Wichita Shakespeare Company Presents The Merry Wives of Windsor

Wichita Shakespeare Company Presents The Merry Wives of Windsor from Ben Blankley on Vimeo.

The Merry Wives of Windsor
Presented by Wichita Shakespeare Company
Sponsored by Wichita Park and Recreation Department

The Wichita Shakespeare Company (WSC) opens its 2010 Shakespeare-in-the-Park series with “The Merry Wives of Windsor.” One of the bard’s most frothy comedies, the play contains one of Shakespeare’s most beloved creations, Sir John Falstaff. The character also appears in the Bard’s two “Henry IV” plays. It is said that Queen Elizabeth was so enraptured by the character of Falstaff in the other plays that she requested Shakespeare to write him a larger role in a comedic play. The plot of this play details the comic exploits of the amoral Sir John Falstaff as he tries to woo two married women in the town of Windsor.

The play is directed by veteran WSC director Jane Tanner. Jane’s prior WSC directing experience includes last season’s “Romeo and Juliet” and 2008’s “Much Ado About Nothing.” Jane, also a Mary Jane Teall award-winning costume designer, is also doing the costumes for the show. Jane has been involved in every Shakespeare-in-the-Park production since its original inception in the early 1980’s. The impressive cast assembled for this production includes Larry Hartley as Sir John Falstaff, Elizabeth Anderson as Mistress Ford, and Vonda Schuster as Mistress Page. Others in the cast include Mark Anderson, Dan Schuster, Mark Schuster, Zoe Burke, April Karber, Ben Blankley, Dale Jones, Travis Hooper, Robert Ryder, Adrian Kinney, Kirby Anderson, Luke Ebersole, Michael Leonard, and Spencer Schrader.

Shakespeare-in-the-Park will return to the very popular Riverside, Buffalo, and College Hill Parks for this show. The Wichita Park and Recreation Department is kindly sponsoring the Wichita performances. Parks in Andover, Park City, Derby, and Haysville will complete the tour. All shows will begin at 7:00 pm, with an approximate running time of one hour and a half. As always, the play is performed free to all audiences but donations are accepted and appreciated. Those attending are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, blankets and, of course, bug spray.

In the event of inclement weather, there will be a message posted at 6 pm on the WSC line (316-655-2017) alerting if the show has been cancelled for that evening.

Exact park locations and dates are as follows:

June 4th Central Riverside Park, Wichita
June 5th Hap McLean Park, Park City
June 6th Riggs Park, Haysville
June 11th College Hill Park, Wichita
June 12th Buffalo Park, Wichita
June 13th Andover Sports Park, Andover
June 18th College Hill Park, Wichita
June 19th College Hill Park, Wichita
June 20th Hand Park, Derby

For additional information regarding this show or press release, contact Jane Tanner at (316) 617-2642.