The Merry Wives of Windsor at TRIST – Fools’ Paradise

The best thing about The Rhode Island Shakespeare Theater (TRIST) is that founding artistic director Bob Colonna does not treat the plays with undue reverence, fearful of messing with an entombed classic like a ship in a bottle. Rather, Shakespeare is among the most dynamic of playwrights, intending his work from inception to be adapted and modified as the needs of performance might dictate. To his credit, director Colonna displayed no hesitation in hacking and slashing away a secondary plot and a number of characters, abridging one of Shakespeare’s earliest and most tedious plays to a quick 1h30m including a 10m intermission, paring it down to the true comedy it is.

Some of this is simply changing tastes: audiences circa 1600 wanted their money’s worth centuries before the invention of television, radio, and audio recording, and they would have felt shortchanged seeing a play under three hours. The modern audience does not equate value with length, and since all performances of TRIST are free admission, it would be unseemly to criticize the abridgment even by Elizabethan standards.

TRIST emphasizes fun, and the cast is having such a good time playing The Merry Wives of Windsor that their enthusiasm is contagious.

Sir John Falstaff (Jeffrey Ouellette) is a knight who likes wine, women, and song – not necessarily in that order – and he lives large in more ways than one, as evidenced by his substantial girth. The fat knight decides to use his natural charm to seduce two happily married women, Mistress Ford (Cherylee Dumas) and Mistress Page (Julian Trilling), thereby cuckolding their respective husbands, Master Ford (Geoff White) and Master Page (Jim Ernest). Various others get involved, including Mistress Quickly (Mary Paolino) as a messenger, Pistol (Mark Carter) who is Falstaff’s unfaithful servant, Justice Shallow (Stephanie Sivalingam), and Sir Hugh Evans (David Adams Murphy). Mistresses Ford and Page discover that Falstaff is trying to seduce both of them, even sending them identical love notes, and they combine efforts to teach him a lesson by making a fool of him. At first, Master Ford is jealous of his wife while Master Page trusts his respective spouse, but eventually both are let in on the scheme and everyone joins in embarrassing Falstaff.

Dumas as Mistress Ford and Trilling as Mistress Page are the central characters driving the action, and their skill as performers makes or breaks the play. Fortunately, both are gifted comics, and Trilling in particular brilliantly pulls off an airhead act as foil, Laurel to Dumas’ Hardy. Ouellette as Falstaff is well suited to the role, a man so full of himself that his ego is bigger than his belly. White as Master Ford is a credible jealous husband, alternating wild mood swings between being convinced his wife is disloyal and thinking himself paranoid. Carter plays Pistol as a hilarious clown, a traditional Shakespearean fool, accompanying sound cues as at every mention of “birding” miming a shotgun complete with a cappella sound effects. Paolino, Silvingam, and Murphy contribute in what remains of their roles after Colonna’s abridgment.

The performance space is outdoors on the grass in the Roger Williams National Memorial on North Main St in Downtown Providence – not to be confused with Roger Williams Park in South Providence – and National Parks Ranger John McNiff precedes the play with a few minutes explaining the significance of Roger Williams in 1636 founding Providence as one of the first outposts of religious freedom in the world. A few folding chairs are provided, but audience members are encouraged to bring their own chairs and blankets, both for better comfort and also to be assured of not having to sit on bare ground if the provided chairs run out.

Shakespeare in the park with TRIST is an annual Providence tradition not to be missed. What more could an audience want than a free show by one of the most astute interpreters of Shakespeare working today? Bob Colonna founded TRIST in 1971 – that’s 48 years ago – and is still going strong. If you’re put off by the ultra-serious obeisance to Shakespeare often seen elsewhere, TRIST and The Merry Wives of Windsor is just the remedy you’re looking for: a breezy comic romp with solid acting and judicious abridgment.

The Merry Wives of Windsor, by William Shakespeare as adapted by Bob Colonna, directed by Bob Colonna, outdoors at Roger Williams National Memorial, 282 N Main St, PVD. Free off-street parking in a small lot and metered on-street parking on N Main St. Bring your own chairs and blankets. Handicap accessible. Daily Thu-Sun, 8pm, weather permitting, through Jun 30. Free admission, no tickets required. Facebook: facebook.com/TRIST-117777578237220 Event: facebook.com/events/442297223220521