The People’s Shakespeare Project (TPSP) is presenting The Merry Wives of Windsor the third week of June at Wheatland, President James Buchanan’s former estate.
Set in the mid-1950s, the play’s characters gather at a resort near Windsor, Connecticut for a hilarious take-down of Sir John Falstaff, whose bad behavior demands a course correction.“The strict moral code and rigid gender norms (of the play) are very reflective of 1950s America, which is why I chose this setting for our production,” says Director Rachel Luann Strayer. Strayer is no stranger to Shakespeare-in-the-Park, having directed numerous outdoor plays for Ghostlight Productions in Clarks Summit, PA. Primarily a playwright, her work has been produced around the country and in Canada. In spite of the rigid 1950’s norms, Merry Wives is a “surprisingly feminist comedy,” Strayer says. A pair of housewives deliver Falstaff’s uproarious comeuppance, including a dunk in the river and dressing up in a pair of horns. “It’s lovely to see the women of Windsor take charge and upset the expectations of others,” adds Strayer.
This is TPSP’s third Shakespeare-in-the-Park production at Wheatland.