The Merry Wives of Windsor Cast and Creative Announcement

The Old Globe
announces the full cast and creative team for
William Shakespeare’s
The Merry Wives of Windsor
directed by Globe Resident Artist
James Vásquez

Performances run July 30 through September 3, 2023,
with the opening on Saturday, August 5

Tickets available at www.TheOldGlobe.org

PHOTO EDITORS: Photos of The Merry Wives of Windsor can be found here.

SAN DIEGO (June 28, 2023) – The Old Globe is pleased to announce the full cast and creative team for The Merry Wives of Windsor. Under the direction of Globe Resident Artist James Vásquez, mistaken identities, romance, and an unforgettable gallery of Shakespeare’s most vivid characters fill the stage for a theatrical rollercoaster ride that’s raucous, kooky, and entirely bewitching. The Merry Wives of Windsor completes The Old Globe’s 2023 Summer Shakespeare Festival under the stars in the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre. Performances begin July 30 and play through September 3, 2023, with the opening on Saturday, August 5. Tickets are available at www.TheOldGlobe.org.

Shakespeare meets “I Love Lucy” in this 1950s spin on one of the Bard’s wildest and most appealing comedies. The notorious John Falstaff, larger-than-life in every way, leaves the big city to work his charms on the suburban inhabitants of Windsor. Always hustling for his next buck, he sets his sights on two of Windsor’s ladies-who-lunch, but when they figure out Falstaff’s game, they decide to teach him a lesson he won’t forget.

“The Old Globe last produced The Merry Wives of Windsor in 2008, and it’s way, way overdue for another look,” said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. “Globe Resident Artist James Vásquez brings a wild, even bonkers imaginative twist to it, moving the farcical action of Shakespeare’s silliest play to the sitcom world of California in the 1950s. Roller skates, poodle skirts, and perms lift the antics of Falstaff and his friends into an ‘I Love Lucy’–ish romp that’s just perfect entertainment on a summer San Diego evening under the stars.”

The cast for The Merry Wives of Windsor includes, in alphabetical order, Jenn Harris as Mrs. Quickly, Tom McGowan as Falstaff, Matt McGrath as Sir Hugh Evans, Dion Mucciacito as Ford, Jesse J. Perez as Doctor Caius, Angela Pierce as Mrs. Ford, Ruibo Qian as Mrs. Page, and Cornell Womack as Page.

The cast also includes students in The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program: Jose Balistrieri as Fenton, Luana Fontes as Bobbie, Camilla Hsieh as Anne Page, Madeline Grace Jones as Pistol, Sarah Joyce as Ensemble, Becca Lustgarten as Shallow, Carter Piggee as Robin, Jeffrey Rashad as Slender, Bernadette Sefic as Nym, Vandous Stripling II as John, Emma Svitil as Simple, Jude Tibeau as Bardolph, Michael Underhill as Rugby, and Maggie Walters as Hostess.

In addition to James Vásquez, the creative team includes Diggle (Scenic Design), Lex Liang (Costume Design), Mextly Couzin (Lighting Design), Melanie Chen Cole (Sound Design), Ursula Meyer (Voice and Text Coach), Tara Rubin Casting/Claire Burke, CSA (Casting), and Chandra R.M. Anthenill (Production Stage Manager).

Bios and photos of all participants can be found at www.TheOldGlobe.org/Press-Room.

The Old Globe’s 2023 Summer Shakespeare Festival kicked off earlier this month with Twelfth Night, directed by three-time Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall. The festival also features the Globe’s popular annual event Thinking Shakespeare Live! directed by Barry Edelstein. The event will be held on Saturday August 5, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Drawn from Edelstein’s approachable and inviting book Thinking Shakespeare: A How-To Guide for Student Actors, Directors, and Anyone Else Who Wants to Feel More Comfortable with the Bard, Thinking Shakespeare Live! will feature Edelstein, who will be joined by three professional classical actors. Immediately after the event, Edelstein will sign copies of Thinking Shakespeare, which will be available for purchase at the theatre. Tickets are now on sale at TheOldGlobe.org.

The Merry Wives of Windsor will play in the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre at The Old Globe in San Diego’s Balboa Park (1363 Old Globe Way). Performances play from July 30 through September 3, 2023, with the official opening on Saturday, August 5 at 8:00 p.m. The performance schedule is Tuesday through Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are available online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE (234-5623), or at our Box Office in Balboa Park. Ticket prices vary. The Vicki and Carl Zeiger Insights Seminar, scheduled for Tuesday, August 1 at 7:00 p.m., will provide patrons an exploration of the themes and background of the The Merry Wives of Windor from selected artistic company members. Post-Show Forum events will be held on Tuesday, August 8; Tuesday, August 15; and Wednesday, August 23. Community Nights at The Old Globe will provide festive opportunities to connect over refreshments and conversation for BIPOC community on Friday, August 4 and LGBTQIA+ community on Friday, August 11. For additional information about The Merry Wives of Windsor, visit TheOldGlobe.org.

In alignment with the State of California, which has removed mask and vaccine requirements for indoor events, The Old Globe will not require patrons to provide proof of vaccination or to wear masks while attending shows or events in either its indoor or outdoor venues. However, patrons should feel comfortable wearing a mask anywhere on our campus if they choose.

The Merry Wives of Windsor is supported by major production sponsors The James Silberrad Brown Foundation at the San Diego Foundation, Karen and Donald Cohn, Ann Davies, Darlene Marcos Shiley, and The Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Fund; and production sponsors Diane Berol in memory of John Berol and Jeannie Polinsky Rivkin Artistic Fund. Additional financial support for The Old Globe is provided by The City of San Diego. The Theodor and Audrey Geisel Fund provides leadership support for The Old Globe’s year-round activities.

The Tony Award–winning The Old Globe is one of the country’s leading professional not-for-profit regional theatres. Now in its 89th year, the Globe is San Diego’s flagship performing arts institution, and it serves a vibrant community with theatre as a public good. Under the leadership of Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and the Audrey S. Geisel Managing Director Timothy J. Shields, The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 16 productions of classic, contemporary, and new works on its three Balboa Park stages, including its internationally renowned Shakespeare Festival. More than 250,000 people annually attend Globe productions and participate in the theatre’s artistic and arts engagement programs. Its nationally prominent Arts Engagement Department provides an array of participatory programs that make theatre matter to more people in neighborhoods throughout the region. Humanities programs at the Globe and around the city broaden the community’s understanding of theatre art in all its forms. The Globe also boasts a range of new play development programs with professional and community-based writers, as well as the renowned The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program. Numerous world premieres—such as 2014 Tony Award winner for Best Musical A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Bright Star, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! —have been developed at The Old Globe and have gone on to highly successful runs on Broadway and at regional theatres across the country.

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