Review: ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor’ thrills in opening weekend

I had the opportunity to watch the Utah State University Theatre Arts Department’s production of “The Merry Wives of Windsor” on the second night of the performance. A lesser-known Shakespearean work, this play was changed by the theater department into something I won’t soon forget. From adding in a choreographed dance to Michael Jackson’s hit “Thriller” to building a fat suit for Sir John Falstaff, I find myself thinking about this play at least once a day — and not just to mull over the line from the Host of the Garter Inn: “Boys of art, I have deceived you both.”  

I’m going to be frank. I was pretty confused about what was really going on at the beginning of the play. It’s no secret Shakespearean English is often a little harder to understand, but I really started getting into this play when I heard Master Doctor Caius, played by Jonah Newton, make a “6-7” joke. I could, verifiably, be heard snorting backstage and for me, it really only went uphill from there.  

While this play was set in Windsor, England in the early 1400s during the reign of King Henry IV, the theater department, under the direction of Leslie Brott, transformed this set into a diner scene from the 1950s. The story follows two different romantic pursuits: that of young Anne Page, played by Belle Francom, and that of her mother and her mother’s friend, Mistresses Page and Ford, played by Sydney Rhine and Ariana Whatcott, respectively.  

Here’s what I’ll say: If you liked the love triangles in “The Summer I Turned Pretty” and “My Life with the Walter Boys,” you also should try getting into the Falstaff x Mistress Ford x Mistress Page dynamic. Basically, a man named Sir John Falstaff rolls into town, broke as a joke. He comes up with this clever idea that instead of, say, getting a job, he could just date two wealthy men’s wives in the hope to get their money instead.  

Mistresses Page and Ford, the Merry Wives of Windsor, if you would, team up against Falstaff in a duo that gives off the same vibes as me and my best friend Ella trying to convince my husband Ike he should take us for a sweet treat — it’s chaotic, he never thinks it’s a great idea and we always get what we want in the end!  

One of my favorite characters in this play was Mistress Quickly, Caius’ housekeeper and local busybody. Played by Esther Barnes, I was “quickly” enamored with the go-between character who was sharing everyone’s business and getting paid to do it. Gossip for profit? Quickly says yes. 

Moving into a plot containing deceit from a suspicious Master Ford and a gender-swap disguise where a fat Falstaff becomes a fat “witch,” more aptly called “the fat woman of brainford,” and beat with a number eight cast iron skillet, the play ends in a wonderful little twist by the theater department, providing us with a fully choreographed dance number I liked very much. I watched the show on Valentine’s Day, and if there’s one thing I learned about romance it’s if you’re going to chase two ladies at once, at the very least, write them two separate letters.