Stratford's opening night was a gala production, and joyously received, but though it was unusually handsome looking and boasted a cast of literally great actors, it was not great Shakespeare because The Merry Wives of Windsor isn't. Despite occasional delicious castings, the basically nonsensical play usually strikes me as Shakespearean self-parody that becomes tiresome as it repeats itself and throws in everything including the kitchen leftovers (and also some non-salacious dirty laundry). But Chicago's master-director Frank Galati, making his Stratford debut, had a number of nifty comic ideas, and the peculiar but elegant production looks splendid.
Without losing the roguery that made Falstaff such a beloved character that Queen Elizabeth is said to have asked Shakespeare to bring him back in another play -- Geraint Wyn Davies creates an entirely original Falstaff and gets every laugh and nuance from his dialogue.
As the two merry wives who share Falstaff's identical love-notes to them and conspire to make life miserable for the drunken knight, Laura Condlin as Mistress Page and especially Lucy Peacock as Mistress Ford are funny and very attractive. Peacock, a very pretty longtime Stratford leading lady, has been having fun with frump roles recently, so it's a pleasure to see her good-looking Alice Ford and, in Camelot, her very glamorous Morgan Le Fay.
Master Ford is intended to be a funny, hotheaded, jealous husband, but Tom Rooney makes him such a ranting jealous husband that he's an excerpt-worthy comic creation all by himself. Some of his physical schtick is priceless, and it's hardly specifically suggested by the text.
James Blendick's commanding Justice Swallow is a revelation in an often predictable fool-role. Tom McCamus, whose voice and presence make him the least forgettable actor in any production, not only makes Master Page commanding but may be the most likable one I've seen. Andrew Gillies as the Welsh Parson who trains the improbable children is a delight. And Dan Chameroy as Falstaff's crony Ensign Pistol, and the irresistible Janet Wright as Mistress Quickly, make their uneven roles here seem as notable as those characters are in Shakespeare's King Henry plays.
Except occasionally, and only in parts, I've not understood why The Merry Wives of Windsor is so popular. At Stratford's opening this year, I did.
