Shakespeare in the park

6/21/07

Last night I had the chance to go to Shakespeare in the park, and was surprised that I had not gone to it before. I think when many people here "Shakespeare" they may lose interest because of how little they know about him and his plays, but it was actually very easy to follow. Due to the rain I only had a chance to see a little bit of the play, but I really liked what I had the chance to see.

The thing that really stuck out to me was very funny! The play was Merry Wives of Windsor, by Shakespeare. My favorite character was Sir John Falstaff, the fat money hungry man who is attempting to court two wealthy married women, Mistress Ford and Mistress Page. Throughout the whole play Falstaff thinks that these two women don't know about the identical love letters he is sending to them and the fact that he is coming on to both women, but really both women know about the whole thing. They are constantly telling each other about the moves Falstaff is making on both of them, and decide to play a trick of their own. Page's daughter, Mistress Anne Page, is also caught in a love triangle when she really only loves Master Fenton, whom her mother tells her is no good for her. The two eventually end up together and Ford and Page teach Falstaff a thing or two about the games he is trying to play.

This play is different from any of the other plays I am familiar with of Shakespeare's. I loved the humor that the actors brought to it, and thought that they did such a good job altogether, despite the few rain delays. I think that this play is a good way of seeing all that Shakespeare is capable of. Not only can he write tragic love stories, but he is also able to keep an audiences attention in a comedy full of characters we will never forget.