Merry Wives, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Sidney Harman Hall, Washington, DC

 

The cast of Merry Wives at the Shakespeare Theatre Company. Photo credit: Teresa Castracane.

Some Shakespeare scholars believe that it was during a period of the plague that Shakespeare wrote two of his best-known and most admired plays, King Lear and Macbeth. Just as in that troubled period, during the COVID-19 pandemic (the “plague” of our times), playwrights, actors, musicians, and artists were challenged to think outside “the box” in order to keep their creative juices flowing.

New York’s Public Theatre commissioned award-winning playwright Jocelyn Bioh, who received a Best Play Tony Award nomination for Jaja’s African Hair Braiding (produced last year at Arena Stage), to work on a new production of Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor. The resulting play, now titled Merry Wives, was first produced in New York in 2021. The production program credits Bioh as “Adaptor,” though I am certain that titleTdoes not reflect the magnitude of what she has accomplished, which is now on the stage at Sidney Harman Hall, produced by Washington’s Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC).

“Merry Wives, Cultural Connections,” an article in the play’s program (STC Asides) by Drew Lichtenberg and Leeanét Noble, describes the play as “an intercultural synthesis of Shakespeare’s play with West African performance traditions.” Over 90% of the play’s text is exactly as Shakespeare wrote it, with appropriate additions acknowledging the new setting: contemporary Harlem, 116^th Street, specifically, peopled by members of a variety of different West African cultures. The two “merry wives” and their husbands are from Nigeria and Ghana; a French doctor from the original is now from Senegal, a French-speaking West African country; and a Welsh minister is now from Liberia.

The titular Merry Wives: Felicia Curry as Madam Ford and Oneika Phillips as Madam Page at the Shakespeare Theatre Company. Photo credit: Teresa Castracane Photography.

Even with such a high percentage of Shakespeare’s words, Bioh’s Merry Wives feels surprisingly contemporary. As Lichtenberg and Noble point out, the original Merry Wives of Windsor had at least three significant characteristics distinctive as a Shakespeare play that help make it relatable: it is Shakespeare’s only play written about his own place and time; the only one focused on “middle class” characters; and it is written much more in prose (88%) than poetry.

The genesis of the play is said to have been a request by Queen Elizabeth to see Falstaff, a character who appears in two of the history plays concerning Henry IV, in a comedy. In this play, Falstaff is a roguish character of the neighborhood, a slovenly, disgusting “ne’er-do-well” desperate for money, who schemes to make advances on Madam Ford and Madam Page by sending them identical love letters. When the friends realize the stunt that Falstaff is trying to pull, they plot their revenge, culminating in a scene involving a confrontation with the spirit world.

Almost lost in the chaos is the plight of Anne Page, Madam Page’s voluptuous daughter, whose hand in marriage is sought by three suitors: Slender (her father’s choice), Doctor Caius (her mother’s), and Fenton (Anne’s choice). Once Falstaff has been put in his place, the ultimate winner of Anne’s hand is revealed. Despite all of his misdeeds, Falstaff is somewhat forgiven and welcomed to the community’s subsequent celebration.

The production begins with ensemble member Shaka Zu engaging in a playful drum-beating exchange with the audience, introducing African-flavored percussion and music as the stage fills with colorfully-garbed characters. We recognize immediately that this is a true community as the characters interact, sometimes taking on a comical exaggeration and synchronization. The primary setting is of storefronts and apartment buildings on the street, including even an entrance to the New York subway, supplemented by set pieces and backdrops that glide into place. The front of the laundry opens up at several points in the action, allowing us to see the setting’s details and making use of the washing machines and dryers, along with a well-used laundry cart, which becomes a vehicle for very slowly (and comically) moving one of the characters.

Jacob Ming-Trent as Falstaff in Merry Wives at the Shakespeare Theatre Company. Photo credit: Teresa Castracane Photography.

The work of scenic designer Lawrence E. Moten III, costume designer Ivania Stack, and lighting designer Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew includes vibrant colors, picking up the pulsating energy coming from the talented cast. Wig and hair designer Nikiya Mathis and sound designer/composer Mikaal Sulaiman make key contributions to the production’s distinctive look and sound. Taylor Reynolds directs with wry wit, humor, and sensuality, adding flourishes that emphasize the links between the characters even more than their differences. The choreography by Ashleigh King builds on and contributes to the immediacy and rhythm of the play.

It is a tribute to the work of adaptor Bioh, director Reynolds, and the cast that, except for obvious interpolations of contemporary lingo (and even one Dumbledore reference), one would be hard-pressed to discern which words are from the original and which have been added. The language is enhanced by the accents employed by the actors.

Jacob Ming-Trent as Falstaff, Felicia Curry as Madam Ford, and Oneika Phillips as Madam Page in Merry Wives at the Shakespeare Theatre Company. Photo credit: Teresa Castracane Photography.

Jacob Ming-Trent is having a wonderful time as Falstaff, the crude, disheveled mountain of a man whose presence is so real one could almost smell his stench. Ming-Trent gives a charismatic performance in his first STC appearance. Another STC debut performance comes from Oneika Phillips as Madam Ekua Page, who is perfectly matched with DC area theatre favorite Felicia Curry as Madam Nkechi Ford. As the titular “merry wives,” the two mesh and play off each other, making it easy to believe that these “neighbors” have a strong personal connection as they create their schemes to put Falstaff in his place.

Felicia Curry as Madam Ford, Jordan Barbour as Doctor Caius, Nick Rashad Burroughs as Mister Ford, Sekou Laidlow as Pastor Evans, and JaBen Early as Mister Page in Merry Wives at Shakespeare Theatre Company. Photo credit: Teresa Castracane Photography.

The entire cast is on point. A highlight among the supporting performances is Jordan Barbour, whose flamboyant, over-the-top antics (and delicious French accent) make Doctor Caius memorable. Nick Rashad Burroughs is especially energetic as Mister Nduka Ford, who disguises himself as someone else to interfere with Falstaff’s plans, while JaBen Early as Mister Kwame Page supplies a more even-tempered presence. Peyton Rowe is a sensuous and seductive Anne Page. Cast members Bru Aju as Slender and Pistol, Kelli Blackwell as Madam Quickly, Latoya Edwards as Fenton and Simple, Sekou Laidlow as Pastor Evans, and understudy Tyrone Stanley as Shallow (in the opening night performance), keep things moving. Special mention goes to Shaka Zu and Rebecca Celeste, who convey characters with great humor despite having few or no words as a play on its own merits a

I commend Merry Wives as a play on its own merits and hope it will find its way onto many regional, university, and community theatre stages in the future. And I commend this production to Shakespeare fans, but perhaps even more to those who consider Shakespeare to be dull and boring and completely out of touch with life today. I guarantee that you will find it funny, fascinating, and relevant. Merry Wives is an excellent start to STC's new season. Performances continue through October 5.