Antics Get Too Frantic in ‘Wives’

“The Merry Wives of Windsor” may be the least ambitious of William Shakespeare’s better-known plays, a bawdy farce with a plot as shallow as an empty mug of ale. The remarkable thing is that the Bard of Avon was able to do much at all with this tall tale about a fat knight and the two tables-turning ladies he tries hard to seduce. Yet it remains one of his oft-produced romps, not up there with, say, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” but fairly close. Shakespeare Orange County, the veteran troupe operating out of Chapman University’s Waltmar Theatre in Orange, showed why many performers love “Merry Wives” during opening night Friday--the cast took Shakespeare’s cues to go wild and went for it, mugging and having fun.

At times, it was easy to share their enthusiasm. Just as often, however, the Carl Reggiardo-directed production’s antic quality became numbingly redundant, a goofy dance that moved well enough one moment, then with fits and starts the next.

The evening had a bit of added drama. Thomas F. Bradac, the troupe’s founder and artistic director since 1992, appeared as Sir John Falstaff, the jumbo-sized noble who causes all the trouble in “Merry Wives.”

It has been five years since Bradac acted (as Dogberry, a minor role in “Much Ado About Nothing,” five years ago), and he showed considerable confidence as the show’s linchpin.

His portrayal, however, could have been even larger. Falstaff can dominate the manic goings-on, but Bradac too often seemed content to merely be a participant. Still, when his Falstaff gets all growly and excited while rhapsodizing about bedding Mistress Page (Evelyn Carol Case) and Mistress Ford (Jenna Cole), he’s a kick to watch. Bradac, like everyone else onstage, appears to enjoy himself.

The best support comes from Case and Cole. Their mistresses stroll through Robert Mumm’s vaguely comic set (the village and tavern facades look like they could have been swiped from Disneyland--perhaps the “It’s a Bard’s World After All” ride?) , cleverly one-upping Falstaff at every step.

Cole and Case reveal what hee-hawing damage they can do when putting good looks and active minds to expert use. They draw in Falstaff, whose ego is as wide as his waist, by ticking his pride. Once they have him in hand, they look slyly at each other and laugh and laugh.

The biggest clown in this “Merry Wives” is Michael Nehring as Master Ford, the self-important, self-deluding fellow who fears being cuckolded almost as much as death. Nehring’s performance is a good indication of the production’s strengths and weaknesses.

Nehring can be hilarious when starting his collapse into a paroxysm of jealousy and doubt. But then he goes on and on--all the giddiness and gestures take the joke too far, like a punchline being repeated in case we didn’t get it.

Director Reggiardo realizes how atmospheric this comedy can be and, with the help of lighting designer Paul Dedoes, he keeps everything in a perpetual twilight. The approach lets the play’s most amusing scene--when Falstaff finally realizes near the play’s end that he’s been royally duped--unfold as a visual treat, the most satisfying moment in an otherwise uneven staging.

* “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” Chapman University’s Waltmar Theatre, 301 E. Palm Ave., Orange. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 6 p.m. Ends Aug. 8. $22-$24. (714) 744-7016. Running time: 2 hours, 40 minutes.