Is this the John Falstaff that is said to have provoked Queen Elizabeth to request a play about Sir John in love from William Shakespeare? Not quite. Not in the Old Globe Shakespeare Festival’s production of “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” which opened July 6. Paul Mullins’ production features Eric Hoffmann as the drunken (not-so here), down-at-heels knight known for his belly of oil and tankard of sack.
Falstaff is a fellow so drunken, so self-deluded, so in denial about his person and so filled with overweening pride that when his coffers run dry, he decides to woo not one but two gentlewomen of the town of Windsor, which director Paul Mullins sets somewhere in the Wild West. Hoffmann, who is not a very drunken knight, possesses the bluster but little of the gut sincerity and beguile that should evoke our sympathy and make us weep at Hearn’s Oak, where Mistress Page and Mistress Ford, their husbands and the townsfolk deliver Falstaff’s final comeuppance in the form of a ghastly charade and beating.
As rollicking comedy, however, this “Merry Wives” works. Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Page, as they’re called on the frontier, are played by Katie MacNichol and Celeste Ciulla, respectively. In high spirits the close friends set about getting revenge when Sir John sends them identical love letters. Assignations are scheduled. Each ends in hilarity. I’m still trying to figure out Ciulla’s amazing hanging-from-the-doorjamb bit. Eventually the husbands, played by Bruce Turk and Nat McIntyre, join in the fun.
Denitsa Bliznakova’s post-Civil War costumes are endlessly fascinating. Ralph Funicello’s busy set transforms easily from Ford’s merchandise emporium and home to the Garter Saloon, where we run into such desperate characters as Justice of the Peace Robert Shallow (Jonathan McMurtry with outrageously funny six-shooters), who looks very like Buffalo Bill, and Falstaff himself, who resembles Wild Bill Hickok. The only one missing is Annie Oakley. Once again, the proceedings are mightily enhanced by Wesley Fata’s joyous choreography, Christopher R. Walker’s sound and original music and Steve Rankin’s fight choreography.
As Welsh parson Hugh Evans, Charles Janasz turns in another priceless, minutely detailed portrayal (he’s Lord Lafew in “All’s Well” and Lord Montague in “Romeo and Juliet”). Wynn Harmon is marvelous as the French dandy, Dr. Caius (their duel is riotously funny), and Deborah Taylor delivers an earthy Mrs. Quickly, the woman everyone calls on for special errands. MFA actors Michael Kirby, John Keabler and Sam Henderson score as Sir John’s cohorts, Bardolph, Pistol and Nym, and MFA actor Sloan Grenz, extremely nimble and expressive, nearly steals the show as Slender, Shallow’s nephew, whom Shallow hopes to marry to Anne Page (Carolyn Ratteray), who in turn truly loves Fenton (Owiso Odera).
The Shakespeare repertory is grand this year: an energetic “Merry Wives,” a profoundly moving “All’s Well that Ends Well” and an extremely well-done “Romeo and Juliet.” Take your pick. They alternate evenings at 8 p.m. nightly except Mondays through Sept. 28, at the Old Globe’s outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, Balboa Park.
For tickets and a complete repertory schedule, visit www.theoldglobe.org or call (619) 23-GLOBE.
