on not one, but three hilarious revenge pranks involving Falstaff, dirty laundry, and a little bit of gender bending.
Meanwhile, two suitors—Master Slender and Doctor Caius—are vying for the hand of the marriageable Miss Anne Page, who is secretly in love with Master Fenton. To assist with this matchmaking, Master Slender’s party hires Mistress Quickly, but as she is Doctor Caius’s servant, the situation goes sour fast. As each party plans to secretly marry off Miss Anne Page to their chosen suitor during the last of the merry wives’ pranks, all the twisting plots and schemes of this play work themselves out in classic Shakespeare comedic fashion.
One of the stated inspirations for this production in the Director’s Note of the program is the ABC comedy series Love, American Style, which ran from 1969-1974. Interestingly, traces of that inspiration seem to be missing from the production design. The set and costuming do not quite connect with that 70s inspo, though the performances and treatment of the Bard’s humor do at times capture the series’ flickering between deadpan delivery and hammed-up comedy. The costuming was the biggest detraction from this vision; I didn’t get any sort of 70s evocation from any character, and when tried, felt like a Spirit Halloween hippie costume.
On a more cheerful note, this production featured several standout performances in a cast of 17. Billy Kyle Roach’s version of the jolly knight was the highlight of the night. Roach’s performance is grandiose, and he plays up the dramatic irony of the hilarious situation Falstaff has folded himself into. H. Caitlin Corbitt as Mistress Page and Holly Andrew as Mistress Ford play well together, as confident and assured in their marriages as they are in their schemes and flitting from matriarchal masterminds to scheming schoolgirl bullies in seconds. Aaron Hinds as Ford is just as compelling in his own emotional shifts, teetering along the edge of obsessive anger until falling into an explosive rage at the end. And I could not round out this review without mentioning some of the other comedic performances, including Obed Mutambulu’s quirky, nutty antics as Doctor Caius, Logan Maple’s almost unbearable (intentional!) awkwardness as the infatuated Master Slender, and Nicholas Herman as Slender’s easily startled and, well, simple servant Peter Simple.
Merry Wives of Windsor has just two remaining performances—Friday, August 7 and Sunday, August 9, both at 7:30pm. These performances are also outdoors, so be sure to bring seating of your preference. Tennessee Stage Company is also alternating performances of Merry Wives with performances of King Henry V, so if you’re not able to catch the comedy, the history play also has two remaining performances on August 2, 6, and 8. Tickets are available at the box office table set up just outside the performance area at Ijams Nature Center and online at https://www.ijams.org/shakespeare.
