Bard on the Beach Opens 37th Season with Musical Comedy

Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival opens its 37th season June 9 with a bawdy musical take on The Merry Wives of Windsor, running through September 19 on the BMO Mainstage at Vanier Park.

The production reimagines Shakespeare's comedy — reportedly commissioned by Queen Elizabeth I — as a vehicle for physical comedy and song. Director Rebecca Northan sets the play in Windsor, where Sir John Falstaff, a washed-up soccer star (a nod to next week's World Cup), hatches a cash-flow scheme by courting two wealthy married women. When his plans implode, a cast of characters contrives an escalating series of traps and mishaps.

"Shakespeare is musical in its essence, so it's a natural pairing," said Northan. "He completely missed the brief of giving us a play with Falstaff in love, but he did transplant that well-loved character into something very fun."

The production features beloved Vancouver theatre veterans Jennifer Lines (Mrs. Page) and Melissa Oei (Mrs. Ford) as the scheming wives, with Ashley Wright as Falstaff. Lines is returning for her 23rd season with the company; Wright is playing the role for the fourth time.

"The poetry of Shakespeare lends itself to the lyric of song, and this cast have all become triple threats — knowing the Bard, and being able to do song and dance," Lines said. "A lot of us actually started out in musical theatre. This play really has a lot of shenanigans you have to follow."

Bard on the Beach also stages Macbeth (June 11–Sept. 18), a darker supernatural tale featuring actor Munish Sharma as the Scottish thane. The company's two smaller theatres will host Sophocles' Antigone (June 30–Sept. 18) and a reimagined Goblin:Oedipus (July 5–Sept. 19).

Full schedule and tickets at bardonthebeach.org. Come for the Bard, stay for the shenanigans — and the city's summer theatre ritual.