The Chameleon Theatre Circle

The Merry Wives of Windsor
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Carin Bratlie
June 13-29, 2008

Sir John Falstaff	Punching Balloons	played by Andrew Troth
Fenton, a gentleman	Bouquet Flowers	played by Andrew Troth
Shallow, a country justice	An Old Mop	played by Anna Sundberg
Slender, cousin to Shallow	Whisk Broom	played by Andrew Troth
Master Ford	Bellows	played by Megan Engeseth
Master Page	Handkerchief	played by Anissa Brazil
Sir Hugh Evans, a Welsh parson	Sock	played by Anna Sundberg
Doctor Caius, a French physician	Shoe	played by Andrew Troth
The Host	Beer Stein	played by Anna Sundberg
Bardolph	Balloon Shape B	played by Tamara Philbrick
Pistol	Balloon Shape P	played by Tamara Philbrick
Nim	Balloon Shape N	played by Tamara Philbrick
Robin	Thimble	played by Bailey Troth
Simple, servant to Slender	Umbrella	played by Anna Sundberg
Rugby, servant to Doctor Caius	Rug	played by Trish Fike
Mistress Ford	Lantern	played by Megan Engeseth
Mistress Page	Fan	played by Anissa Brazil
Anna Page, her daughter	Opera Glove	played by Tamara Philbrick
Mistress Quickly, servant to Doctor Caius	Corset	played by Trish Fike
John, servant to Ford	Fork	played by Trish Fike
Robert, servant to Ford	Spoon	played by Trish Fike

Stage Manager		Kerri Eldred
Stage Hand		Michelle Dougherty
Props		Mark Steffer
Sound Design		Rick Raasch
Producers		Garrick Dietze, Bradley Donaldson

The Merry Wives of Windsor will be performed at the following dates and locations:

Friday, June 13 at Caponi Art Park in Eagan at 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 14 at the Lakeville Area Arts Center in Lakeville at 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 21 at Nicollet Commons Park in Burnsville at 7 p.m.
Sunday, June 22 at Nicollet Commons Park in Burnsville at 7 p.m.
Saturday, June 28 at Logan Park in Northeast Minneapolis at 6 p.m.
Sunday, June 29 at Huber Park in Shakopee at 6 p.m.

There is no cost for admission for The Merry Wives of Windsor. All performances take place outdoors - bring dinner and watch the show! Don't forget a blanket or lawn chair!

The Merry Wives of Windsor is one of the best loved of Shakespeare's comedies and also contains the highest proportion of prose of any of his plays. Its central character is Falstaff who had been a roaring success with audiences in Henry IV Part I and Part II, although in this incarnation he bears little resemblance to his previous character. This may have been performed or at least written for the occasion of the installation of Lord Hunsdon as a knight of the Garter on 23 April 1597, although John Dennis a century later claimed that the bard had written the play on the order of Elizabeth I who wished to see Falstaff in love. Some place the play's creation as late as 1601 however. In printed form the play exists in the 'bad' quarto text of 1602 and in the much more substantial Folio of 1623 (the version that includes Garter Feast references).

The play involves the ritual humiliation of Sir John Falstaff who is flirting with two married women for financial gain. Falstaff sends identical love letters to Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Page and he ends up thrown in a dirty ditch and beaten while in disguise as the 'fat woman of Brainford' by Mr. Ford. His final embarrassment at Herne's oak is the worst, however. While all this goes on there is the matter of Page's daughter to be dealt with. Her three suitors (Doctor Caius, Slender and young Fenton) try to win the approval of her parents but the true lover of Anne Page ends up the victor in hilarious circumstances.