1 Goldstar Member Review

Anonymous

Cal Shakes is always a fun adventure. Bring your favorite food and wine and enjoy. The show was really fun. Great puppeteering. We saw a preview and it was ready for an audience. The BART / shuttle thing is great too.

Written on Jun 02 2006

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More Information About The Merry Wives of Windsor

Description

“Cal Shakes took its first step investigating the stories of Shakespeare through puppetry with The Comedy of Errors. Now with The Merry Wives of Windsor, one of Shakespeare’s larger-than-life comedies, we’re taking it even further,” remarked director Sean Daniels. “This means employing 25 puppets ranging in size from two to 20 feet and partnering with the Center of Puppetry Arts in Atlanta to create a world that takes advantage of a spectrum of international puppetry styles, including hand and rod, shadow, marionette, and reverse marionette. We’ve also brought together some of the finest puppeteers and puppet designers from around the country to work on the production; it’s a dream come true to work with artists of this caliber.”

Celebrating one of Shakespeare’s most beloved characters and infamous skirt-chasers, The Merry Wives of Windsor chronicles the exploits of Sir John Falstaff who, down on luck an money, tries to swindle two seemingly-simple country housewives. But the joke is on him when the Mistresses Ford and Page catch on to Falstaff’s seduction scheme and teach him a lesson with some mischief of their own.

Called “one of the top 15 up and coming artists in the U.S. whose work will be transforming America’s stages for decades to come” by American Theatre magazine, director Sean Daniels is in his third season as Associate Artistic Director of California Shakespeare Theater. Daniels’ directing credits for California Shakespeare Theater include The Comedy of Errors, Othello, and The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (co-directed with Jonathan Moscone). As the former Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Dad’s Garage Theater Company in Atlanta, Daniels helmed O Happy Day and Out of the Trees (World Premieres by Monty Python’s Graham Chapman), and Cannibal! The Musical (World Premiere by “South Park” creator Trey Parker). Additionally, Daniels helmed Bat Boy: The Musical at the Alliance Theatre Company, and Tron and The Santa Abductions (World Premiere by Sean Benjamin) with Chicago’s acclaimed The Neo-Futurists. Upcoming projects include the staged reading of Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s Sweet Thunder as part of Cal Shakes’ New Works/New Communities Program.

Lead puppet designer Jon Ludwig is the Associate Artistic Director for the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, Georgia, the nation’s largest institution dedicated to the art of puppetry, and is the recipient of five UNIMA- USA Citations of Excellence in Puppetry. His adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, commissioned and produced for the 1996 Olympic Arts Festival, received national and international acclaim, and was heralded as one of the highlights of the Festival. In addition to his work at the Center, Ludwig writes, designs, and puppeteers the shadow puppet segments for the Disney Channel/Henson Production television show Bear in the Big Blue House. His adult work includes Heaven-Hell Tour and Safe as Milk, which has been performed throughout the U.S. and was staged as part of the Jim Henson Foundation’s International Festival of Puppet Theater.

California Shakespeare Theater has assembled some of the Bay Area’s finest actors along with nationally acclaimed puppeteers for The Merry Wives of Windsor. Associate Artist Ron Campbell returns to California Shakespeare Theater as Falstaff. A founding member of The Actor’s Gang in L.A., Campbell has appeared in California Shakespeare Theater productions of The Tempest, The Comedy of Errors, Much Ado About Nothing, and Henry IV. Known for his one-man show R. Buckminster Fuller: The History (and Mystery) of the Universe, Campbell most recently completed a run with Teatro Zinzanni, and starred in the critically lauded Aurora Theatre Company production of The Thousandth Night. He has also appeared in productions at Mark Taper Forum, Seattle Repertory Theatre, The Old Globe, A.C.T., and the Intiman Theatre among others. He is the recipient of a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award, eight Dramalogue awards, four Backstage West Garland Awards, and two Bay Area Critic’s Circle Awards.

Associate Artist Anthony Fusco returns to California Shakespeare Theater as Master Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor. Fusco previously appeared in California Shakespeare Theater productions of The Tempest, The Importance of Being Earnest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Cymbeline, and Arms and the Man, for which he won a Bay Area Critics Circle Award. In addition, he has been featured in productions at Marin Theatre Company, Traveling Jewish Theatre, and the Magic Theatre, and in several leading roles at A.C.T., including The Voysey Inheritance, for which he earned a Bay Area Theatre Critic’s Circle nomination.

Catherine Castellanos begins her first season as an Associate Artist at California Shakespeare Theater as Mistress Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor. Castellanos last appeared at California Shakespeare Theater in the critically heralded The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, as well as Othello, All’s Well That Ends Well, Henry IV, The Seagull, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. A company member of Campo Santo, where she has collaborated on numerous World Premieres, Castellanos has worked with writers including Dave Eggers, Naomi Iizuka, Greg Sarris, and Octavio Solis.

Delia MacDougall returns to California Shakespeare Theater as Mistress Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor; she has appeared in the company’s productions of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Arms and the Man, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Macbeth. Other credits include roles at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, A.C.T., Intiman Theatre, Magic Theatre, Aurora Theatre Company, Marin Theater Company, and San Diego Repertory Theatre, among others. Additionally, MacDougall is an actor and director with Campo Santo and Word for Word.

Danny Scheie, who appeared in the company’s productions of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Romeo and Juliet, and Twelfth Night, returns to California Shakespeare Theater as Dr. Caius in The Merry Wives of Windsor. Scheie has received multiple awards for his work as both an actor and director at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, Trinity Repertory Company, South Coast Repertory, Pasadena Playhouse, Magic Theatre, Marin Theater Company, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, TheatreWorks, Aurora Theatre Company, and Center Repertory Company.

Also featured in The Merry Wives of Windsor are Liam Vincent (Midsummer’s Night Dream at California Shakespeare Theater, Five Flights at Encore Theatre, Body Familiar at Magic Theatre) as Master Page, and recent Bay Area arrival Max T. Moore (Family Alchemy at Traveling Jewish Theatre, Marvin’s Room at Seattle Repertory Theatre), who makes his debut at California Shakespeare Theater as Slender. Rounding out the cast are master puppeteers Lorna Howley, Spencer Stevens, and Geoff Uterhardt from the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta.

The design team for The Merry Wives of Windsor includes Scott Bradley (set designer); Chris Brown (puppet designer); Russell H. Champa (lighting designer); Jason Hines (puppet designer); Andrew Hurteau (fight choreographer); Domenique Lozano (vocal coach); Dave Malloy (composer and sound designer); Les Reinhardt (stage manager); Lydia Tanji (costume designer); and Daniel Venning (dramaturg).

The Center for Puppetry Arts has introduced millions to the wonder and art of puppetry through enchanting performances, curriculum-based workshops, and a hands-on Museum since Kermit the Frog and his creator Jim Henson cut the opening day ribbon in 1978. The first puppetry center in the United States, the Center for Puppetry Arts was the only theater group chosen by the 1996 Olympics to participate in all four years of its arts festival program, and was named “one of the most exciting companies in American theater” by Newsweek.

About the Ticket Supplier: California Shakespeare Theater

The California Shakespeare Theater is committed to being a leading community citizen by nourishing the imaginations of audiences, artists and learners of all ages. We are dedicated to creating boldly imagined and deeply entertaining interpretations of Shakespeare's plays, fresh rediscoveries of important works of World Theater, and new works inspired by classic literature. Through our Artistic Learning programs, we are devoted to providing meaningful and accessible educational opportunities to a diversity of learners throughout the Greater Bay Area.