North Central presents 'Merry Wives of Windsor'

North Central College students will stage William Shakespeare's "The Merry Wives of Windsor," a Renaissance romp with a 1950s twist, Thursday through Sunday, Jan. 7-10.

The performances begin at 7:30 p.m. in the college's Madden Theatre at the Fine Arts Center, 171 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville. Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for students and seniors. For tickets, call the box office at (630) 637-7469 or visit northcentralcollege.edu/showtix.

North Central's visiting assistant professor of theater, Dave Peterson, has adapted Shakespeare's 1590s London production of "The Merry Wives of Windsor" to the 1950s in America.

Setting the play in a "Happy Days"-type diner with images of soda fountains and homey American culture, Peterson collaborated with associate professor of theater and director Carin Silkaitis, scenic designer Dan Stratton and costume designer Kandace Huebner to translate the play in design and in script.

"While keeping the majority of Shakespeare's language - with its word play, poetry and power of language - we've made small changes to clarify new relationships and locations," Peterson said.

The play tells the story of Falstaff, a man of rank and status but no money. He tries to seduce and then extort married Mistresses Page and Ford. The audience gets to delight in Falstaff's pretensions and the wit of the women who turn his plot on its head.

Through the course of the play, Page and Ford dump Falstaff in a river, dress him as an old woman and convince him to wander the woods at night looking for otherworldly beings. All the while, Page and her husband attempt to arrange the marriage of their daughter, who insists on making her own choice.

Shakespeare's only domestic comedy, "Merry Wives" has an unusually large number of strong and witty roles for women. His comedy is familiar, and the college's adaptation in the 1950s has a similar familiarity and nostalgia for our age, Peterson said.

"The truth, particularly for women and minorities in the '50s, was not so idyllic. The seeming perfection concealed simmering tensions, abuses and inequalities. This tension between the ideal and reality is playfully brought to life by placing 'Merry Wives' in the 1950s," Peterson said.

"We get to visit a world we think is familiar and fun, but instead see women in charge and playful uprootings of convention. Our production of 'Merry Wives' captures what Shakespeare hoped to capture for his audience: something familiar but with a twist. This twist allows us to revisit the dream of the 1950s, while also poking fun at its shortcomings."

If you go

What: "The Merry Wives of Windsor"

When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, Jan. 7-10

Where: North Central College's Madden Theatre at the Fine Arts Center, 171 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville

Tickets: $10 adults, $8 students and seniors

Info: (630) 637-7469 or northcentralcollege.edu/showtix