"Bare boards and a passion." - Peter O'' Toole
The Merry Wives of Windsor
Digital Program
The Players
Ben Tomaiuolo - Bardolph, John Rugby, Robert/John
Bradley Nowacek - Master Page
Bridget Randolph - Mistress Quickly, Host of the Garter
John McKol l - Shallow
John St. Croix - Sir John Falstaff
Megan Piggott - Slender
Melina Rabin - Pistol, Simple, Robert/John
Patrick Taaffe - Dr. Caius
Peirce Robinson - Nym, Fenton
Samantha Seiff - Anne Page, Robin
Sharon Stevens - Mistress Page
Stephanie Greenwood - Sir Hugh Evans
Victoria Gomez - Mistress Ford
William Downes - Master Ford
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THE PRODUCTION TEAM
Director - Rachel Purcell Fountain
Stage Manager - Christelly Encarnacion
Lighting - Benjamin Wolfe
Music and Production Assistant - Jacqueline Wladis
Merry Wives will be performed with one 10-minute intermission
About Classics on the Rocks
At Classics on the Rocks, we believe that just as whiskey doesn't need anything more than rocks to tame its bite, Shakespeare doesn't need fancy concepts, modernizations, frilly costumes, or big sets to make it relatable. All you need are talented actors who trust the text and tell the story. It's classics served simply, on the rocks.
Our mission is to create a warm, friendly environment where actors and audience can come together and experience classical theatre in an easily accessible and engaging way. With Shakespeare as our foundation, we bring the timeless themes of classic works that have defined and redefined humanity to life through intimately staged productions and acting workshops. Learn more at www.classicsontherocks.org
A note from the Director
I don't know that I directed this play so much as I had a bunch of very, very talented cats submit for auditions, and then I cast those cats, and spent the summer herding them. This show has been a massively collaborative effort, and credit for the choices you see onstage largely goes to this phenomenal group of actors.
To me, this play was Shakespeare's way of giving audiences a little bit more of Falstaff, a character who is quite beloved despite his roguery, and who deserved better than his unceremonious offstage death in Henry V.
In our production, we're approaching that framing with the help of a narrator of sorts--and who better to resurrect from the Henriad for this role than Mistress Quickly, who is also undercover as the Host of the Garter? At the end of the day, despite the nod to Falstaff, this is a story told by and engineered by female characters.
I have always loved The Merry Wives of Windsor and found it to be a deeply underrated and under-performed play within Shakespeare's canon--the way the characters speak to each other feels so contemporary (almost strangely so, at times!), and their personalities are very real and relatable. I hope you enjoy it as much as we have! - Rachel Purcell Fountain
Merry Wives: The Cheat Sheet
So "The Merry Wives of Windsor" is this totally ridiculous play by Shakespeare. It starts with this old guy, Falstaff, who's always broke and trying to get money by wooing rich women. He sends these love letters to two smart and sassy women, Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Page, thinking he can charm them and get their money. But instead of falling for his nonsense, they decide to mess with him and teach him a lesson.
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Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Page pull all these pranks on Falstaff, like hiding him in a laundry basket and dumping him in the river. He keeps trying to meet up with them, but they keep tricking him. Meanwhile, Mrs. Ford's husband thinks she's cheating on him and gets super jealous. He goes undercover as this dude named Brooke to try to get intel on the sitch with Falstaff - and becomes OBSESSED with catching them in the act.
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Then there's the whole subplot with Mrs. Page's daughter, Anne. Like, three different guys are trying to marry her: Dr. Caius, who's this kind of oddball French doctor; Slender, who's just this totally awkward guy that Anne's dad likes; and Fenton, who's actually super sweet and Anne's true love. There's all this sneaking around and secret plans to get Anne to marry the right guy. It's like a love triangle, but with four people, and it's just as crazy as it sounds!
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We also meet Mistress Quickly, who's this super chatty woman working for Dr. Caius but also kind of in everyone's business, always making things even more chaotic. To add to the chaos, she also goes undercover as the Host of the Garter Inn where a lot of the action happens so she can further make mischief at the country club. And Sir Hugh Evans is this Welsh parson who gets a lot of flack for his accent but is genuinely kind and gets involved in some of the schemes, adding even more chaos to the mix.
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It all comes to a head in the final prank of the play where they all dress up like fairies to scare the living daylights out of Falstaff in the woods. He totally freaks out, thinking he's being attacked by real fairies, and it's just the perfect payback for all his nonsense. Plus, in the end, Anne ends up with her true love, Fenton, and everyone else gets what they deserve. It's like the perfect happy ending to this wild and crazy story.
Meet the Cast
